We have plenty of red wing black birds here in summer, but they are so wary that they do not bother people. Its the opposite; Its hard to get close enough to get a shot, and when you are close enough, they contrive to keep something between you and them. However, they do not nest in town. Our town has plenty of wet lands outside its perimeter and that is where the red wings are. They love our cat-tail swamps. At this time of the year, other types of black birds are forming huge flocks in preparation for migration. By mid-October, our black birds will be gone.

Almost stepped on this guy as I was doing yard work this morning. I let out quite a scream.

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.