I have long been an arachnophobe. Shudder. Yet, for some reason, the 8-legged freaks fascinate me totally, and I cannot resist photographing 'em when I spot 'em. How masochistic of me. But, I have found that it's slowly but surely been helping me to control my spider-fear.

Black Widows really freak me out though. I have seen the results of their bites and ewwwwww. NOT pretty. So it was with much twitching and rapid-heart-beating that I shot this Texas widow that I found living under a little reflecting globe in my garden. I had to get muuuuch closer to get the shot of this California widow that made it's home on my boyfriend's BBQ grill. And notice, that one was missing a leg. But that didn't make it any less scary. Eeek.

Kinda my own personal brand of fear aversion therapy through photography, I guess. Heh.