Spider alert!

There is a yard in our neighborhood that I admire very much. It is neat as a pin, with a plush green lawn, a crisp-edged flower bed full of impatiens and hosta, all perfectly maintained.
But do they have THIS?
My yard, honestly, looks just short of hell. Because every time I go to cut some grasses or weeds, I find incredible bugs in them. The plants in the pots and borders are way too big and scraggly, but we get this scary baby because of that.
When my husband saw this spider, he said that it would be our only subject of conversation for a week.

Here's a scale photo for size. Those are some cherry tomatoes. (A variety called Lil' Bites. Nice compact plant and easy to grow, but with a flavor so boring I am actually leaving them on the plant.)
The point of this post is 1) to show you all a cool spider and 2) to remind myself that my goal is to create a yard full of plants that look good without being cut down. Then I can face the neighborhood unapologetically AND have my big spiders.