Saturday's Critters - Cross Spider

While I was out taking photos of my plants the other day, this little critter practically dropped into my face.  I quickly shifted focus to try and capture a few shots to join in with Eileen at Saturday's Critters.  I've been wanting to link up there for a long time but I never seem to find any critters that don't get away before I have my camera ready.

I couldn't really see the spider web until I downloaded the photos and I've changed the exposure a bit so that the spider web is more visible.

I'm not a spider expert but it looks like this one is called Araneus diadematus or a Cross Spider.  The cross spider is sandy brown to burnt orange with pale spots in a cross shape on its large abdomen.  The cross spider is an orb-web spider known for constructing enormous circular webs to catch prey like flies and mosquitoes. They inhabit gardens, hedgerows, meadows and woodlands, and are often found in rural areas of BC including buildings with exterior lighting. (Source Terminix Canada).

This spider and possibly other spiders have been spinning webs in the garden like crazy this summer and there have been various kinds of spiders in the house too.  I've seen a lot of cobwebs in the garden but this is the first time I've watched the spider in action.  I didn't disturb it but I've read that a female cross spider can lay 300 to 900 eggs.

These are a few photos from the garden using a new to me lens I borrowed just to try it out. I didn't get to experiment too much because the light faded rapidly as night fell.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a safe weekend.

I Say Goodbye & Welcome Some Cloudy Days

I said goodbye to a friend of mine recently. We met at church many years ago and haven't been keeping up well with one another since she and I no longer attend that church. She also lived another municipality away.  Though she was very busy packing and cleaning, I wanted to take her for a farewell lunch.

My friend Celia did not want to leave the  City of Vancouver.  But most of the condos in her building were bought out by a developer and thus in the end she had to sell too.  She has purchased a much larger home in her new city. It sounds like a wonderful location near shops and a man made lake with walking areas surrounding it.  Now that all the decisions have been made, a new house and furniture purchased, she is looking forward to the move.  Everything has worked so smoothly in her favour that she believes it was a divine event for the benefit of her future.  I'm quite certain she will enjoy living in her new home.  She has the added benefit of her daughter and grandson living nearby. Her daughter has been coaxing her mom to make the move for some time. As my friend Celia says, she had to be forced and now that she has been she is very accepting of the situation.

Here is my friend answering the phone. She was being invited out to dinner the same evening by yet another former church friend.

Salad Bar

Cabbage and Spatzle?

Beef Roulade and perogies

Breaded trout with beans in mushroom sauce

Bratwurst

A small portion of the desserts on offer

We had a fabulous visit but we visited so long that my throat was dry and parched afterward. The only thing that separated us is she began to run behind schedule for dinner! We had a lot of catching up to do and hopefully we'll have a chance to visit again in her new city.


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On another subject I haven't participated in a long while in the Saturday's Critter's meme. I'm not sure why but it never seems to be the right time for me to take photos of animals or creatures of any kind.

I found one bee or wasp while I was taking photos of the geraniums.

The seagulls were photographed on my recent harbour cruise. It's always interesting to watch birds flying against the wind.

The last photo is of 5-6 seals lying on the logs, also from the harbour cruise.

Can you see them?
Click to enlarge and it will be easier to see the seals.
I'm afraid I don't have a good lens to zoom in close enough.

I'm a bit behind in posting as I still have a post to share with you about the harbour cruise.


Joining in with

Saturday's Critters

Thank you for joining in.

If you missed my Skywatch post you can find it here.

Have an awesome weekend.