I grew up in a very safe town in central New York State. About the only danger we had was getting a blizzard that would dump 3 feet of snow and have 50 mph winds along with it (I experienced that a couple times). I never experienced those really dangerous things that are in everbody’s top ten of dangerous things, such as tornadoes, and major earthquakes. I never saw a rattlesnake, or a scorpion, or a black widow spider except in picture books and museums . . . until yesterday. Ultimately it’s not very exciting I guess, but imagine my shock to see the little guy gal in the picture above while cleaning out my garage. Immediately my heart began to race, and I instinctively went to grab my digital camera. The white styrofoam may not have been the ideal background, but I got a passable shot of the distinctive red hour-glass on the belly of the beast. There are other spiders that resemble black widows, and I have seen them and wondered whether I had seen my first. However, after this encounter there can be no doubt.