The plant is Eriogonum inflatum, as Cindy said (in comments). I didn't post her guess RIGHT away so other folks could look and guess, but she nailed it immediately. Nice work, Cindy! HONK HONK!
I just could NOT believe the colors it had while I was there. Joshua Tree NP version of fall colors. Wow!
Second, bonus photo quiz got many VERY interesting and amusing guesses (including community service!), but that photo means I have field work this week. Specifically, work that will be near a construction site, so I have to wear that vest so cars and/or giant beeping equipment backing up doesn't flatten me in a Warner-Brothers-cartoon-like fashion. Or in any other fashion....
It also signals to onlookers that I am authorized to be climbing over hill and dale--in this case to look for bird nests and/or western pond turtles.
The looks you get from passing cars if you're hiking all over near a busy road. Truckers and construction workers (who have also hiked all over in orange vests) seem most friendly re: Honk Honk as they pass by. They see anyone doing that (male, female, indeterminate) and they honk hello. Pretty cute, actually. =)
That's all for now.
Biobabbler, frankly, is still wiped out from the weekend.
Went to Bridge School Benefit Concert (one review) in Mountain View with friends (Bear was home, sick), and got rained on maybe 1/2 the time we were sitting in the grass seating area (cheap seats we live for). And it was a wee bit cold.
Amazing performers, and Pearl Jam was especially great. If you ever see Eddie Vedder live (with band or no) you will "get" why he's so successful.
I've seen a few people at these concerts who have this sort of magical quality that sends them up into some other plane of existence than the rest of the world. Sarah McLaughlin was like that, Chris Martin from Coldplay was, too. And EV is especially tight with Neil Young, and Neil and his wife Pegi put this whole concert (and the Bridge School!) together, so I expect it's particularly meaningful for EV to be there. When they introduced him, they called him the ultimate veteran of this concert series--he's a frequent flier, for sure.
I also have to say Elvis Costello's voice sounded really great. I wonder if it's due in part to the big, thick scarf he had wrapped all around his neck, so his vocal chords were nice and warm, thank you. Maybe his wife (Diana Krall) taught him that.
ANYhow, that night I did my yoga after the concert, from 1:59 a.m. to 2:25 a.m. I am a morning person, but not THAT end of morning, so I still have some sleeping to catch up on, I think. =)
However, the yoga did ensure I went to bed feeling amazing, which is sort of shocking after sitting for 7 hours in the cold/rain.
xobiobabbler
