Well we had our first rain since, well I don't even remember the last time it rained. Oh yes, looking at my records I see F recorded rainfall on June 24th (0.3 inches?, we were out of state so didn't get to see it). Before that it last rained on April 4th (.55 inches). Anyway, we had quite a downpour on Saturday, getting 1.25 inches of rain in just a few hours. But luckily the rain stopped in the afternoon and we were able to head out for our usual bike ride. The weather was really nice, sunny, breezy, and in the 60's.
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| Pretty sure this is Hogna carolineanis wolf spider |
On the way up the hill I had to stop because I saw an enormous spider in the road. I thought at first it was a drowned tarantula, but a closer look convinced me it wasn't. And its back was all bumpy, were those it's babies? When Ted caught up to me I commandeered the camera for a picture. Ted said he had seen one race across the road on his way up. He kept warning me that they was really fast, but this beauty didn't move at all while I took her picture. I debated putting my bike glove next to it for scale, but in the end I didn't. This spider must have been almost 4 inches long including the legs. Ted ended up prodding it off the road.
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| There were several active thunderstorms visible from the top of the hill. |
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| Ted enjoys the cloud show |
On Friday we ended up driving across the Bay Bridge on our way to the Peninsula. I hadn't been over the new span of the Bay Bridge, so I was happy to get a chance to see it for myself. It will be more striking I think when the old span is removed. In the meantime, it is very attractive, with nice clean lines. The sides are low enough that you can enjoy the view out over the water.
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| Driving over the new section of the Bay Bridge... |
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| ...And on to the beautiful old suspension section. |
