August was the month for giant orb weaving spiders; a pair of thumb-sized monsters took up residence under the gutter over the patio. One started by anchoring its web to the handrail by the steps:

Web anchor on handrail

While we like and encourage spiders, that anchorage didn’t last long and, yes, I must strip and repaint that railing…

There’s a horizontal web at the corner of the gutter over the back door:

Orb spider at gutter – light

Changing the exposure to favor the spider loses the web strands:

Orb spider at gutter – dark

Cropping that one down around the spider shows they really are the stuff of nightmare:

Orb spider – detail

The other spider prefers a vertical web attached along the gutter and anchored to a patio chair, which means I can get between the house and the web to see the spider’s tummy:

Orb spider – ventral

We leave the lights on in the evening for their benefit…