Along came a Spider...

After finishing up some patriotic duties, Bruce and I spent the afternoon at Tops'l Park. From the Hwy 98 entrance to the park, we drove the Subie down a sandy road toward Morris Lake. We were a little overdressed to hike for too long in the hot sun so we pulled out the chairs and just sat there for awhile enjoying the view. In the shade the temp was perfect. No biting bugs and no humidity. Very relaxing. I put a photo of the lake into the Best of 30A pictures but as beautiful as it was, my favorite part of the day wasn't the lake itself it was a spider encounter and watching the bees on the goldenrod. First the spider. As we sat there quietly, enjoying the serenity, I looked down to see a what I would call big, hairy spider on my knee. Maybe that was fitting for the day after Halloween, but I didn't like it at all. I jumped up screaming a girly girl scream and pushed it off. Then realizing the missed opportunity, looked around for it so I could get pictures to add to my collection. It hadn't gone far. For some reason it was really interested in getting on my chair. It kept following the chair as I moved it out of the way for my picture taking. Then it got agitated and went for Bruce's chair too so we decided to leave it's area. My spider photos were adequate but none really captured this creature. It seemed like a crab in it's movement and a scorpion when it was threatened. Bruce said he had seen an extra large version of it on one of his walks. I have to admit, although I'm getting better and better about bugs, an extra large version would be a little unnerving. Anyhow the best photos today came from the bees (see Photo of the Day). Beautiful wings. I know I've mentioned Tops'l Park before but it is worth mentioning again. I highly recommend a day hike there or just a sit. And the beach is one of Florida's best.