Warning: there are up-close pictures of spiders in this post.

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I had no idea that autumn here meant encountering unnervingly large spiders that would stretch their webs all the way across my porch. They also have a propensity for building webs across trails at head-height, and get big enough to make an audible “thump” on the forest floor when I take down the web with a stick. But, their size has an advantage: I can actually see and photograph the neat patterns on their abdomens. Below are a couple of my favorites!