Indian warrior ~ 04/03/14 ~ Fort Ord

Indian warrior among host plant manzanita
Pedicularis densiflora among host plant Arctostaphylos spp.
Orobanchaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)

I generally tend not to hike towards the sound of chainsaws and weed wackers, but the main reason I wanted to get out to Fort Ord was to see the progress of a particularly prolific patch of Indian warriors.  I didn't get out last year, but I have some spectacular photos from April 1, 2012 and March 20, 2011.  Eh, there's an average showing here and there, but the spot, the exact spot I really wanted to check out in detail was being weed wacked by a team in bright orange.  I was informed by their supervisor to not take pictures of them.  Too late, because I had no clue. Now that I know, I won't post them online out of respect.  I'd like to think I'm colorblind and had a funny interaction with a fellow who asked if I was an environmentalist.  It wasn't until I looked at my photos that I noticed a disturbing pattern, which reminded me of a couple recent award-winning movies that I haven't seen.  It makes me sad, but it's not my story to tell.  These guys can't be too dangerous if they're being given weed wackers and chain saws.  Right?  At least they're being exposed to nature, a soothing salve for whatever troubles a person internally.  This reminds me of the Sustainability in Prisons Project I found while I was searching lomatium recently.  I plan on revisiting this spot again at the end of the month to see how things have progressed, given the drought and mid-season manzanita cutting.