Rain

The big scary spider (Neoscona crucifera) seen earlier in this previous post is today hunkered in the sparse protection of a dried up Cestrum newellii stem.  Because it's raining and there's no point in building the web, no warm sunshine to bask in while waiting for a passing bee, no bees (or flies for that matter) out anyway in the more or less continuous drip of the day.

I like the rain but I have a roof that only has one teensy leak; I also have a big pile of firewood, a gas heater, lots of blankets and warm soup to sip.

Meanwhile an old lawn mower collects drips

and an old wind chime catches a sunbeam during a break in the rain.  How does the spider's exoskeleton measure up to the iron indifference of these objects to the cold and wet?