Today was the last Silver Tongued Cats meeting for the year, followed by a get-together at Panera Bread. I left the house a little later than I planned, so I was walking very briskly (and listening to a podcast) when I noticed a woman across the street gesturing to get my attention.

I removed my headphones; she pointed behind me and asked “what are those birds called?”

I hadn’t noticed any birds. I turned around and saw that there was a committee (more than a dozen, in fact) of vultures (thanks for the ID, Google!) on the roof of the house next to me.

Neither of us had seen anything like that in the neighborhood before. We chatted for a couple of minutes and I resumed my power walk to Panera.

An hour later, I was going home. I stopped at the same place; there were still a lot of vultures waiting at the same house.

There were also a lot more ducks in Ross Creek (next to the house) than usual, and they were pretty active.

Diane and I went back to Ross Creek this evening; there were still a lot of ducks there, which is unusual that late in the day.

I didn’t see any vultures this evening, but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

The Shir Hadash Men’s Club has an annual Latke and Comedy dinner; members are asked to bring six or more latkes, and the club also orders sandwiches. It’s a fun event, even if it’s not diet-safe.

The last time we had the event in person was 2019; I brought Trader Joe’s frozen latkes which I had heated in the oven. They were pretty blah, if I do say so myself.

But that was before the pandemic, before I did much cooking, and before I owned an All-Clad skillet. So I decided to bring Trader Joe’s frozen latkes again, but this time, I’d pan-fry them!

They fit perfectly in my 12-inch skillet.

I followed the directions faithfully, but the latkes lost their integrity when I turned them.

I brought them anyway. They did not win the popularity contest.

I’m hoping to do better next year – advice welcome!