Big Spider Coming! And lots of pictures...

One of JT's favorite "stories" at the minute involves spiders. It goes like this:
"Watch out! Big spider coming! Careful!" And then it might involve some rain coming down and a spider going up the spout. Today, instead of a witty, inshighful post, I bring you some nature photos and just random shots.

First up is a spider we observed in our yard - it has been living in our orange tree for several weeks. I usually check on it once in a while, and JT and I just happened to be there when a bee flew into the nest, the spider emerged from the leaves, wrapped the bee up, and carried it back under the leaves. If you look closely you can see the bee dangling below the spider.
Moving on to other objects of nature... JT told me there was a "big bug" on the window (the shadow showed on the roman blind) and sure enough, there was a giant grasshopper hanging on to the outside of the dining room window. So that's what has been eating the leaves of our trumpet-flower tree! (And kohlrabi leaves, and basil leaves, and ...)
Back inside, JT and his dad spent Friday evening playing with trains. The trains have now migrated to the living room, around the Christmas tree, and all over the rug. So, either we can have no presents, or the layout will have to shrink. And on to today... We had shirred eggs for breakfast. Some cream and butter in a ramekin, crack in some eggs, add some Basque shephard's cheese (any cheese is probably good) and rosemary and a little butter on top. Bake about 12 minutes (until whites are set). I baked them a bit to long, so they were a bit rubbery, but quite yummy. In the afternoon we went to the beach to check out the large surf (supposedly up to 12 feet), which seems to occur each year around this time.