Maltese falcons, Californian coots

California! Dizziness has abated, as it does on trips. The weather's beautiful. We walked by the ocean and saw a frog, the inside of a computer, and someone hunting for buried treasure using a metal detector. The sky is blue and at night you can see the stars. The sky also sometimes has a thin brown line of smog, like some atmospheric skidmark.

We brought these books with us:
1. Sam Lipsyte, Home Land
2. Frederick Prokosch, The Asiatics
3. Michelle de Kretser, The Hamilton Case
4. Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon

and we might read this one: 5. Ryu Murakami, Coin Locker Babies.

Yesterday we spotted a roadside eatery, Dizz's As Is.

Sitting on the patio yesterday, I was startled by a hummingbird. It moved like an insect. By a manmade lake I saw dozens of coots--black, hensized, with white beaks and odd, aspidistra-looking feet. Some of them have beads on their foreheads--a vestigial "third eye"/pituitary gland? Does it indicate a gender?

Mysterious stuff, Dizzyheads.