Ron, your parents don't look their ages at all! Guess you and your brother didn't give them a hard time growing up. ;-) These zinnias were supposed to be cream-colored, not the color of a school bus! Another GardenWeb member planted a packet of the seeds, from the same seed company, and got the same results. We wrote to complain, but were told, "We only discuss soybeans and corn." They were serious, but I thought it made a funny story.

This Forest Service worker gave a lengthy, colorful recounting of the events of that day, and really brought it to life. One of the things he noted is that a different volcanologist was scheduled to be observing the volcano, but he needed to attend a meeting at the university where was a grad student, so he arranged for a different volcanologist to man his post, for just one day -- May 18th. That other scientist wanted to see off a grad student of his that was returning to Germany on the morning of the 18th, so he arranged for yet another volcanologist, named David Johnston to cover the post that morning just until 10:00 A.M. Mr. Johnston reluctantly agreed, and the volcano blew at about 8:30. We lucked into beautiful weather when we visited: and hiked far enough that we could see Spirit Lake where Harry Truman (famed local curmudgeon who refused to evacuate) lived in a lakeside cabin Mount Adams is visible in the distance

She is gorgeous, isn't she? Belongs to a neighbor. She is kept indoors, but when she escapes it is our yard that is a favorite to visit.

Lo-o-o-o-o-oo-o-o-ve those Budweiser Clydesdales! ! They were here for several days a few years ago, in conjunction with an air show, the Blue Angels. Rusty