...and frightened Miss Muffet Away!

I hurried out of the house this morning, running just barely on time for a drive to the hot and sometimes unpleasant Inland Empire, and what to my wondering eyes should appear...



and the words of John McCain's disdain accurately express my sentiment: that guy.




This guy or gal's web is currently strung between our cactus and heliconia bush. These are are not small examples of their respective species. Both are about 10 feet tall. Imagine corresponding arms and branches to get an idea of the size of this spider. Larger than a quarter, smaller than a breadbox.



Animalia arthropoda arachnida aranaea...and at the order level is where my knowledge of this spider's provenance ends.



Ummm, yeah. Here, have my damn porridge.



Trying to get a good shot of the span of the web, which was wider than the span of my arms. Had the sun been higher in the sky I might have gotten some glints of the gossamer threads.



I actually like most insects, mosquitoes, cockroaches and fleas aside. But this was a bit rich even for me to stomach.