Mountain Green, UT 8.12.12

My morning's walk in the arid foothills was brightened by the blooms of Showy Milkweed, Upright Prairie Coneflower , and Whitestem Globemallow.  This orange-flowered globemallow is found only in Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah.  The Western Grebe frequents a small pond nearby; its long neck and the way it dives to come up somewhere else reminded me of a loon at first.  It's hard to imagine that the herd of horses can find suitable nourishment among the dry sagebrush and other grasses.