I need an excuse to post something but nothing particularly interesting happened
in the past week, though I can share a few more pictures.

Last Sunday I drove down the road to Ed Levin County Park, which is one of
the top hang-gliding sites in the Bay Area. Some mornings I’m going into work
and I see pickup trucks with long narrow bundles bound to their roof racks heading
up to the park — they’re going gliding. I think: wow, how visual is the sight
of a lone pilot floating on the breeze? A photo op for sure. One problem: The
fliers are too far away to get really good images. These are the best I came
up with.

This guy was flying right over my head on his way in for a landing. He’s shouting
a greeting to his buddies down below, one of those things that can happen because
these manmade birds have no motors.

Here’s the guy’s flying partner getting ready to park his glider.

A close-up of his glider. They can cost up to $3,000, he told me. Lessons can
cost another grand. They won’t let you fly at this park without certification
from the U.S. Hang-Gliding Association, which trains people to fly gliders.
Makes sense to take their lessons, because the real experts on soaring — hawks,
eagles, buzzards, etc. — aren’t sharing their trade secrets. I mean, sure,
you could hire a falcon to teach you to fly; just hide the hamsters when he
comes to collect the bill.

OK, next up are pictures I took on my morning walk the other day. Our hill’s
been fogged in every morning, which creates some interesting scenes as the sun
burns off the mist.

This is right outside the front gate. Looked up, thought, "cool,"
took a picture. I like the easy ones.

One of our neighbors is a peacock. If you ever visit this neighborhood and
wonder who’s whipping their child to within an inch of his life, don’t worry:
it’s just this one (or maybe a pal) wailing at the top of his lungs. Looks like this one’s tail
feathers have been trimmed, but even so, a peacock is a wonder to behold. We
just wish they’d quiet down a bit.

Saw these deer in front of this old wrecked house on a nearby hill. I see deer
every morning, so it hardly seems newsworthy anymore. But they are pretty doggone
cute.

Another for my Cool Trees of California file. It’s all uphill to the house
from here, which means I’m a sweaty mess by the time I get home.