Yes, it is a watercolor painting of a spider. Sorry if you’re not a fan, but I really like jumping spiders and enjoy photographing, drawing and painting them. These interesting little guys are ambush predators, pouncing on their prey much like a house cat might. Our family is full of avid birders, and I personally used to be a bit let down when all the migrants have passed through in the spring. These days I try to think of this as the signal that all sorts of great insects, spiders and other less-appreciated wildlife is going to be bursting to life as things progress into warmer summer weather. There is still plenty to learn about and discover, even if the birds are going to be quiet for a while.
After the main migration I’ll swap out the telephoto bird lens for the macro gear and try to find new and exciting things around the yard to photograph and draw. I’m continually amazed at how much can be discovered in our yard and garden. I was fascinated by jumping spiders when I was a kid and got more interested when I started macrophotography. Since then I’ve learned a lot about these neat creatures.
I’ll find Reckless Jumpers (Pelegrina proverta) like this one in the shaded woody area of our backyard. They really are active and can be a chore to photograph. I usually carefully catch them and bring them inside to photograph in a homemade light tent with soft, diffused light. Once I get some good images, I release them back where I found them, no worse for the wear.
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