Personally...I Think He Was Outside The Whole Time

We did some shifting around of decorations last week. It's needed, especially during the holidays. The Halloween decorations were put away, and instead of trying to find a place to store a small outdoor Christmas Tree and a lighted deer under the stairs, I decided to put them outside...sort of a mini pre-Christmas scene. It turned out pretty good, we thought.

The problem was, I kept the front door open more than usual as I set things up. So, when I went to close the front door, we found a spider hanging on the inside of our front door.

Ugh...

I know how important spiders are so I didn't want to kill it outright. We opened the door and guided it to the other side of the door. Then we shut the door. We were no longer in a room with that particular eight-legged visitor.

That's when all those nasty thoughts creep into your head...

"Was that thing actually inside the house the whole time?" "How long has that thing been inside with us?" And most importantly, "Are there any more of them around?"

I know there are things in this house. I think I can deal with that by not knowing they are there. If I don't see them or any sign of them, I'm good. The ultimate "out of sight, out of mind" situation. That's when I decided to look this as a "glass half full" situation.

"I believe," I told my wife. "I think the spider was outside the whole time, and because the door was open so much, it just dropped down onto the door. Yeah, that's what I think happened."

I don't know if she--or even I--totally believe what I had just said, but I think it made both of us feel better knowing that we didn't have a guest living inside the house with us and that it hadn't been inside the whole time. I'm going to go with that as what "officially" happened. Now, I need to not think about it...just forget it happened.

So...You've Got Yourself An Orb Weaver

 It must have been there a long time. By the time I saw it, the web was huge. Not just the web...

The orb weaver was, too.

Full disclosure...I am not a fan of the eight-legged living organisms that are out there. However, I do understand how important spiders are to all life on this planet. Without spiders, humans would have a much harder time surviving. I am very please this thing is living outside and not under the same roof as me and my family.

I did not know the type of spider this was so I posted a picture on social media with a simple question: Does anyone know what kind of spider this is?

I received the obligatory funny responses, which I do appreciate. My social media friends did come through for me. They identified the spider as an Orb Weaver. With a little more research I discovered these things make amazing webs. When the light allowed, I could see the web and it was incredible. I also discovered non-aggressive and not dangerous to humans. These are two traits I like in a spider.

The spider is not in our house but is currently living in the window well outside my son's room. My son seems okay with having this creature only a few feet from him when he sleeps. That might make me a tad leery. 

I should say, even though spiders are not my favorite, this thing is stunning. It's beautiful. And, I know how important it is not only in the ecosystem, but it's eating a ton of bugs, bugs that try and bug us. Thanks everyone for helping me get to know this little critter better.