Nature Pics

Post by **Trazúviel** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:15 am

I'm finally back online and catching up...totally enjoying all the lovely pics! Hopefully I'll get organized soon and start contributing again. There is this amazing garden spider out in the back yard that I want to take a pic of...

Post by **Lalaith** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:19 pm

Thanks, Voronwë! I knew it would bug someone enough to figure it out. I simply ran out of time yesterday to play around with it anymore.

Oooooh, garden spiders.... I noticed my first one just yesterday. They are very interesting (as long as they stay outside).

Lali

Post by **Trazúviel** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:33 am

The spider in my garden is very impressive, and he's welcome to stay as long as he stays away from the house (and doesn't invite any friends!)

Post by **Griffon64** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:32 am

Have you taken pictures yet?

( Me, I do not jibe with spiders. But power to those who can! )

Post by **Trazúviel** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:48 am

He's an elusive beast, he is...and I meant to go look for him today, but forgot.

I'll get the little bugger tomorrow, just for you, Griff!

Post by **Trazúviel** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 1:33 am

I have no idea what kind of flowery bush this is, but it's surviving the 100+ temps we've been having!

And they have pretty flowers too.

And for all you spider buffs, here's the fella who watches over my pretty red flower bush...

Post by **Griffon64** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:07 am

Yiyiyiyiyi!

Looks a lot like the garden spiders we had in South Africa, too. Those spun big, sticky, yellow webs. Often across the little pathways in my parents' rambling, overgrown 27 000 square foot garden. And somehow you didn't see them sitting in the middle of this yellow web until your nose was almost in it

In related news I'll try and post some pics of the some from the Zacca bush fire soon. We in Bakersfield are enjoying mild upper 80s temperatures in the middle of August, because there's this huge plume of smoke above us blocking out the sun

EDIT: Blimey! That spider is freakin' HUGE!!

I just had to say that

Post by **Trazúviel** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:13 am

Blimey! That spider is freakin' HUGE!!

I just hope he keeps away the bugs.

Post by **Lalaith** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:45 am

Eek!

Like I said, as long as they stay outside and I don't walk into their webs, I'm okay with them. That is one of the Argiope spiders, a Black-and-yellow Argiope? That's what it looks like to me.

<shudder>

It's creeping me out, though, whatever it is exactly.

Lali

Post by **Trazúviel** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:08 pm

That is one of the Argiope spiders, a Black-and-yellow Argiope?

I'll have to take your word for it...I've just always called them garden spiders.

My hubby and son are both terrified of spiders, even teeny tiny ones.

But I talked them into saving this one as long as he stays where he is, because the bigger the web, the more bugs they catch. And I may not be phobic, but I definitely don't want to walk into a web either. *ick*

Sorry it creeped you out.

Post by **The One Ring** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:22 pm

What a fabulous spider, Traz. We always just called them garden spiders, too. I don't know any of the species' names.

I love spiders and don't have any fear of them at all. I've handled tarantulas, and if I find a wolf spider in the house I just tip her into a cup and move her outside. The house spiders I leave alone because they're the least noxious thing that can get into your home. I very much prefer them to earwigs and ants and the occassional centipede that gets through the screens... yuck, gross things those.

We had the most gorgeous orb spider that would build each summer a web between the rhododenron bushes and the canopy over our building's front door. I could stand and watch her squatting on her web for hours ... if I had the hours to waste. It must have been a great food supply (because of the door lamp, probably) because she was HUGE. When she'd rear up, her leg span was probably as big as my fist.

I think though that the supers must have killed all the eggs, because I haven't seen a spider in that location this summer or last. It is easy to imagine the other people who live here being petrified to walk past an orb spider and demanding that it be killed.

But most spiders really are harmless. You have to provoke them, even the poisonous ones, before they'll take on something as big as a human being.

Jn

Post by **Inanna** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 9:36 pm

Spiders are quite pretty. I took a snap of a spider with the SLR... let me get the roll developed and I will post it. Am quite looking forward to that, its one of the few close-up pics I have attempted.

Post by **Erunáme** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:02 am

That flowering bush is a crepe myrtle, Trazie....one of the few things that does well in the Texas heat.

I hate those spiders. Our neighbor had one build a web by their front door when I was a kid. I totally hated going over to their house and would quickly run past the spider.

Post by **truehobbit** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 2:14 am

That's a very colourful spider, trazzie. How big is it? Can't tell from the pic - it does look a bit big for my taste, but, as you say, as long as it stays at home and doesn't bring any friends (

) it's nice to have it.

(Though looking at the bush is more pleasant.

)

Post by **Lalaith** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:36 pm

Garden spider is the perfectly correct name for it. I just have this naturalist's tendency to label things specifically. It can get quite annoying inside my mind and that sometimes spills out here. Sorry!

They are quite fascinating spiders. I leave the ones outside alone. I figure they are doing me a favor eating bugs. Besides, if you get to see them catch one, it's really cool. We had a large one outside our front door doing good business by the front porch light. We named her Shelob, which doesn't seem quite fair since she was probably not the least bit evil.

I don't like killing them in the house either, but I do not usually have the courage to scoop them up into anything and put them outside. If I can brush them outside with a broom I will. Or if I can convince my youngest daughter to do it, that works, too.

It's just one of those unnatural fears I've developed.

Looking forward to Mahima's spider pic!

Lali

Post by **Trazúviel** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:19 am

Eru wrote:That flowering bush is a crepe myrtle, Trazie....one of the few things that does well in the Texas heat.

Oh, I should have known that. I have another one in the front yard that my b-inlaw pointed out....and I totally forgot.

Thanks, Eru!

Hobby wrote:That's a very colourful spider, trazzie. How big is it?

Just guessing (without actually bringing a ruler out to him...

) I would say he's about 4 inches or so. There are other spiders that are much bigger, but this handsome little guy is relatively huge compared to the house spiders who always try to sneak inside.

Spiders don't generally survive inside my house because of all the arachnaphobes (sp?) who live here. They all swear that all spiders bite. I think they're confusing them with ants, but what do I know.

But I've always loved watching them, their webs are usually very beautiful and it's just fun watching them catch bugs.

Mahima, I can't wait to see your spider!

Post by **cemthinae** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:52 pm

Erunáme wrote:I hate those spiders. Our neighbor had one build a web by their front door when I was a kid. I totally hated going over to their house and would quickly run past the spider.

I've never seen spiders like that, but I did allow a large house spider to keep her web over my doorway for two years. (Some cultures consider a spider in the doorway lucky- I believe they were thought to have caught bad things in their webs before entry into the house...)

Anyway, I had to kindly move her to another place when a certain tennis ball moved in, as he is not so friendly to spiders.

Post by **truehobbit** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:02 pm

Doomsday at my place?

Photos taken at the beginning of a thunderstorm yesterday evening.

(Let me know if the pics are too big - they show alright on my screen, but I was surprised I didn't have to resize them in the gallery.)

Post by **Griffon64** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 1:30 am

Oooh, that looks such a lot like the smoky skies we've been having in SoCal lately.

Post by **Lalaith** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 3:36 pm

Impressive!!!

Lali