Would you not believe the NYT? Tsk.

Late on an uncomfortably hot Sunday afternoon after spending way too much time at IKEA once again, it was time to seek out Cho’s in Palo Alto. The only other dinner option was leftovers, which I didn’t want to face. Something about the stale, vaguely cinnamon-infused, overused air amongst the endless sofas and tables put me off food in general and teeming masses in particular.

But what was this? Outside Cho’s humble establishment were some bowls filled with persimmons and pears. Rock hard and with price tags of $1.00 at each bowl. We placed our order for potstickers and egg rolls. Then I noticed the big cardboard box of fruit with a pair of pruning shears alongside. I picked out a few pears, and Cho sprang to life.

If you’ve been to his place, you know that Cho is seldom rattled. He presents the same bland, noncommittal face to everyone, whether you order 600 pork buns or his version of a value meal, he’s Cho in the perennially stained paper cap.

But he got animated, bringing out a plastic bag for the pears. I asked how much, being more familiar with exorbitant rates at local farmer’s markets. A dollar for the pears. His wife appeared, and said they were picked just that morning. I got some persimmons too. It’s all about the fresh leaves attached.

Some images from finalists in the 4th Annual Photo Contest.

The next time you find yourself in a vacuum chamber, and you just happen to have some scotch tape with a dispenser, what interesting fun you’ll have.

It’s not quite last-minute time for costumes yet, but you might consider a delicious look this year. Bacon bandages, what a concept.

It was the third appearance of the pot of rib stew, which tends to get better each day.

The young man cast opposite Joan Plowright reminded us of several other actors - Orlando Bloom, Olivier Martinez, Raoul Bova. But he is Rupert Friend, who was one of the actors considered for the James Bond role in Casino Royale.

Some critics will quibble that the movie should have been truer to the book in its setting of a 50s London, as opposed to the modern. There are still plenty of somewhat run-down hotels in many cities, and young people are constantly discovering old films to love, although Brief Encounter might not be tops on the list.

Recent events have made me wonder how a hawk would go about a rodent meal. Now I know. This video utilizes remarkable microphones.

How Daniel Craig brought Bond into the 21st century, and the shortcomings of other Sean Connery successors.

Last night I bought a 5-lb bag of sunflower seeds, the black kind recommended for birds. At the feeder this morning, I tossed out a fistful. Within a couple of hours, probably less, they’re all gone, taken by a few chickadees.

Despite the fact that they’re hounded by the juncos, the chickadees do a quick overview of the various seeds, and pick out only what they want. Some days, it’s bits of peanuts. The popcorn yesterday seemed to intimidate all the birds, but after I cleaned off the feeder, a lone chickadee swooped in to get the one morsel of popcorn left.

No, they didn’t manage to eat all the sunflower seeds. They cache it somewhere, hopefully where the squirrels can’t get to.

I thought I was shooting the hawk in the branches still, and was surprised to see this. Looks like I’ll be studying up on how to take crisp photos of birds in flight.

When the crows begin their racket near the top of the redwood, I know there’s a hawk up there. Usually, I can’t see them, but today I got lucky.

There must have been at least 20 crows circling, screaming around it. I knew it would take off in seconds. That’s not an excuse for the unsharp photo - I”m just not good at taking pictures of wildlife yet.

Was it the Cooper’s juvenile from the other day? Looked bigger. I only had time for four shots before it took off with the crows trailing. Sometimes they come back, but this one went a few streets over. I went back in to see if I got anything at all.

Thanks to some very good recipes for organic fertilizer, I started making barrels of it this summer. Soybean meal was the main ingredient, and it smelled wholesome and pleasant. While repotting a new, but terribly potbound, gerbera, I used some of the magic stuff. Imagine my surprise when it smelled less than wonderful.

After checking the barrel, I noted some familiar shapes on the top. A family member had noticed that we have cat poop in various parts of the yard. I haven’t been shooing the neighborhood cats away, being overrun by squirrels of late.

There’s always a price to pay.

I don’t know about you, but I’m seldom prepared when a young hawk decides to land less than 10 feet away. This has only happened once before, but I was more traumatized this time, because I’m supposed to know a little about taking pictures now.

Luckily, the hawk was in no hurry, and is possibly too young to be as skittish as it should be. There was, however, the dusty screen, and the fear that it would fly away before I was able to get some shots.

