The volcano in our backyard

OK, maybe not just in our backyard. More like three-and-a-half hours away. Anywho, the Times notes today -- or tomorrow, depending on how much geeky time you spend on the 'net -- what those of us with occasional views of Mount St. Helens have known for a while -- she ain't quite quiet.

Being the weather geek that I am (I don't have the names of those nine hurricanes I covered tattooed anywhere, but that's mostly because I'm needles make me queasy), I get a little thrill everytime the clouds part long enough to catch a glimpse of the volcano here in lovely PDX. One of the best parks in town, Mount Tabor, is actually the remains of a long-dead volcano. And Mount Hood, to which I promise to take any and all out-of-town visitors who are up for a day trip, has the potential to blow. You know, someday. Decades and decades from now. Not that I'm hoping it happens anytime soon. We don't have a tarp for the car, after all.