Orb Weaver

I am arachnophobic. And I'm trying to get over it... I had my dad stand close by today as I photographed this lady... just in case I needed to be rescued. I was terrified and fascinated. Talk about a heart pounding adrenaline rush. My mom tells a story about how my great grandmother would leave her kids in the bassinet on the porch while she worked in the garden or did laundry. These spiders had built a canopy around the porch and the idea was that they would keep the bugs off the kids. It surprises me that this spider's benevolence actually reassured me a little this morning...

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