Tackling the Lion

Today we tackled the Lion again! It was windy and clouds were scudding across the poor lion's head, but it wasn't too wet - yet. But there were lots of interesting plants in the renosterveld (should that not be leonveld?)which is what make Lions Head quite special even though it wasn't sunny. Nola and Goose and Maverick came today which was great - and so did Sue and Pauline. (Paul and the Alpha are spending carbon credits in Europe and Alice is fetching a spaniel puppy for our human grandmother in Greyton).
This is Pelargonium elongatum. And quite an unusual plant called Medusa's Head (Euphorbia caput-medusae).
Come on come on stop looking at the flowers!!
Us low-slung dogs decided not to go up to the very top today as the Alpha Male is away again and the Food Lady can't help us both up the steep bits at the same time. Besides is was very windy and we may have been blown away. So we stopped for tea just under the lions head - or maybe it was under its ear. We had special dog peanut butter biscuits today, but not as delicious as the biscuits Sue gave me. Pauline and Goose doing some botanizing. Maybe they were looking at this little Buzz Ixia (Ixia scillaris) which has an unusual way of getting itself pollinated. Little bees come to its very bright anthers, sit on them and then make a high pitched buzzing sound which releases the pollen in a little cloud of dust which the bees gather up at high speed and buzz off. It was quite windy as you can see by my ears. Signal Hill in the distance. A lovely Chincherinchee (Ornithogalum thrysoides) with the cloud-enveloped Twelve Apostles in the distance.
On the way back we met a few other dogs and this manic puppy that made me feel old and staid!

We also met a most unusual big scottie-like dog - and wondered how it all could have happened as scotties are not very good at breeding at the best of times.
What a funny face! The Scottie from Hell! Look at me looking bemused by him.
I think they expect VERY tall dogs here!

The Food Lady drove us to Signal Hill and stopped to look at this Kramat where a very old and very holy man was buried in the Seventeenth Century - Sheikh Mohammed Hassen Ghaibie Shah. She went inside with some other people and spent a while chatting about Circles of Islam around Cape Town, holy zum zums (springs) and another holy man who is buried further down the hill who looked after stray animals. Another place to visit soon...
From the road to Signal Hill you look over the waterfront and the Cape Town Stadium at Green Point and all the way up the West Coast. But is was getting windier and wetter and we had to get backto see how the poor sad Dawn dog was doing. (She was fine although her bed had blown all over the back yard and she refuses to use the comfier ones the Food Lady tried to get her to use.)