The Guest On Our Porch

We have a new guest taking up residence on our porch.  His name is Andrew.  Would you like to meet him?  Please don't freak out when you do, though.  I can assure you he is very quiet and gentle and has helped control the flying pest population in our front garden.  Oh and he has eight legs.  And he sits upside down.  Ready now?  May I present to you.....

Andrew the Spider

We discovered Andrew on our porch about a week ago, which turned into a perfect science project for the kids!  After some research, we discovered him to be a St. Andrew's Cross Spider (hence the name Andrew).  Originally found in Australia, this particular type of spider is very gentle, not poisonous, and is mainly found in gardens where they spin large webs to trap all sorts of flying insects.  They get their name because they sit upside down on their webs forming a St. Andrew's Cross (more like an X to me).  Anyway, we've seen him wrap up flies and mosquitoes to eat for dinner and that is just fine with me. 

His web is not in the direct path of guests coming and going, so we've decided to let him stay for awhile.  Not forever, but for awhile.  Sort of like our own Charlotte, although we have yet to see any words in his web! The kids have all gotten used to him, and nonchalantly say, "Hey, Andrew," as they come and go from the house.  And since it's been so crazy hot this summer (like 108 today!), we've hardly spent any time sitting on the front porch, so Andrew's presence isn't an inconvenience.  Come fall, if he's still here, he'll need to move on so I can sit in my chairs and not feel his creepy legs crawling on me.  I draw the line there.