Plantlady,when we flew out of Seattle on the 22nd on the way to Spokane I saw Mt. Baker for the first time. My friends in Colville had a few in bloom. Jeanne I really liked and the other a huge yellow SC must have. The things you sent are doing well but must tell you Farmer John is the real workhorse here. It has been in bloom since June and is really going now with the cooler weather. Your seedlings are all must have's. Keep on keeping on. Steve S.

Hi, Kathy! What a good idea, to have everyone introduce themselves! It was so nice to meet you! Everyone at the garden club party last week commented on the wonderful concrete leaves you gave me! I live in Joplin, in the midst of an acre of woodsy garden, in a stone cottage that was built in the l950s. I am an artist, and I worked at a local garden center for many years. (Still do, part time, in fact.) After that, I owned Isadora's Wonderful Things bead store in Joplin before I retired 4 years ago. My husband, Jim and I have an extensive garden of perennials, trees and shrubs. Hostas are our current passion and we have some 500+ in our woodland garden. You can come and visit at my blog, below. And if you are in Joplin, please feel free to come by for a visit and a tour of the garden. We love to share it! Nice to meet you all! Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: Welcome to Chaos

The spring near Thayer is Greer, if I'm not mistaken. Very nice, I seem to also remember that it's the second largest spring in MO next to Big Spring near the Currant River. When I first went to Greer, we had to ask permission from an old lady who owned the land, or most of it. She was fine, and just told us to stay on the trail, don't get in the water, protect to delicate banks and plants. A nice hike down the hill led to a huge boil-up of water where a fast moving stream flowed, even in the parched August heat. Just a short walk upstream, another spring emerged from a nice cave. The second time I went there, the land had been bought by the state, the trail had been improved, and fencing had been built around the delicate areas. I understand why they would try to limit access to the fragile spring, but it kind of took away from the effect. Y'all are very lucky to live in an area with so many wonderful springs and caves.

Ride my bike, ride my bike, ride my bike.... got to really ride my mtn bike a lot the next two weeks to get my legs into better shape for my big climb in the Virgin River Gorge. Got to climb up 2,000 ft or more elevation through cactus. Can't wait! The riding should make the scramble much easier. I want to drop a few pounds, but the ladies at work are such great cooks! I keep getting cookies, baked treats, potluck lunches, birthday party dinners, I hate to say no. Everyone is so nice. Don't want to hurt feelings.... also, who wants to turn down this awesome food? mmmm..... So, I am on the Bill Clinton diet: Eat Eat Eat junk food, then run, workout, and hope for a middle of the road result. Hey, Jennmonkey, have a blast! Oh, for the snow? See if your BF would want to stop in to a sporting goods store and "RENT" some snowshoes for the trip? Call around- you may spend about 8 - 12 dollars to rent them. Ever snowshoed? it's something different for sure.