If you're a spider hater, avoid this post.

We have a number of fairly large cat spiders around our house this year, but the one directly to the left of our back door takes the cake. When I was young I used to feed them creepy bugs (I loathe crane flies), and they always got really huge from the rich diet. Now I don't have an entire summer to fill with spider-feeding, so these are left to their own devices, but they seem to be doing well.

I took this last night after dark and applied a sepia filter to better highlight its markings.

They're really quite attractive spiders, with the pretty back markings. I don't want them in my house, but I definitely appreciate the work they do outside. Eat those obnoxious bugs, spiders!