I thought I lost a personal item of no monetary value when I was at Echo Park Lake yesterday. So I went to the lake this morning at about 9:30. It was pouring rain, and I didn't find what I was looking for. But, despite getting wet, it was nice to be down there. The American coots, the ducks and the geese were business as usual, many of them standing on the walkway, some bobbing in the water, some setting in the grass. I miss the lake birds. Right now is a good time to see wild ducks who winter in Echo Park.

Ever since my daughter started preschool, the lake has fallen out of our regular itinerary. We used to visit the ducks -- and avoid the geese -- just for something to do. Along the way we met people we didn't usually meet elsewhere. Small children who didn't speak any English but easily found ways to play with my English-speaker daughter. Some of the park workers became friends. We kept tabs on our favorite birds and looked for odd visitors. It's always interesting. Today, surprise, the park was pretty empty of people. No news cameras, no flaneurs, no chess or toddlers. What I did see was five untended fishing poles set with hooks in the water. They looked so independent, like they didn't need anyone. And there was a small group of people waiting under the eaves of the boathouse: fishing perhaps. A couple of people walking around the lake. A 12-ish girl sitting by herself under an eave of the bathrooms. The Lady of the Lake had wet shoulders and head. I was curious to see if any of the fishing poles caught anything -- I've heard of fair-sized trout in the lotus bed, on the other side of the park, recently -- but I knew it could be a long wait and, as I said, it was pouring.