Congratulations Paul!!!
This must be the time to see all the large garden spiders, I almost misst this one he blended in so well on the dried up plant. I took many images of this spider trying to get the head and eyes in focus. Hand held is tough but I got one keeper. I have other images clearly showing the cross but none were as sharp as this one...spider almost looks like its smiling. Thanks for looking.
D70
Nikon 105
f11
125
handheld no VR
iso - 640
spot metering