The Spider Queen

        My youngest has been particularly captivated by this spider lately.  After observing it, she declared that she is a queen spider because she has a beautiful crown.  While her "crown" is actually her rump, I'd much rather view this regal spider through the eyes of my daughter. We had a storm the other day and she and her web were blown off the Mexican Petunia she calls home. We noticed later, that she had just relocated to a position closer to the ground. This home turned out to be temporary since, a few days later, she was back, with a new web, in her original location. There is also a princess who is smaller and a different shade, on another bush and we recently discovered a tiny baby princess a few flowers down. Gardens can be incredibly interesting places!