Photo: November 2006, by Martin Cox

Hot off the duck press: Friday morning at Echo Park Lake, I saw what may be the season's first American Wigeon, but by today it was gone. Must have been a stopover. Then, this morning, Cleopatra duck, pictured above, shows up, alone. Probably a mixed breed, she/he did not appear to have a mate or any friends. (If it's a he, we can call him Cleopatrick, I guess.)

Martin took the picture of Cleo and we moved on, past the blue heron on the island, past the man in filthy clothes who plays an expensive-looking violin rather badly. Martin says there are days when he plays the radio loudly in his apartment, which overlooks the lake, in order the drown out the the repetitive whining sounds of the violin. Joggers and other types of exercisers passed us in both directions, a couple of them flapping their arms weirdly. There was a new white male human with some belongings in a baby stoller who told us that God doesn't want your money, but He wants everything else. Martin and I discussed whether it made sense to go clockwise or counter clock around the lake. Martin said if he had to name a preference it would be clockwise (I think) because the sun is shining on the western flanks of the lake in the morning. I did not have a scientific/artistic underpinning to my preference. Not that I was aware of, at least.