Smashed Squirrels

When I wake up in the morning I watch the sun come up on the neighborhood trees. Before the Big Wind I would watch the neighborhood squirrels darting from their home in that palm tree, along the electric and telephone wires to the huge pine tree in front of my apartment. Sometimes I would watch the crows or the green parrots on the same wires. No more. Where are they? Adrian noticed this too. The squirrels didn't just entertain me in the morning, they were always scarpering about. No more. We decided that the big wind picked them all up and blew them. . . where? Is there a block wall with animal and bird bodies smashed into it? Or are our birds now in Temecula? If you see them, let them know I miss them.
Pie perfection. In his eternal quest to increase diabetes in the San Gabriel Valley, Adrian has now perfected the lemon meringue pie. He is working through the fruits of the season, despite Emily asking for peach whenever anything else shows up. Summer, Emily. For now, lemon.
Natalie posted this great picture on her blog. Love this family.

Reading continues. This week I've juxtaposed The Drop, Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch mystery, with BossyPants by Tina Fey. Both good. Fey's book seems to me like it would be more pleasing for women than men. I recounted some of the passages that made me think so to Adrian. He agrees. She reads the book so it has her wry tone. I like that. And I've found a great new to me podcast - Best of the Left. Always interesting. One thing it has underscored for me is that folks on the left are not the final aribters on truth. We miss it sometimes ourselves.

I've signed up for two new PALAC groups that will start in January. One is about ginseng collecting along the China and North Korean border. The other is based on Montaigne's essays. Should be fun.