I see you!

I am hard pressed to pass up a shot of a jumping spider - those big button eyes just make me laugh.  Ironically, I used to be bat-shit terrified of spiders but over the last however many years I have faced the demon and found him to be utterly fascinating. Of all the spiders, jumpers are my favorite and they were the first spider with whom I formed a tentative truce.  They are mostly very small which helps.  This one was maybe 1/3 of an inch in diameter and lived up to its name by being very bold and trying to stare me down on the outdoor deck table this afternoon.  She didn't back down even when I got the "big eye" and pointed it right at her.

In case you are wondering, those green things are not fangs - they are pedipalps, or palps for short.  Here is what Wiki has to say about them:
Pedipalps contain sensitive chemical detectors and function as taste and smell organs, supplementing those on the legs. In sexually mature male spiders, the final segment of the pedipalp, the tarsus, develops a complicated structure (sometimes called the palpal bulb or palpal organ) that is used to transfer sperm to the female seminal receptacles during mating. The details of this structure vary considerably between different groups of spiders and are useful for identifying species

I met up with one of my nature group friends this morning and we spent 2 1/2 hours wandering in fields and forest, listening for birds, looking at plants and insects and just enjoying each other's company.  She is very knowledgeable about plants so I always learn something when I'm with her - she's also great at identifying bird songs.  We both wore masks and mostly stayed six feet apart. 

I've been feeling a little mentally fragile lately - depression trying to creep in.  I am having a physical this Wednesday and will talk to my doc about it, but I think the solution is to get out and walk more and to arrange for safe meet-ups like today.  

Meanwhile, NYC started its slow reopening process today.  Even though it has been many years since I lived in "the City", I still feel very connected to it and so very proud of what NYers have accomplished in the last 100 days.  NY state performed a record 77,000 tests on one day over the weekend - and their R0 rate remains below 1%.  This is all good news.  New Jersey is mostly on the same track but with higher hospitalizations still.  One slow step at a time.

Be safe.  Be kind.  Be loving.

xo
Debbi