This morning I got a better photo including a freshly constructed web. And, I looked this lady up and found some of the info interesting. So, I figured I’d share it.
A spider of many names, including:
Argiope aurantia, yellow garden spider, zipper spider, zigzag spider.
Based on the large size, this one's a female.
The “zipper” and “zigzag” names relate to the extra thick zigzag line of webbing just below the spider.
The web of the yellow garden spider is distinctive: a circular shape up to 2 feet (60 cm) in diameter, with a dense zigzag of silk, known as a stabilimentum, in the center. The purpose of the stabilimentum is disputed. It is possible that it acts as camouflage for the spider lurking in the web's center, but it may also attract insect prey, or even warn
birds of the presence of the otherwise difficult-to-see web. Only those
spiders that are active during the day construct stabilimenta in their webs.