Dazzling Spider
Are you the kind of person who carries spiders and bugs outside so that they’ll avoid the sole of a shoe, the vortex of a swirling toilet bowl – or in our house – the fast and furious paws of predatory cats? I am. I know … Big surprise. But I’ve always been that way – not just during Halloween when spiders get a bad rap.

This lucky spider was the center of my attention for weeks. Click to enlarge so you can see the faint lines of the web that are suspending him in the air.
I am so passionate about all life, in fact, that I scare some people – including my Little Sister (Big Brothers Big Sisters). She once grabbed a lightning bug from the lawn and proceeded to pluck off its wings. I naturally screamed in horror, stopping her before she yanked off wing no. 2. I think she might have been 11 then – and with the biggest doe eyes I’ve ever seen.
“But, we wear them as rings,” she said. “See.” She plucked off the other wing.
I screamed. Again.
I asked her how she could possibly kill something just for the fun of it. I couldn’t fathom it – me, the gal who stopped spraying outdoors for scorpions because I realized less-sinister insects were suffering (and dying) as a result of my actions: geckos, tarantulas, walking sticks.
You can probably guess that my Lil’ Sis never removed the wings from a lighting bug again. And you can guess that I’m STILL saving arachnids and insects any chance I get.

This may LOOK like the same western spotted orb weaver pictured above, but this is actually spidey no. 2 (of the same variety). And yes, that IS the writing studio on wheels in the background. Click to enlarge and see the gorgeous marbled designs on this spider.
There is more to this story than these dazzling spider shots. And it all revolves around weeding – and how well Hubby knows me.
“Do you want to keep his web?” he asked as we cleaned up the back yard of our house-under-construction.
Of course I told him, “Yes,” and, “Leave that patch of weeds.” And also: “Don’t forget his brother over there. Leave that patch of weeds, too.”

Different view of Neoscona oaxacensis, the western spotted orbweaver. They love grassy areas, and with the rain we had this summer, the barren backyard turned grassy. Look at those sexy striped legs! Click to enlarge.
Despite our best efforts, however, the spider brothers were displaced in the end. No. 2 was inadvertently removed from his home when hubby drove the four-wheeler right over his web on his way to pick up weed piles. Fortunately, I found him a day later, crawling up the side of the house.
No. 1’s web was also destroyed – shaken lose from the quad tire hitting the weeds to which the web was affixed. I later found this spider hanging out on another plant on the rock wall. Phew. No spider deaths! And they both began to rebuild immediately.
For Writers, For Everyone: There is something to learn from every living creature – whether we’re afraid of it or not, whether it’s fluffy or scaly, cute or scary. And, since Halloween is coming up, I figured a spider tribute was in order. Look what I would have missed if I had not crawled around on the desert floor to capture these shots.

This is the underside of the orbweaver. What wonderful details! As pretty as a painting! Click to enlarge.
If you can muster the courage to look at the spider through an artistic lens, go back and click through the photos in close-up view. Look at the gorgeous marble patterning on this spider’s back. Look at the microscopic hairs on its legs. Look how your perspective of this spider changes based on the light that either makes him dark or illuminates him.
Look how he seems to be floating on nothing but air – but how if you look more closely, you’ll see an intricate web tethering him to the earth. Isn’t this how we should look at ALL things – especially the things that scare us – with analytical, open, observant eyes?