Dan,

Ouch! LOL. That Bullsnake(? or is it a Great Basin Gopher??) does not really like you too much.
Great pics, especially of the Dipper & the spiders. BTW, that is a Widow, but not a classic Black Widow. However, I would not want to take a bite & find out how closely related the two spiders are. What was that one thing though? I cannot tell if its a fuzzy tick or some kind of bug/beetle.
Your macro skills still continue to grow & leave me in awe. I am having a fairly decent field season here in Texas, though I don't have a lot f pics as of yet. Still trying to get a shot of the (fully) green colored Eastern Yellowbelly Racers we have here. Saw oe today, naturally left the camera at home.
Thanks for sharing!

Sincerely,
Matthew