Have you read Ellen Alperstein's wonderful piece on LA Observed about October and spiders in LA? It's right here, and it explains why, when I went to cut some rosemary last week, this is who I found in the garden:

Let's start with a long shot for the faint-of-heart:

Now that you're acclimated, how about a close-up?

She's as big as a quail egg and very polite. Waves one or two of those striped legs at me when the camera comes too close. Other than that, it's the bees collecting rosemary pollen who need to watch out.