I was wandering around my yard on this day and encountered a trap set for me on the right side of my house.

According to my neighborhood website, this is a female Joro spider.

This gal was quite large and looked to be around 2-3 inches in length. She also spun a very large and impressive web. From what I read, they do bite, but aren't considered a threat to people.

The Joro spider is found in parts of east Asia and is not native to the US. According to a scientific paper published in 2015, discovery of Joro spiders in nearby Barrow, Jackson, and Madison counties in northeast Georgia in late 2014 were the first confirmations of them in North America. Since then, they've settled in nicely and made themselves at home in my yard.

From Wikipedia: "Jorōgumo is a legendary creature in Japanese folklore. A Jorōgumo is a spider that can change its appearance into that of a beautiful woman. She seeks men to seduce, whom she then binds in her silk and devours." Sounds like I should probably avoid this side of the yard for a while.

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.