Today, in the street outside the house where lives Captain Blackbeard, who was featured in my “Cats of University Heights” series in October 2017, pigeons enjoyed some fresh run-off water—perhaps from a lawn sprinkler system. I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image, which is cropped nearly 100-percent. I recomposed to remove a line of parked cars across the way. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 9:38 a.m. PDT.
The birdies needed refreshing, on the coolest morning in five. A heatwave had pushed up temperatures in San Diego County. Hours later, when marine layer clouds parted for the sun, thermometers recorded a more seasonable 23 degrees Celsius (83 F) but yucky humidity (57-91 percent).
On any normal day, the pigeons couldn’t have gathered long before flying off in fear, because the elementary school would be in session and traffic heavy along Meade Ave. that time of day. But the kids didn’t return to classrooms on July 31, as planned. Pick your reason: Legitimate concerns about spreading SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)—also known as COVID-19—or overreaction to a Novel Coronavirus that poses little risk to the youngsters.