Spiderific!

For a couple weeks now, we have been watching this spider. She started out on the north side of our deck, but then moved to the shadier south side. Beanie identified her as a "crab" spider, which makes sense because she has a crab-like body. In fact, she is a spiny orb weaver. The crab shaped part seems to sit up on top of her body, and appears to be hard and shell-like. It is yellow on one side and white on the other, and has spots. Beanie is fascinated by her and checks every day to make sure that she's caught some food, and to see if she can find an egg sack.