CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Here is another of the eight-legged critters in my garden. This one startled me by running down the trunk of the tree I was pruning - again in late autumn. Needless to say, I was instantly distracted. This is a huntsman - the first one I've seen out in the garden. (Usually, they're running across a wall, or the ceiling.) I'm not sure if it's male of female. It stayed out for quite some time, so I took a lot of shots from a whole lot of different angles over the course of about an hour and a half. We encountered each other in the late afternoon. And the spider stayed around as the sun gradually faded. It was quite late by the time I went inside to cook dinner. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Here is another of the eight-legged guests that live in my garden. I don't know what the first one is called, but I spent 2-3 hours one autumn day, stalking her while she fed. I came across her while she was feeding. She fed on this fly for some time. So I tried different angles and lenses.  She very obligingly came out of her leaf to chase down another fly. I was so excited!

For some reason, the eight-legged wildlife around my house is being surprisingly cooperative... in some cases, a little too cooperative for comfort.   "Good" Spider   Unidentified Garden Spider - (c) 2013 C.M. Simpson Outside (in the garden where it belongs); very small (less than half my little finger nail); probably not deadly; prefers to hide; will run from plastic ruler used in attempt to measure it (don't ask); Did I mention it's outside? "Bad" Spider Possible male mouse spider - (c) 2013 C.M. Simpson Inside (where it definitely does NOT belong); not so small (one to one and a half inches long); INSIDE!!!! poisonous, deadly to some, makes others extremely ill; will attack plastic container used in attempt to capture (also don't ask); possibly male mouse spider... need to work on positive identification in case someone gets bit; Did I mention it was INSIDE????? Plus, it looks like it's been chasing pa...