A spider I happened to notice a while back while out and about. Its markings and size caught my eye, as it was very different from the spiders I typically see around here. I doubt they are rare, but it was new to me and I wanted to get a close up picture. It might not look particularly close, but it's a phone camera with no optical zoom. I was only a couple of inches from the subject and didn't want to disturb them.
You might just live on the edge of their range or something! Here in the SE US they are abundant
I can head out to a nature trail, look off into the woods on one side, and spot 2-4 of these beauties suspended in webs from the same spot.
Only ever had one in my yard, unfortunately she chose to build a web right above the porch door and gave us quite a fright
Yeah it's possible. I am no stranger to hiking and these little ones have stayed out of my sight while doing it over the years. This one however was just sitting on a wall, waiting to be discovered! Also I can imagine, suddenly running into a spider like this and its web right outside your door would be quite a sudden shock!