NASTY MA-JASTY!!

While Carl was weed-whacking this spider jumped up onto the fence. Holy Cow is it gross looking!! I've opted not to post the pictures here because, quite frankly, it's yucky. If you would like to view them, click here. The fence posts are 5 1/2 inches wide, which will tell you how HUGE this thing is. I googled "black and yellow spider" and this what wikipedia had to say about it:

"In North America, Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the "black and yellow garden spider", or "writing spider," after the mistaken idea web stabilimenta were correspondence."

"Like almost all other spiders, Argiope are harmless to humans. Like most garden spiders they eat insects, and they are capable of consuming prey up to twice their size. A. savigny was even reported to occasionally feed on the small bat Rhynchonycteris naso[3]. They might bite if grabbed, but other than for defense they have no interest in biting humans. Their venom is not regarded as a serious medical problem for humans, although they often contain a library of polyamine toxins with potential as therapeutic medicinal agents.[4] Among these, the notable Argiotoxin ArgTX-636 (A. lobata)."

What does this mean to me? Well, I guess I could still send my boy out to play knowning that one of these might be lurking some where. That still doesn't lessen the feeling that they are gross. Bleh.

On a lighter note, last time Carl was yard-working he found this cute little guy:

This I can deal with. He was all sticky like. Boomer LOVED chasing him around the kitchen. Everytime she'd get close enough to smell him, he'd hop away. Aww, cute little froggy.