my favorite spider

I like spiders (Black Widows and other poisonous ones, not as much. But I do like spiders.

I love the complexity of their webs and how they eat annoying insects like flies and their eight-leg-ness. (They remind me of the Ogden Nash poem about the caterpillar 'wondering how to run'. I have enough problems on two legs, what would I do with eight?)

My favorite spider this year has built the most endangered web in spider history.

It connects to three things: a deck chair, our grill and the deck trashcan--that can be moved at any time. The only stable place the web is connected is to the side of our house.

Bern thinks the spider chose the place because there are flies around the trashcan since we dump stuff from the grill in there.

Every time I open the trashcan, the spider races around like a crazy spider.

But I admire the spider's bravery so much that I didn't remove the trash bag this week to be picked up. It wasn't nearly full anyway. But I''m already dreading next Tuesday when I'll have to open the trashcan's lid completely to get the bag out.

I do admire the audacity and minor craziness of this spider.

Audacity and minor craziness are things I'd admire just as I admire this favorite spider of mine.