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Tonight was perhaps the best night in Monsoon season this year, maybe even in the last 10 years! We had a constant barrage of strobe-like cloud-to-cloud lightning and continuous rumbling. Not a moment was it quiet or dark! No words can describe it! Here's one photo I managed to capture but it definitely does not do the storm justice.
If you're scared of anything with 8 legs that bites or stings, consider this your warning! Read no further . . .
Of course, we're a little scared too. But somehow these guys insist on making themselves a part of our lives, especially in the sweltering summer months. There is nothing quite so disconcerting as coming home late at night, getting ready for bed, and finding a large alien-looking scorpion poised and waiting for you at the bottom of the shower. If they could talk, it would be something like, "I've been expecting you. Just come a little closer." At least that's what I imagine they're saying. This summer, rather than going on an all-out eradication mission, I decided to make peace with some of these spiders and scorpions and get some interesting photos while I was at it. That is not to say that there aren't any casualties (mostly Black Widows). But for the most part I've made an effort to relocate the trespassers.
This Arizona bark scorpion was on our block wall in the backyard. I had to get a little less than a foot away with my macro lens to get these shots. But the scorpion was actually pretty passive, and thankfully doesn't have the ability to leap off of walls like many of the spiders around here.
This "speeder-spider" (as my Mom affectionately calls them) made himself at home on our car. I took some photos of him next to our window decal to give you an idea of the sheer size of these guys. They have an uncanny ability to show up dangling over your head while you're fumbling for your keys and trying to unlock the front door, or maybe crawl up your arm while you're on the freeway driving to work (poor Amanda!). So far we haven't been bit, but they do have some pretty impressive looking mandibles!
