If you like quaking grass, then I'll bet you'll love Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats). Beautiful dangly seed heads on this perennial grass - I wish it was hardy for me :( I have a stand of Phleum pratense (Timothy grass) that I'll often use in bouquets. It's a lowly pasture grass (perennial) but I like it for the narrow, stiff 3-4" soft green seed heads. Also excellent for dried use. It has the potential to become a nightmare in the garden if all the seedheads are not nipped off before the seed ripens. There's a new Panicum, P. elegans 'Frosted Explosion' that I'm looking forward to growing this year. This has minimum 84 days to bloom, so I'll be starting it in April/greenhouse plugs so that hopefully it will be useful for me beginning in July and into August. Here is a link that might be useful: frosted explosion

It may be Purple Needlegrass (Nasella pulchra), one of California's most common native bunchgrasses.

Jlc, you're stunning dear. Your hair is faboo… Like the others, it's not at all what I expected. I have seriously curly hair, and wear it just past my shoulders with very long layers. Any other cut would be treacherous on a humid day. I'm a bit older than you, and that style works for me. I have had too many bad haircuts to worry about if I'm too old for what works best. I color it because I don't feel old enough to be all grey. Maybe one day I'll move to a silver bob, but probably not for another decade or so… Ellendi and BBee3 mentioned Keratin. I tried about 5 different professional Keratin treatments, and there is a wide range of results. Some are poker straight, others hardly any difference. I like the one that just makes the curls "drop" a little, and still take a curling iron if I want more "boing." There are temporary 30 day treatments, others last about 6 months. The 30 day doesn't make a huge difference, but it will make blow drying time shorter. It's a nice entree into the keratin products, and maintains the flat iron even on rainy days. I remember when Laurie Partridge and Marsha Brady hair was the style. After one of the Keratin treatments where my hair wouldn't hold a curl, I was cured of wishing for that. I'm accustomed to big hair, and it's just not me in pin straight. You rock those curls Jlc! Here is another great Dove Campaign: Dove Curly Hair Campaign

The seed heads are commonly called foxtails, and the grasses are abundant in Southern California (Ed lists So. Cal by his name). Some species, to various degrees, are dangerous for dogs, especially during the time when they are brown and firm. They can burrow through a dog's skin and cause serious infections and abscesses, and eventually even death. They get stuck in ears (perforated eardrum), nose (down into the lungs), between the toes, etc., especially with long-haired dogs. They work their way through skin and sometimes even enter organs. Once the foxtail penetrates, it does not break down. Veterinary assistance is usually necessary if the problem is not caught quickly, or if the foxtail is in a location where it cannot be easily removed. That is what I mean by vet bills.