Fantastic Friday: Nature’s Halloween

Hiking in Harper’s Ferry on a beautiful autumn day, we stopped at a bridge along the canal and were surprised to find something that didn’t quite look natural.

It looked almost like a Halloween decoration.

Not knowing what it was, I jokingly called it a “candy corn” spider because of its Halloween colors and–well:

It looks kind of like candy corn! A bulbous yellow back, an orange body, and white extremities.

A little research at home suggests that it’s perhaps the Marbled Orb Weaver (or some type of orb weaver), which might not sound as cool as a “candy corn spider,” but it’s still pretty interesting. It was suggested they can even take on Halloween colors right around Halloween.

Nature never ceases to amaze me, and it seems that no matter what we humans try to do, nature constantly takes the upper hand. I understand why so many poets and Transcendentalists found such peace in the outdoors; and although I dread the coming winter, I love the beautiful fall weather that allows so much time in the fresh air.