Maybe it's time to wash the windows again

Is it me being more slovenly than usual or are the spiders more dedicated in their web building endeavors this year? It seems that every time I remove one web (usually by walking through it) another two or three spring up in its place. On the one hand I am itching to get the Windex out, on the other I'm enchanted by the size of the web... and Halloween is nearly upon us...

O!

Huge circular spider webs suspended high in the fir trees

and low down in the shady grove.

Disorderly Webs

I've gotten used to the thick, white cobwebs that form lacy patterns under the windows on the exterior of The Cool House. They appear sometime in late July or early August and are a pretty gingerbread decoration for the rest of the summer. Then winter comes, they are gone and I forget all about them. I've never seen the spider responsible; the ones I usually see spin straightforward Charlotte's Web-type gossamer circles.
This morning I was shocked to find this spider INSIDE the house; it had a plume of white billowing behind it, a horizontal will-o'-the-wisp that I could clearly see. It reminded me of the vapor trail of an aircraft against a cloudless blue sky - except the pristine sky had been replaced by a slightly grubby baseboard.
Now, normally I would just pick this baby up and put it outside where it belongs but a cursory googling of spiders in New York has led me to believe that this might be a Brown Recluse Spider. They are known for building shelters from "disorderly threads" and being a tad poisonous. Let me quote from Wikipedia:
A minority of brown recluse spider bites form a necrotizing ulcer that destroys soft tissue and may take months to heal, leaving deep scars. The damaged tissue will become gangrenous and eventually slough away. The initial bite frequently cannot be felt and there may be no pain, but over time the wound may grow to as large as 25 cm (10 inches) in extreme cases. Bites usually become painful and itchy within 2 to 8 hours; pain and other local effects worsen 12 to 36 hours after the bite with the necrosis developing over the next few days.
Sounds delightful, doesn't it? So I'm respectfully keeping my distance until someone can assure me the spider is safe to handle... or until a knight arrives in a full suit of shining armour and disposes of it for me. Either. Or.

Beware Beauty

It was a few hours before the storm hit that the awesome designer called me over to see this handsome beauty hanging around the eaves


She had woven her web from overhang to overhang and trapped more than a few biting bugs in the process


Not far away another spider was patiently awaiting its prey. A reminder to us all to beware of beautiful, ruthless hunters - they have only their own interests at heart.