Devil's club, by the way, while a tad frightening to look at, has medicinal properties, and has been used for a long, long time by folks native to the region.

KT--I grew up in the Puget Sound area, north of Seattle. We have very healthy crops of the stuff in the understory, and I've had to let more than a few of the spines fester before they finally worked their way out of my hide.

Bert, it looks like Micca had a good visit--and the kids look great! Such sweeties!

Kat, we have an Amtrak station here in Fort Worth. If you'd just send him on down the line, we could use the rain. Looks like Hurricane Dolly isn't coming anywhere near us. (And you can remind him that my daughter Moonglow was his secret Santee one year, so there is a good reason to visit!)

SRS