Mademoiselle Argiope (kind of rhymes with Calliope) has, over the course of the last few days, moved her web closer to the house each night. From under the soffit over the front walk to the inside corner next to the door, so that now when I open the security gate the web wobbles. The test will come tomorrow to see if she tries to locate inside the security gate or if she backs off some and settles in the mid-range next to the string of lights that turns on at dusk. Perhaps I should change the lighting pattern to a steady glow and she will move closer again. Do spiders get motion sickness from flickering lights? Clearly she's looking for the optimal spot, so experimentation and learning seems to be part of the process. (She builds a new web every night, after eating the old one.)

Kitchen items and 10 pounds of flour have left the porch, and though it will just look like an ordinary porch to someone who is never here, I suspect the postal carrier and the Amazon driver will notice it is clear of leaf litter and tracked dirt. The cooler with bottled water will head out for the hottest time of year soon. I used to have a porch swing out there but the sun was hard on it; I may move it back out for the rest of the summer and get a new tarp to cover it.

The next segment of den floor is scrubbed and drying, chairs arrayed around the spot. A drawback to this work is that it makes the house very humid.