Dougal and I were allowed to join the Wednesday walk if we promised to keep up and not make dassie-hunting detours over the cliff or mouse-hunting diversions into the fynbos. We walked up from Price Drive to the beacon at Vlakkenberg. Here is Doog on top. As you can see - it was quite hot. 
The bright Red Crassula (Crassula coccinnea - coccineus means bright red in Latin and crassus means thick and fleshy) is starting to flower on the mountain and there were lots of Table Mountain Pride butterflies fluttering around. Time to look for Red Disas ...
This is another crassula, a more pale and interesting one, called Crassula flava. (And while we have the book open, flavus means yellow in Latin. ) 
Dougal just couldn't resist one foray into the fynbos after his imaginary mice. (Canis-Scotti idiotico?)
Coming down the mountain again, my tongue hanging out. It was hot for a Scot. (Canis-Scotti calidus perhaps?)
Amanda shows us the way down.
On the way down there were lots of pelargoniums with the posh name of Pelargonium pinnatum. (Pinnatum comes from the Latin word for feather but the leaves don't really look like a feather, but maybe its because they are arranged opposite each other on an axis. Or maybe the edges are feathery. Who knows! These taxonomists must have been rather odd bodds.)
These are the leaves of Pelargonium pinnatum. Feathery? Yes? No? Ya-nee.(And there are NO Latin words for Yes or No so we are the richer for this extraordinary privilege!)
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