Memory of my maternal grandmother: Grapefruit for breakfast, regardless of season—and I wonder where she bought the citrus during Northern Maine winters. I never had a taste for the bitter, over-sized oranges but my wife does.
So we were delighted to find some, set out by a neighbor, yesterday. She is caretaker of Rick, one of the “Cats of University Heights“. Annie grabbed two, while I waited and thanked our benefactor. How sweet: She put out bags for people to carry their fruit.
I rarely photograph San Diego homeless, as a silent sign of respect. But, today, one gentlemen so surprised me that I felt compelled to take the shot—well, several. Walking East on Meade Ave., I saw him sleeping on the sidewalk across the way, where Mission cuts diagonally—think 45 degrees—from the intersection at Park Blvd.
The sleep mask is what intrigued me. He looked so unusually comfortable, lying on the cement, which was surprising, too. Foot and vehicular traffic is fairly brisk, and noisy, on a Friday afternoon; then there is the bus stop—a couple meters away, at most. Yet he looked so serene and lay motionless, but in an open space where homeless are otherwise uncommon.
Seven years ago today, I shot the Featured Image, using Leica Q. Bruce, who shared residence with Guido and Little, waited for his owner. The previous week, I got a glimpse of the woman walking her dog (Dakota), and the short-legged kitty ambling along with them. What a wonderful sight, and I had to know more. Scouting about led me to one of the neighborhood’s handsomest—and most beloved—cats.
A few years later, over the Christmas holidays, Dakota passed away, That put an end to the dog-cat walks, until some months later when Bruce’s owner—now one of our favorite neighbors—rescued the amicable Apple. In some dictionary somewhere, sweetness is defined by a description of that dog. Sigh. She suddenly passed away last week, as was explained yesterday. Bruce is gone, too; he vanished over Memorial Day weekend 2023.
On April 30, 2024, one of our favorite neighbors said sad goodbye to her beloved dog, Apple. Six days earlier, she took the animal to a veterinarian for surgery to remove a mass on the rump. But the procedure had to be aborted, and our neighbor received an overall grim prognosis but still with some months, even longer, of expected life left. Apple declined, however, looks like mainly because of the surgery, and she died. I received the teary phone call one week ago; yes, last Wednesday.
Already our neighbor suffered the loss of University Heights East’s favorite cat, Bruce, who vanished over Memorial Day weekend 2023. Beloved neighborhood runners-up: Pepto and Rick, who Apple visited on her walks. We all loved the dog, and our neighbor had amazing rapport and daily routine with Apple.
T long-delayed ophthalmologist appointment finally occurred today. That meant massive dilation to check my optical implants. My pupils were massively large, such that the iris in each eye rimmed so thinly that my best analogy is the muted corona around last month’s total solar eclipse.
As such, I spent most of the day indoors, hiding from sunlight, and only ventured outside after dark—and what a glorious evening, too. Mild: 16 Celsius (61 Fahrenheit). Despite temporarily impaired vision, I brought along Leica Q2 Monochrom.
Why wait for Mother’s Day (May 12, 2024) to celebrate mom? While rummaging through Google Photos, I happened upon a portrait of my sister Nan with our most beloved parent. Date and locale is unknown to me, but presumably sis could identify both.
I had some fun with the Featured Image. One of Google Photo’s mischievous editing options is something called “Color Pop”. You can see how everything around the women becomes monochrome. But not without imperfections. Look at mom’s left hand and some fingers on her right hand. Color is gone.
They buried my father’s body, today, at a cemetery in Woodland, Maine. Mourners moved on to the local church that he attended, for a service celebrating his life. The event was broadcast live to a members-only Facebook group. My account is self-suspended, thankfully. I didn’t watch.
Before posting, I decided to remove the remaining paragraphs of this missive that explain the last sentence of the previous paragraph. Let the dead, or their memory, rest in peace.
The one-hundred-thirtieth feline found behind door or window is typical: Name unknown, so I must create one. But my creative choosing has limits, so, please, forgive my stretching to reach this one.
Surely you are familiar with roasting a sugary s’more around the campfire: Chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow. The cat’s colors are perfect for the confection. Don’t you agree?
We return to Mission Beach for a final time, from my April 29, 2024 quickie visit. Subject of the Featured Image is the person working the sand with a metal detector, as two other folks stop their walk to watch.
Once again, I pulled out Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to make the moment. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/1900 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 10:39 a.m. PDT. In post-production, I started to lighten up the dark areas, but instead decided to leave the photo as shot. Moody is better, and everyone is considerable distance away.
We aren’t yet done with Mission Beach, which is about a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) drive from my apartment. San Diego has no shortage of coastal jaunts, and I admit to taking them for granted more than taking advantage of them.
The Featured Image is a dumb, fun shot. I don’t know why the sand toys were on that wall. They didn’t appear to belong to anyone, but a nearby shop had more outside. Purpose: Unknown.
While hanging out at Mission Beach, yesterday, I spied a formation of approaching birds—seagulls, perhaps? I turned Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra skyward and captured the Featured Image.
This one is composed as shot. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/4000 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 10:38 a.m. PDT. Odd, why would I choose only 3x zoom?
I don’t know what to make of these two. Do you? After dropping off contact lenses to our daughter in Ocean Beach, my wife and I drove over to Mission Beach, where there is a boardwalk shop selling $10 hoodies. Eighty-percent cotton, baby!
While waiting for Annie, I turned my attention to the distant shoreline and people along the surf: Strangest of all are subjects of the Featured Image. Golden Storm Troopers? I don’t recall seeing any of them in any Star Wars film.