Cool photos, the spider you have is known as a crab spider or type Misumenoides formosipes. They are really cool and harmless, I move them around as necessary when working on my gardens. We have red headed woodpecker that eats from the bird feeders so its always fun to see them and the little finches.

Most definitely NOT a VFT. I think you've got some kind of herb (maybe pineapple sage???) Did you end up with little red flowers? I want to try my hand at growing VFTs as well and have been reading up on how to germinate and grow these fascinating plants. Here's a link I found very helpful about how to grow these guys. I just ordered some seeds on eBay, so we'll have to wait and see what comes up. BTW, you should be able to find photos of actual VFT seedlings online. They look just like mini VFT. Here is a link that might be useful: Venus Flytrap Info

some kind of beetle

Lisa, not sure about Flickers but I do believe that Red Bellied Woodpeckers will take nestlings. Donna