Today was a good day.

The site my former student manages - well, I'm not going to NAME it, as it's one she says, "We'd kind of rather most people forget it's here" meaning that she doesn't want to see it killed with overuse. But it's a very interesting site, with seeps and springs and a tiny cave (which she told me she had gone into - there's some uncommon amphipod that lives there and she wanted to be sure it still existed. I kind of shuddered inwardly when she showed me the tiny fissure that you have to crawl into on your belly)

But for me, as always, the real highlights are the prairie plants. We saw some - like Artemesia ludoviciana that I really hadn't seen since my own days of running around limestone prairies as a grad student (and I'm proud that my ability to identify plants, even ones I've not seen in years, hasn't decayed much).

I also saw a couple new ones. The gorgeous golden prairie clover, and an Echinocereus cactus and Krameria or ratany, which is apparently the only genus in its family. (I had never even heard of that one before - I knew of both the prairie clover and the cactus, but the ratany was totally new to me.)

I didn't bring my camera - it's big and kind of heavy and I didn't know how much hiking we were going to do and I really dislike carrying extra gear with me on a warm, humid summer day if I can avoid it. I kind of wish I had had it now. (One thing I am going to look into, if I do in fact get one of those "economic stimulus" checks* and if it is actually large enough to spend on such a thing, I may look into getting another digital camera - a smaller, more portable one, and most definitely one that's good for doing plant close-ups. [suggestions of brands/models would be welcome in the comments. I'd hope to keep it under $350 if possible])

(*I haven't heard a thing. And I'm suspicious that because I am single, and because I make a comfortable living, I may not be eligible for one. Pooey.)