Knee-deep in the jungle, wading over to the Golden Orb Weaver whose picture I want so desperately.
And there she is! I particularly love the shadow of the spider in this photo. Classic!
Look at that sucker! These are by far the most dramatically colored spiders I've seen, but not all the most dangerous. They don't sting or nothin'!
The reason I like these guys so much is those markings on their head and thorax - is that or is that not a Dia de los Muertos skull!? (It is.) Nature has a spooky sense of humor sometimes...
While I'm distracted, futzing with camera settings, the Orb Weaver is no doubt plotting something.
Honestly, we both look pretty shifty here...
The Tarantula Hawk! I'm so happy I got a picture of one - you see what I mean about them being kinda beautiful? This interloper made the mistake of flying inside Ella's place last night (we did have the doors open, for the puppy), and after we both did a lot of girlish yelling, Ella went after it with a can of Super-Raid Foamy stuff. Killed it dead. This morning, I took pictures of the thing - you gotta admit, it's pretty neat.
Look at those colors!
Bonus Picture! This was the night that I got a flat, had to call Ella at 11:30pm and have her come get me. She arrived with a Good News/Bad News situation. Good News: She's here! Bad News: We don't have enough gas to get back up the mountain. We managed to get to the base of it, though, and this is a pic of us, about to hike for an hour back home - me in my soaking bikini, and her in her jimjams. Hilarious! Also, the camera had a) like, *no* battery and b) a sticky lens cover - thus, the dramatic anime diagonals.
