Beautiful Orange Cross Spider

This afternoon I almost stepped on this Orange Cross Spider on the sidewalk but am so glad I missed it! As I reached down to take a picture of it as it quickly crawled across the sidewalk, it must have sensed me. It stopped as if to pose for my camera. It was beautiful with a perfect white cross on its back. After looking it up on the web, I learned that it's common now in the Northwest and across the U.S. and Canada. The University of Washington's Nature Mapping Program website offers interesting information about the spider. Fun facts!