I do have a theory about the hawk’s interest in the deer scare. For a few days now, it hasn’t been functioning right. The water dripped off to one side, missing the reservoir in the center. It made a low humming noise. Perhaps it seemed to be alive and in distress. The hawk checked it out very thoroughly, observed the water, walked back and forth on the rim of the pot, and seemed to be having a fine time just fooling around. It occurred to me to get a handful of feeder mice one day to entice it back.

Which kind of hawk was it? The Sharp-shinned juvenile is very similar to the Cooper’s. I generally turn to the pros when I have such a quandary, and this time, Jill at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory came through with a detailed explanation.

According to Jill, it’s a Cooper’s. This time of year, juveniles are frequently seen, she says. Sharp-shins have a smaller head, Cooper’s have a fiercer look. On a Cooper’s the tail is more rounded, while the Sharp-shins’ looks more square. I was confused by the brown streaks on the front. The Sharp-shins’ are described in Sibleys as being coarse, the Cooper’s thin. They looked coarse to me, but I know very little about the finer points.

I’ve been gone for a few days. For some reason, the area where I leave seed for the chickadees and juncos has been deserted. A lone hummingbird was in the Mexican sage in the early morning, but that was it. Usually, there’s quite a bit of bird traffic throughout the day.

Trying to concentrate on work, I bent to my tasks, not really looking up for a couple of hours. I kept hearing a strange thumping now and then, but after checking, decided it was nothing unusual.

Then something big flew across the yard. It landed on the pot where we have a deer scare. It was a small hawk, and it seemed to be right at home. After staring at the water dripping for a bit, it moved into the lettuce bed. Hopped back on the pot, saw me. but didn’t seem fazed.

I went to get the tripod, knowing my handheld abilities are poor, proven this weekend when I tried to photograph bigger animals. The screen was definitely in the way. I tried from the window near the front door, but only its back end was visible from that angle. Once I got all set up, it took off for one of the oak trees.

I sure hope it comes back.

Saturday, family members and I went to Pt. Reyes looking for tule elk, said to be near the end of their rutting season. I think they looked at the calendar and decided it was close enough, and called it quits. We could see them from a great distance as they rested.

On Sunday, we tried Safari West, and were pleasantly surprised at how many animals we could see up close. There might be pictures after I sort through all the blurry ones. We weren’t used to that kind of in-your-face experience, especially the drooling giraffe. Next time, we’ll be better prepared.

Speaking of elk, I found this link quite by accident. It’s old, but incredibly good.

I can remember when a Dow plunge was not an everyday occurrence.

The man at the gate was a stranger, but he said ‘HI!’ in that suspiciously cheerful way that some people have. I stick my head out the door, and pointed out that there was a ‘no solicitors’ sign right beside him. (Actually it was taken down when the house was painted, but whatever.) Then he cried out in great indignation that he was most certainly NOT a solicitor, that he was there on behalf of JESUS CHRIST. He was yelling.

I don’t like being yelled at. Earlier, a telemarketer didn’t slow her spiel much when I told her this was the fifth or sixth time the bank had tried to sell me a medical plan. As I was hanging up, she was yelling, ‘But what do you mean, you’re not interested in FREE GAS?’

Costco was deserted tonight. When I remarked on this to the checker, he said that it had been like that for a while.

But the male ruby-throated hummingbird came to feed at the Mexican sage plants, and the chickadees scooped up all the sunflower seeds at the feeding station. I am starting to learn more about Egyptian applique quilts and pee shiver.

More on the latter another time.

Artist James Cauty exhibits works depicting the beloved cartoon characters killing, chopping, and otherwise doing terrible things to each other. Apparently, kids who’ve seen it absolutely love it.

If you’re thinking this is another variation of tofu, you have a happy image coming. Long ago, the Tartars thought there was a plant that produced sheep. Tethered by an all-important umbilical structure, the sheep grazed in the vicinity of the parent plant. As soon as the surrounding vegetation was gone, the sheep and plant perished.

There is actually a plant this myth is based on, which is discussed here. But most scholars of this sort of thing agree that it was the cotton plant that inspired such creative theorizing.

It happens. I tripped over the cord, and if it had been my newer MacBook, it would have stayed put with the magnetic cord breaking away. But everything seemed to work fine afterward.

Till I tried to close it for the night. It won’t. I can live with that, but it’s annoying.