dunes by day and by night

Yet another report from the dunes.
The cracked and apparently dry surface above is the bottom of a former large pool of rainwater, sort of temporary pond. We saw it containing some water just a few days ago; and it was a surprise to me to find all the water gone when we went that way on Saturday.
However, when I went down there, I found that the water didn't go very far yet, there was a layer of very slippery mud just under the surface, maybe two centimeters deep of so. Judging by the marks, I was not the first person to slip there; fortunately, I didn't fall, but my (almost) new walking shoes had to get their first wash afterwards.

We went into the dunes to check on the plants (but of course). The whole area is getting greener and greener, and although we haven't found anything as interesting as the "starry chives" yet, but I am hopeful. The tiny blue flower above I found by pure chance, when I was photographing something else. The color is beautiful, such a deep blue.

Calendula, apparently Calendula aegyptiaca. Plants are very small; first I noticed the seedheads and took them for buds, thinking they'll open into something exotic, but spotted the flowers later.

Salsolas are pretty hard plants to kill, and they were flowering even last year, when it was almost totally dry. But they are clearly liking it more when it is raining a bit

We went into the dunes hoping to get a few more pictures of star trails, but it was quite cloudy for that. So we started playing with Kirill's new torch, with can produce both constant and flashing light. I can't tell which one of us is waving the light around in that photo, but then, it's not that important