Marbled Orbweaver

You learn something new every day. This morning, when I opened the back door to let the dog out, I was startled to come face to face with this rather flashy fellow. I have been kicking around this planet now for 58 years, and until today I had never known such an astonishing looking creature existed! Its fancy Latin name is Araneus marmoreus , and according to the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Entomology web site, they are not particularly rare or unusual, which makes me even more surprised that until today I had never seen one!