I don’t have much experience with Catholic religious symbols. But, presumably, the porcelain statue spotted in an alley—between Louisiana and Mississippi in San Diego neighborhood University Heights—is one. You tell me. I can’t say whether the relic is meant to be hidden behind the vine, or if the growth is naturally occurring.
The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, using the 200-megapixel capability, which resulted in a massively large file (Warning: 58MB).
While rummaging through old digital photos, I came across one which character and composition evoke a moment from the 1960s or 1970s. The metadata makes more modern origin known: June 23, 2010, 1:23 p.m. PDT. GPS-logged location: Pine Knot Avenue, Big Bear Lake, Calif.
My wife is the photographer, accompanied by her dad during a day trip. She used Google Nexus One to capture the Featured Image. Strangely, the metadata doesn’t record the camera settings. The photo is presented untouched; no cropping or enhancements.
For the first Caturday of the month, we leave the neighborhood’s boundaries to introduce seven-year-old Esther. My wife saw the fine feline first and I the school teacher owner, on Utah Street, today. We had a delightful conversation, while I shot a few portraits using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
I politely asked permission beforehand; not only did Esther’s caretaker grant it but she informed that her pet appears on the “Cats of North Park” Instagram. Say what? Have we been imitated? Either that or like minds are awork. First post there is June 15, 2020. “Cats of University Heights” started Oct. 17, 2016. Ha! There’s are portrait there of one-eye, no-tail Reddy (also known as Jinx) with name Lucky.
Whoa, something changed with the LittleFreeLibrary located on Campus Avenue in University Heights. You probably wouldn’t recognize that this is a less-decorative rendition of the one shared in October 2021. But size still commands all other curbside lending boxes situated around the San Diego neighborhood.
My wife and I first spotted the renovated enclosure on Oct. 10, 2023, while walking along perpendicular street Monroe. The Featured Image and companions come from Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set for all: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 11:20 a.m. PDT.
Who is this mysterious Pookie? I want to know. Surely the name refers to an animal. In summer 2020, I saw black cat Cocoa in the yard behind the fence where is this sign. Oh, so you aren’t confused, since San Diego is three summers long, I refer to the “mid” season. We’re in late summer now, with warmer-than-typical temperatures: 29 degrees Celsius (85 F) yesterday and 27 C (80 F) today and dry; low teens humidity.
For the Featured Image, I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra; today. Portrait mode produces bokeh—not sure if the blur is optical, digitally enhanced, or both. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 10, 1/240 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 10:21 a.m. PDT.
What kid doesn’t like trick-or-treating? For Halloween, with all the crazy decorations outside University Heights homes and San Diegans of all ages marching the sidewalks, I had planned on posting something of a montage of the Macabre.
But instead, I share something simple and unbecoming. I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image on Oct. 19, 2023. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/1.7, ISO 500, 1/15 sec, 28mm; 8:04 p.m.
At the house where lives Daniel Tiger, one of the “Cats of University Heights“, the kids have put up drawings for Halloween. I am a big fan of spiders and the black putty-tat’s expression is irresistible—as is the uninhibited artistry of a child.
The family also keeps chickens and puts out a jar of food for neighbors to feed them. There had been three birds, but recently only two roam the yard. What happened to the other one? I must ask sometime.
What do I know? Apparently not enough, by being completely clueless that in the United States October 29 is National Cat Day. Well, that calls for a commemorative kitty. Meet Pumpkin—and, yes, that is his real name. The kitten is something of a stray that his owner inherited about six weeks ago.
Some interesting connections: Pumpkin lives in the same house where was Willow; she and her family moved away during the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 mandates. Pumpkin’s mom is also longtime caretaker of ferals Mimi and Sweet Pea. The Maine Coons lost their luscious backyard home when the owner of the property died and relatives sold the place.
Happy Caturday, unless perhaps you are this magnificent Tuxedo. In the three portraits quickly taken using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, he (or she) presents sad eyes in all of them. I passed the kitty on the afternoon of Oct. 10, 2023, basking in sunlight and looking out on the bustling street; I won’t say which one. Vitals, for the Featured Image: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/400 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 4:52 p.m. PDT.
Nickname Forlorn for obvious reasons, the Tux is the one-hundred-seventeenth furball found behind door or window since this series started in October 2016.
I shot the Featured Image using Leica Q2, today, as my wife and I returned to University Heights from grocery shopping in Hillcrest. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 11:39 a.m. PDT.
Spiders hold a special place in my heart, and something about the giant fake one demanded photographic attention. I considered close-cropping but the entire holiday decoration display deserved showcasing. So here we are.
I don’t have much to say tonight. This evening, Eastern Daylight Time, there was a mass-casualty shooting at two separate locations in Lewiston, Maine. I lived in the state’s second-largest city during my latter teen years and graduated from the high school. While I haven’t been to Lewiston for decades, roots there and being Maine-native twist my gut thinking about this tragedy.
As I write, the city is under stay-at-home lockdown, and the shooter is on the loose. Police have released photos of the assault-rifle-carrying suspect and (escape) vehicle taken from surveillance video.
Since moving to the San Diego village of University Heights 16 years ago, I have given little attention to Halloween decorations. But in 2023, they are everywhere—and in exponential numbers. Some neighbors seemingly try to outdo others. Ostentatious, expansive, nightly-noticeable are the prevalent themes.
But a few seasonal adornments stand out for being tastefully austere, like these in the windows of a house along Lincoln. Coincidentally, in January, I wrote about the property then being the most costly rental ($5,950) in the neighborhood.