Gumbo is staying outdoors for another week’s puzzle. Gumbo like it outdoors; you can tell by the number of blogs here that feature gardens and parks and hikes and streetscapes. Sometimes the tropics, sometimes a desert, this time…where?
The official question is Where in the World is TravelGumbo, but it’s often helpful to figure out what he’s seeing…that’s a hint, but I’m not giving you a clue!
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So, exactly what is Gumbo looking at, and where is Gumbo today? Please be as specific as possible.
I’ve seen a much smaller version of this plant in Australia but can’t recall right now where it was. Are we in Australia (then I might have to go search my photos for the small version of the plant)?
Would a fuller picture help? If not, more clues tomorrow…
Today’s clue is this scene, only a few feet away from our Yucca Rostrata…does it give you a fresh idea of where Gumbo was lurking?
We’ve got plants that don’t seem to belong together. This would make me favor this as not being a natural environment, but rather an artifical one like an arboreteum. But I have no idea where it is and can’t recognize any clues in the photos to help me pin it down
FINAL CLUE BEFORE TOMORROW’S REVEAL…
DrFumblefinger took a correct leap—don’t look for the native habitat, look for a collection of plants and trees.
Now you get your last clue, and it’s a picture (no thousand word essays here!)
Does the vegetation vary by season, or is it always this brown?
We’re in the southwestern deserts of the USA somewhere….but they’re vast.
Keeping The Puzzler busy today, you are!
Clarification: Draw no conclusions from the background in the double picture above. The double picture is not of the same location as the puzzle picture; it was just clipped to illustrate seasonal differences for the yucca (yes, it is one, a specific variety).
Sorry! The Puzzler’s Clue Quota for today has been reached. As the Magic 8-Ball used to say…Try Again Later!
A new day, a new clue…
Although yucca has reached the Antipodes as an emigrant, it is not native to there. Yucca is native mainly to the Americas, and this one to a fairly small part of that.
But be aware that clues, however accurate, can be misleading!
From Wikipedia…
dead bamboo -> no, doesn’t help. So are we in Asia then? But the Yucca does not belong to Asia. I give up.
Today’s hint: So far, we’re talking native habitat. Does the rest of the picture suggest somewhere else?
That type of plant grows in places with regular bush fires, right?
Brush fires are common in its native habitat; one of its characteristics is that it’s fire-resistant. It’s also resistant to deer (or anything else that doesn’t want to get cut on sharp edges!)
Varies by season. Here’s one in a greener season, and in bloom.
The plant in question is a yucca, I believe, and grows, as DrF says, all over the SW US, including the Sonora Desert that extends into Northern Mexico. But the one in the background of the flower is, if I’m not mistaken, a Joshua Tree and that may narrow down the location, maybe in the Mojave Desert. Or maybe not. Having lived for decades in the Sonora Desert near Mexico, brush fires are uncommon so maybe that fact alone, mentioned by The Puzzler, will help pin it down.
“Does the rest of the picture suggest somewhere else?” Sorry, Sr. Puzzler, in a word, no. At least for me, with 3 of the 4 clues where Gumbo isn’t, and the one that is, mostly a bunch of weeds. I’ll be truly impressed by those who come up with the actual location.
Not a tropical place. Trees mostly seem barren and folks mostly are dressed warmly.