Thanks NancyJane, Every Spring my Grannie would organize our annual trip up the Grapevine to see the wildflowers. (That used to be a very scary road to drive, too.) I bet my Aunt has thousands of slides from all those trips up to see the wildflowers. Rainbows of color growing on the slopes! The other annual event was to see the Butterfly migrations - millions of butterflies crossing the highways and byways in low-hanging clouds or white, yellow, and blue, and quite literally, stopping all traffic. You had to stop and wait for them to go bye. What a wonderful phenomena - unbelievably beautiful and so amazing to witness. ~Annie

"I once read it was more similar to J. virginiana than J. scopulorum" That's the claim made for its genetics in the paper by R P Adams where it was first described; however there may be some uncertainty about this, due to incomplete sampling. Morphologically - foliage, cones - it is indistinguishable from J. scopulorum; see J. Duemmel (2009), That New Juniper Species, Douglasia Summer 2009: 10-13. This leaves just the phenology (shorter cone maturation) and climatic adaptation, which are good for making a subspecies. Duemmel also points out that there are juniper populations in the northeast Olympic Peninsula on Three O'clock Ridge at over 900m altitude and at Deer Park at about 1500m altitude, so the habitat separation from typical J. scopulorum is less marked than Adams suggested at first. Resin

If the glass is 18 years old, the warranties of that era were generally 5-10 years. Currently seal technologies are longer-lasting than those of the short past, and thus offer the longer warranty of 20 years (the best insulated glass warranties are non-prorated at 20 years). Modern insulated glass (IG) units typically contain two sealing components in butyl and silicone. One is a water/moisture proof membrane and the other is the structural component. Old technology utilized aluminum spacer bars, whereas new technology offers stainless steel spacers due to steel being far less conductive than aluminum (thus steel doesn't transfer the outside temperatures to indoors as much). When the butyl membrane or silicone has become compromised, it allows a break in the "seal". This break allows moisture to infiltrated the hermetically sealed "gas" chamber between the two panes of glass. The common result is viewed as a fog between the glass. If the IG contains soft-coated low emmissivity technology (current tech), the inside glass surface will develop unsightly black spots over a short period of time. In contrast, old technology hard coat low-e products were not adversely affected by moisture, but also did not provide as much energy efficient, and asthetic benefits as the new soft coat products. Technically, IG manufacturers test their seals and provide a half-life for the warranties. If a consumer is lucky, a modern IG unit may endure a maximum life of 40 years. It is then more practical to purchase a window that could potentially last 100+ years, as the whole window does not need to be replaced after the glass seal has failed. 100 year life windows are readily available, but they certainly aren't made of plastic/vinyl. Just like anything else, one gets what they pay for in life. Windows are considered a permanent fixture in my construction business, just like the concrete foundation, electrical wiring, framing studs and plumbing. These items should never have to be replaced. Sure, at some point in time, the plumbing may need new washers, the wiring may need a new switch, and the windows may need new glass, but the costs to completely replace these fixtures is so high that it pays to buy the best products during the initial construction. Remember, even the best made products need new replacement components over time, just like that Swiss watch in need of a new band or batteries. The important factor is that you don't need to buy a whole new watch.

Lovely! Thanks, Alisande! Driving at night in a tule fog is death-defying. Sometimes you can't hardly see the end of your hood. [::shudder::] We don't get much fog at all where I currently live, and I can't say I miss it. Maddie, you reminded me of a day when I was with a friend on a high road outside of Martinez, where it was bright, clear skies and singed hillsides (must have been September-ish). From the top of the hill or transition road or whatever it was, we could see all the way to the bay and SF. There was this black smudge out thataway, and I thought it was a huge fire. She laughed and said it was San Francisco. I said I knew it was but I was talking about the black smoke. She informed me that that was the fog. I was floored. Clear all around for miles and miles in all directions and that black cloud blanketing the city.