Below are two more from my recent local photo outing.
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This banana spider (actually a golden silk orb weaver - we just called them banana spiders back when we were kids) wasn't along the creek, but it was still in the same park area. I'll explain later after I finish up a custom map that I'm making.
EDIT: I've done my homework and read that the larger spider pictured above is the female and the smaller guy behind her is the male. He's hanging out and courting her. This will go on for a little while and she'll produce an eggsack later in the fall (or what Texans just call football season). She may or may not eat him when their business is done. Glad I have two legs and not eight.
There is a paved trail that runs between Cullen Park (off Saums Road) and the intersection of Highway 6 and Patterson Road. The total length of the paved trail is close to 4 miles. I walk part of this trail on a regular basis for exercise (without camera in hand).
At the Saums Road end, the trail closely parallels the creek for a stretch. At the other end is a small patch of woods that are infested with these banana spiders. They are everywhere, and I dare not set foot into the trees for fear of becoming entangled in one of the giant webs and then having a 4-inch diameter spider crawl up on my head. Yeh, I'm being a sissy, but you should see the fangs on these things!
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Above is another scene from the Saums Road end of the trail. It's thickly wooded, and the creek is a muddy channel that meanders through these woods.
I'm going back out this evening after work to shoot, and I'm going to visit the same area again.
