She was on our deck near her babies who had just emerged (see lower left of long shot). She "posed" for me while I took the macro pictures of her face. I think she was standing her ground to protect her babies. To take the macro shot I had the lens resting between her two front legs. If the two little bumps behind the other eyes are eyes too, I count 12 of them! I see her type all the time around my shed, I would like to know what type they are.

We don't kill spiders on purpose so we have quite a variety around our suburban property which is about half woods. We let the ones that get in the house stay if they are in a spot we don't mind sharing (garage, basement). I am amazed at the number of bugs those spiders catch. Who knew that there were enough bugs around the house for them to make a living. We catch and release those that are in places inside the house we don't want them to be. When I release them in the woods I wonder if that specific spider has lived it's whole life inside.