No, this isn’t a terribly good picture. And the lack of scale here prevents the viewer from appreciating this spider’s immense size. (They’re huge in Southwest Virginia.)
But I still like the way that mark on its back makes it look like a fanged orange cyclops in this picture, don’t you?
My best guess is that this is some variation of an orb weaver spider, but don’t hold me to that.
(It was really damned cool.)
This was the massive rainbow late yesterday afternoon in front of Mill Mountain. The video doesn’t do it justice. It was super-bright and it was gigantic. It looked like it was hitting the ground just a few blocks away.
If you look carefully, you can see a second rainbow arc above it at right.
There was a pretty neat sunshower preceding it as well.
— although you kinda can’t tell from the photo. I should have stuck a coin beside it for scale.
Insert the Dune joke of your choice, people.
Why the giant bugs, Roanoke?
He wouldn’t sit still for a photo, but he did alight my shoulder to say hello.
This is Peters Creek Road in Roanoke, VA, nearly becoming a creek itself last Monday. Look at those sheets of rain pummel the asphalt. Hey, everyone I spoke to was thrilled — the sudden storms brought a welcome drop in the temperature.
I swear that the storms here arrive and exit faster than their counterparts in New York. Maybe it has something to do with low-lying storm clouds funneling through the mountains?
Yeah, I like Hardee’s, what of it?
I’m serious. Look at the picture below. This is from a pothole that was fixed yesterday.
If it were any hotter out here, it would be King’s Landing.
Remember, guys. Replenish your electrolytes by drinking lots of Mercury Retrograde.
Or maybe they’re just being polite.
Which is probably more plausible.
Remember that guy I told you about who eats nine eggs at one sitting? I started calling him The Oviraptor, and that totally caught on. I’m a trend setter here.
Houghton Mifflin Company. I believe Burroughs is the artist.
I swear I’ve got these guys in my neighborhood. Tuesday marked the third sighting for me. Either what I am seeing are mink or another species that resemble them. They’re a bit bigger than this picture would suggest — bigger than weasels, anyway.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 