Rainy day

This is a shot of the plant we found yesterday on windsurfer hill at about the tree line that looks just Nonea obtusifolia but very tiny version and growing straight up from the ground on stalks rather than flush low, and leaves smaller and unspotted. Note also tiny pink buds.

Positively I.D.d by reader Ellie as Buglossoides tenuiflora , thanks Ellie:)

Flowers of a small purple vetch clambering over thorny burnet, grass or anything.

Growing close to the east valley watercourse. Hard to see if the white is blooms or invasion of some kind of scale insect or something. Tiny but obvious and all over the plant.

Much cooler today. Today's temp range: 4-8.5 degrees C, Time of walk ~ 5 p.m. ~ 8 degrees C, humidity ~90%, winds westerly ~ 15 kt. Raining on and off over the last 24 hours though no thunder heard. Rain so cold some sleet visible in it. All water channels in east valley flowing, which meant a good bit of jumping by look-out corner!

No hyrax or gazelle seen but feral dogs about. Birds quite active late afternoon. Swifts seen and heard over east gazelle field, flock of jackdaws over Hizmeh to the east, hooded crows foraging in a group on east gazelle field, chukar partridge heard. Greenfinches about in pines by valley road, warbler noticed foraging in a pine, from what I could make out, chiffchaff. Collared dove in pines by bunker but quiet today, house sparrows and laughing doves on the street. Blackbirds singing on and off all day in gardens and woods, graceful warblers and great tits active and vocal though latter not singing.

Blooming: more milk thistle, wild mustard, viper's bugloss, a few more corn poppies by lower east valley trail, magnificent red crepe texture but bobbing too much in the wind to photograph, tiny purple vetches,

This is rock from which we took the mystery yellow lichen pic yesterday. Spider taken by Moshe.

And now for something completely different: Any ideas what this might be?