itsy-bitsy spider -- not

My garden is home to more than a few living things I have never before seen.  I have shared a few with you over the past few years.

Each of them has fascinated me. If it slithers, squirms, or springs, I am enthralled.

Yesterday I was digging through a plastic bag hunting for some ant poison -- violating the first rule of the tropics.  Never put an extremity into a dark place without first checking what may be lurking there.

When I pulled out the poison container, I also managed to retrieve this spider.  And she was not happy that I had disturbed her. 

Unlike most spiders, who will skedaddle as fast as they can to avoid becoming a damp spot on the pavement, this gal kept coming at me.  I would move to the other side of her, and she would dart at me.

The fact that she was the width of my hand earned her a bit of my respect.  Fortunately, my camera was at hand to record her details.

I do not know much about spiders.  But some of you do.  Not too long ago you helped me identify the hermit crab spiders that hang out in my garden (calling commissioner gordon).  With a reprise from Miami in accustomed to her face.

Would anyone like to take a crack at identifying this beauty?  Unfortunately, I have no web to give you an additional clue.  But like Holmes's dog that did not bark, that may also be a clue.

If it is, my visitor could easily have been one of the huntsman spiders.  Her size, aggressive behavior, and the lack of web send me down that path.  Plus several photographs on the web are similar.

But I will gladly defer to the greater wisdom of those of you who read this journal.

The polls are open.

But, first, let me share one additional treat with you.

This walking stick is not from my garden.  It was on Babs's gate -- keeping company with her plague of grasshoppers.

But it was too interesting to keep to myself.

Now, vote.