Delena

We don't normally see huntsman spiders in winter. They are hibernating, or hiding, or maybe they just holiday up in Queensland, awaiting the spring. I don't know. I only know it's rare to see one much before October. But there we were the other night. It was a chilly day (50F) and rainy. I'd been thinking about the huntsmen and thinking how they'd be coming out in weather like that. We had just finished dinner - about 7:30'ish - and it was dark, rainy outside. The light on the deck outside the kitchen/dining room window was on, illuminating the deck, plants, and deck railing.

And then I saw it...

 ...slowly lowering itself down on a single line of silk...

...a smallish huntsman, maybe 3 inches across at most. I pointed just in time for Stephen to see it as it dropped to the level of the sashing between the upper and lower part of the window. And here she is, Delena cancerides:

...or at least I THINK this is a Delena cancerides.  Here's a closeup of the same photo:

Delena won't become a huge sumo wrestler like "Wolfgang" - but she'll be a respectable size, all the same. Actually, I think she's kind of pretty, really, reddish body hanging on to the green window frame.

A sure sign of spring - but, again, a little early.