I encountered this odd looking creature in something like a cocoon hanging onto what looked like a big white egg.  Turns out she is a Wolf spider and that is her egg sac.  She stayed in the same spot for more than two weeks and ten moved about 4 feet away to a more exposed location.  After staying there for two days she split. You can imagine my surprise when I went out one morning to water the tomatoes and found that she was no longer in residence.