Honestly? It's lucky there's a photo here at all. All over the landscape of our favorite walk in Bluffs Park these days a shrub is blooming, tiny flowers, ragged and messy and, from the behavior of the bees, laced with meth.

We're talking big bees here, the size of a grape, an enraged and territorial grape. Walk along and they buzz you, fly at your face, herd you away. But all the paths are lined with this plant so you're basically racing along, surrounded, praying that urban legends about killer zombie vampire bees have not come true.

The early bird also catches the setting moon, which slid behind the mountains just as the sun rose over the sea.

Birds warming their wings:

The sun, rising:

And drool.

The next day -- poof! -- a blizzard of blooms.

Another sailboat and the skyline:

First light on beach house windows:

It turned everything pink:

The little dog was happy:

And some campers slept through the whole thing:

The Los Angeles skyline:

It had been there for years, eking out a living, bearing the scars of occasional target practice.

This week, it looks like this, shredded to mulch by boys with guns.

If you've ever lost someone, which means I'm now talking to everyone, you know how this grieving thing works, which is to say it doesn't. You just take it as it comes.

I really, really miss him.

Here, shot as the sun rose and the birds went nuts, is a grove of deciduous trees, one of hundreds in these hills, lit like a Hollywood closeup.

And to the west:

And all over the Valley:

But on the dock he's fearless, holds his ground as residents stroll by, the humans drinking in the sight of him, the four-legged contingent, safely in check at the end of a leash, equally enthralled.

And just for a bit of perspective on his marvelous size, the railing there is waist-high.

We're headed out for a day of errands so even though we met someone photo-worthy at the lake this morning, it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

...stands on this spot.

For now, anyway.

Yes, the sunrise this morning was spectacular, and no, we didn't get out early enough to share it with you.

Yes, the Little Dog had a great time running on the beach, and no, that photo is not even close to being in focus.

Yes, the Muffin Head is a purebred Lab, and yes, she's close to doing a handstand here, all because the ball rolled perilously close to the waves and no (oh no no no no) this water dog's feet don't willingly touch cold H2O.