Who? Me?
Amusingly enough, when we introduced ourselves they first didn't believe that I was me. After the funny accent episode, I suppose I
couldn't blame them. When the leader of the group, a very knowledgable naturalist, mused out loud, "What are the chances of meeting
Barry Rice out in the field?" I told him that they must be fairly high, because it happened to me all the time!
My encounter with the joys of global fame fading in the wind, we explored the site and discovered the
truly enormous Pinguicula ionantha you see above. It was a great finale to a fine three days in
the panhandle of Florida.
Actually, the sun was still in the sky, so Brian and I visited yet another
site, saw a few more plants and flowers, but I figure that I have long ago overtaxed your attention, so I will draw the curtain
here!
This trip had many surprises---who knew it would be dominated by Pinguicula? Of course,
while I had seen nearly everything I wanted to, the damned Utricularia floridana still eludes me!
By the way, I haven't yet heard from the car rental agency. I don't know if they're going to charge me a cleaning fee, but if they do I
know it's going to sting.
