Female Golden Garden Spider

Nikon D70s
f8 1/320 sec.
70-210 @210mm

I went looking for garden spiders one day early last August. I had nearly given up, miserable day mid-90s very humid, kept stepping on what looked to be solid ground and sinking in muck up to my hip in this swamp, poison sumac everywhere. I was just trying to get out of there, when an anchor line appeared in front of my eye. When I followed it to the center, there was this beauty. What an amazing creature.

Thank you God for such wonder in this world.