The Cats of University Heights: Buttercup

Along most sidewalks in the neighborhood, trees—the majority palms—line the streets. Telephone poles, and their accompanying tangle of above (or below) ground wires, are relegated to alleys behind. The fifty-forth feline found behind door or window illustrates just how ugly and knotted the high-wires can be. There’s a metaphor here somewhere about California culture’s obsession with all things pretty and manicured being a facade for frightful chaos within.

On Jan. 17, 2020, using Leica Q2, I captured the Featured Image of this sleeping, sunning beauty in the alley between Georgia and Park Blvd. First sighting was weeks earlier, however. I waited for the kitty to nap during a time of day that provided maximum illumination with minimal shadows. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 28mm; 3:15 p.m. PST.

The portrait is purposefully cropped to primarily show the second floor window, without too clearly identifying location, which (unfortunately) robs you of valuable visual alley context and perspective so that I can preserve the pet owner’s privacy.

After re-examining the two photos taken, I decided that the first could be cropped to remove the most location-identifying features. Vitals are identical to the main portrait, but they are separate—captured seconds apart.

One thing remains: Nickname. I choose Buttercup, for the buttery-texture of the fluffer’s fur and the suction-cups stuck to the glass.

Happy Caturday!

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