An Argiope genus spider. There was some iNaturalist/bugguide.net debate about the specific identity of this beauty, seen this past weekend on the NY/CT border at the home of friends. 
There were a lot of spiders, and much else. In fact, the family is cataloging lifeforms around the property (1,200+ observations on iNaturalist; hundreds of species), which is blessed with meadow, pond, and woods in short compass. 
You know what else is great: the kids are in on the safaris. The six-year-old is already a marvelous natural historian, the twin two-year-olds are coming up fast. A couple of neighborhood children joined us as well on Saturday. 
Readers probably are aware of the thesis of Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods. “Nature-deficit disorder” and “leave no child inside,” and don’t forget the meadows! Sure, sometimes it bites (see yesterday), but can there be any doubt that a million years of evolution and childhood development has some precedent over a couple of decades of digitally influenced brain formation?
Fingernail for scale here. I’ve never seen such enormous spider egg cases.
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This work by Matthew Wills is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Backyard and Beyond 
Thank you for this beautiful post!
I grew up across from woods with a little brook and fields beyond that. My friends and I spent most of our free time there, in all kinds of weather as kids were told to go out and get some fresh air. Learned all about flowers and wildlife. And understood early on the value of having a back-up pair of sneakers for falling into the brook. I am so glad I grew up like that.
Lizards, lemon trees, and lots of sunshine here. Admittedly, we were more interested in the unripened apricots because they made such good missiles, just right for our ten-year-old hands! Also, the wiggly red larvae of something that poured out of the bathtub tap!
Nature-deficit disorder” and “leave no child inside,” , May I steal this? I’ll quote you!
Great saying!
Those quotes are from Louv’s book.