Wha dat?
We were not the only group of people on the trail. From time to time hikers would come by, and often they would ask us what we
were photographing. By cobbling together phrases in English, Spanish, Klingon, or Fortran, we would usually be able to
communicate.
While I was photographing and filming plants, Beth was working endlessly to photograph a few hyperactive little tweeting wagtails.
You can hear them chirping in the background of much of the video on the previous page. From time to time she would become an
interpretive natural history docent for the canyon. Apparently, her birds were more interesting than the plants.
I did find one small group of Germans entertaining. It was led by a rather forceful lady who told me the
Pinguicula plants were "a type of violet." I respectfully corrected her, and even gave her
the plant's Latin name. She stood her ground, and said that her friend, who knows many flowers,
told her they were violets.
What do I
say? Do I grab her by the throat and shake the stupid out of her, all the while shrieking,
"LOOK! I'VE WRITTEN COUNTLESS PAPERS AND TWO BOOKS ABOUT CARNIVOROUS PLANTS! I'VE HAD A
HUGE WEB SITE SINCE THE WEB WAS A BABY! I EDITED A JOURNAL FOR A DECADE! I KNOW, I REALLY KNOW, WHAT THESE DAMNED PLANTS ARE!"
And then...(pant...pant...)...and then toss her body over the wooden railing so she crumples onto
the rocks below, much to the shock of her friends?!?
Nah. I have found this does not work. So I just shrugged my shoulders and took some more photographs.
