The Meowers of Bark Boulevard

Hurricane Kay brought nominal relief, on Sept. 8, 2022, as it skirted along the Pacific coastline of Baja California and San Diego County. Cloud cover made muggy air and peak temperature of 32.7 Celsius (91 F) more tolerable. My wife and I took advantage, setting out on a mid-morning walk. While trudging down a side alley perpendicular to Mississippi Street, we came upon a mural that I hadn’t seen before.

We had passed by Bark Boulevard, which fronts El Cajon Blvd, often enough. The family-owned business provides doggy daycare and overnight boarding services—hence the name. So I was surprised to see some homage to cats, along the back.

The Featured Image comes from Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/4, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 8:49 a.m. PDT. Storm clouds add ambience and drama, marking a moment I would want to remember.

To the right, on the mural, a dog looks at the Lafayette Hotel, which is located diagonally across the street. In the photo, to the far left, top of the iconic building is just visible above the fence. Below that, appropriately and coincidentally, is a real dog—that someone had out on leash.