beautiful creepy crawly things

Sometimes creepy crawly things just seem... 

creepy crawly.

But sometimes creepy crawly things can really take your breath away,

especially if happen to stumble upon them

at the right moment.

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Here's an assortment of a few different beautiful things I've seen 

in and around the gardens lately.

Each "discovery" has been from uncovering something.  

Under a tarp.

Under a mat.

Under some greenhouse plastic.

You get the idea.

 

 limax maximus, i.e. giant garden slug

next to a freshly laid cluster of eggs

Even my very best camera lens could not do these justice...

They were absolutely luminous and ethereal,

so beautiful I nearly cried.

I'm not sure what kind of pupa this is...  maybe a moth of some sort...

but I love the weaving and the hair-like quality around the outside... 

Today I stumbled upon this bright orange beauty, 

while getting ready to plant our garlic crop.

The brightness of it startled me.

I think it's a marbled orb-weaver spider.

Look at those amazing silks...!

The ways they're pinned in so many layers and directions...

and the Rorschach-like pattern on the spider itself...!!!

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Take a gander through your garden this fall,

you might find some beautiful treasures hiding in those nooks and crannies!