Mabel orchard orb weavers are very common spiders around here. It’s nice to see them returning all over the property. They are one of my favorite spiders just because they have such pretty and colorful abdomens. My absolute favorites are the little jumping spiders because of their inquisitive personalities, but the Mable orchard orb weavers are probably second in line. All of the spiders are pretty small right now, but they are already weaving their orb shaped webs and catching small flying insects. By the end of the summer they will have doubled or tripled their size, and that requires a lot of food! Most of them have built their webs in pretty sheltered areas, so they are hard to reach to photograph. As they get bigger they will build bigger webs and move into more accessible places. This particular spider has built her web between a 4×4 post and the wall of the dog house. It’s about a two inch space and protected by the roof, so it’s a great choice. When I got home yesterday afternoon I found her out of her web and on top of one of the empty dog crates on the porch. I’m not sure what she was doing, but when she spotted me she started hurrying back to her web. She was pretty speedy, but not too fast for a couple photos. I really like the way the light colored, textured surface of the dog crate really made her colors pop. It seemed appropriate that a well decorated spider would be found on a decorated surface.