Hitchcockian Birds and Anchovia Abundance

Last Sunday afternoon, Paul and I decided to shake off our dispirited mood by revisiting Pleasure Point. Moments later we watched Hitchcockian birds re-playing before our eyes: the whole bay was populated with a great variety of birds, most of them are seagulls, perching on bluffs, standing on water, or flapping their white or grey wings on sudden impact. It turns out that there has been another return of anchovies feast recently.

As mysterious as Hitchcockian birds, those birds flew home and disappeared as soon as the darkness set in. On our way back, there was not a single bird in sight. Luckily, Paul caught a glimpse of feasting birds with his movies above.

When a Book Has Multiple Titles

As a selector and reader, I often feel flustered at the fact that a so-called new book turns out to be something so familiar that I seriously suspect either I have had a relapse of memory or writers are guilty of plagiarism. They are two recent instances, namely,

Karin Fossum's Eva's eye (2013 US edition) is the same as In the darkness (2012 UK edition)
Jussi Adler-Olsen's The keeper of lost causes (2011 US edition) is the same as Mercy (2011 UK edition).

The latter especially threw me into a mental torture like Merete Lynggaard, the kidnapped victim, for the last few weeks. Last night before going to bed I decided to end my misery once and for all: I had to confirm that The keeper of lost causes was Mercy. Thanks to Amazon, my confirmation was finally proved positive, and I rewarded myself with M.C. Beaton's Something borrowed, someone dead for a bed reading.

Don't Let Your Dogs Loose

Not the real K9 pair. Illustration only.

This morning around 7:30 am Highway 1 northbound was paralyzed from Soquel on. I looked around and everything seemed normal, CalTran workers were working steadily on the extra lane.

Suddenly all cars stood still and I had to brake hard. Looking ahead I saw two dogs sauntering towards us, one black and white, and the other, light-brown. They were apparently let loose, with collars and short leashes attached. The light-brown dog was standing ahead of my car, refused to leave until the smell of nearby roadkill attracted it. It soon joined its black and white companion.

Thus I escaped and congratulated myself for not harming two lost K9s. Far away the sirens from an ambulance and fire truck could be heard! Don't let your dogs loose, dog owners!

Never Too Late for Halloween in SC

Lee Anne sent her Halloween photos performed by her kids, with an apology attached that they arrived after the Halloween. We thanked her, but all laughed. Too late for Halloween? Go to Pacific Mall, and you will see Halloweeners all year around.

Photo: Courtesy of Lee Anne