Ah, Shucks, Sharky

Today, I sadly learned that Sharky passed away on Aug. 31, 2023. He will be sorely missed. The Featured Image is the last photo I happened to take of him, on July 6. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/420 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 12:30 p.m. PDT; Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Sharky joined my “Cats of University Heights” series in May of last year. I learned that he was ailing about a month ago. Someone saw the proud purball, confused in the street and sounded alarm. Trip to the cat clinic determined that he had gone suddenly blind; the vet diagnosed brain tumor and gave grim prognosis.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 3, 20239:42 pm

Scarred Treeline

I am not much of a landscape photographer—lack of interest being one reason and negligible skill the other. The Featured Image won’t win awards, therefore, but it does capture what many Californians fear most: wildfires.

The burned out trees in the foreground are inside Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, where I have been to once—Nov. 28, 2008. The scorching may be from wildfires that raged across San Diego County about a year earlier. I don’t know, just guessing.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 2, 20239:04 pm

Heartfelt

The owner of Bruce, one of the “Cats of University Heights“, occasionally receives reports about presumed sightings. The most recent puts him across Texas Street inside North Park. A gent is certain (aren’t they all) that he saw the missing feline, which turned back when his name was called. But a car scared him off. The beloved neighborhood mascot disappeared over Memorial Day weekend.

This afternoon, I hoofed up the hill to the area where Bruce might be. Along the way, I passed a flag seen a few days earlier mistakenly identified as the Japanese rising sun. Whoops. I got that wrong. That instance, I walked down the hill on the other side of the street. From the uphill vantage, the flying heart—and all the others—visually clicked.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 1, 20239:18 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Cheshire

While walking with my wife along the alley separating Alabama and Florida, today, I spotted a black and white romping down the cross-street ahead of us. Minutes later, I caught up to the shorthair, which posed long enough for me to shoot the Featured Image.

Lucky me: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra autodetected the cat and made it the point of focus, rather than the foreground pink flowers. Whew. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/1000 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 9:30 a.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 31, 20239:05 pm

Tennis This Time

San Diego’s three-season summer weather creates all kinds of outdoor activities that would be uncommon elsewhere. Consider public schools: Many are indoor/outdoor, meaning classrooms are enclosed but kids go out to move among them. Costco eateries are on the outside of the warehouses rather than within. The examples abound.

As such, I shouldn’t be so amused, but am, about the older gent watching sports programs out of doors. On Aug. 9, I passed him riveted to a baseball game—all by his lonesome. Tonight, it’s tennis—and he has a friend. “Say, could you pass a can of Modelo Especial?” (Because Bud Light is boycotted, the Mexican beer is now top-seller.)

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 30, 20238:57 pm

I’ve Heard of Christmas in July, But August?

Earlier in the month, I was surely surprised to see Christmas decor and paraphernalia for sale at my local Costco. The warehouse bustled with shoppers—so many that no photo opportunity presented. But the place was quite desolate when I returned tonight.

We aren’t even to Labor Day yet, and gingerbread houses, Grinches, lighted fake trees, nutcrackers, and wrapping paper and ribbon adorn aisles near the front of the store? What about Halloween? Back to school? Sure something’s there, but wouldn’t there be more timely goods if not for Santa’s shop.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 29, 20239:56 pm

Careful, Cali

Our Tortoiseshell took a tumble out of the closet tonight—or so it seems. I was in the middle of supper, when a load crash of falling things shook the air. Knowing that Cali had climbed up onto the top shelf, seeking relief from the heat, I rushed into the room to see.

Sure enough, a plastic container containing mom’s devices lay on the floor, emptied of her Chromebook, Nexus 6, and other artifacts. Yep, six years beyond her passing, and I still got `em. The box was quite heavy, so its fall surprised. I can’t imagine how Cali knocked it down, but fortunately she doesn’t appear to be hurt or much fazed by the incident (whew).

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 28, 20239:08 pm

Golden Arches at Night

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra continues to amaze and delight, as the Featured Image and companion show. Capability and character appeal more than does clarity—at least for low-light photos like these.

Granted, the second shot is grainy but that’s part of the charm. Like the so-called Leica Look, Galaxy captures are dynamic and vibrant rather than flat or color washed out at higher ISO. Sure, sharper is great—as my Q2 would produce—but so is ambiance and painting-like quality.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 27, 202310:08 pm

Better Than Fish Tacos

I originally had discarded the Featured Image, but pulled it from obscurity unexpectedly. My router lost Internet connection, causing me to be behind posting. Of all reasons: Loose cable connected to the ISP’s gateway. How did that happen?

The night shot, composed as captured, comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. I amped dehaze to embolden the darkening sky but otherwise the photo is as shot by the smartphone. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 800, 1/25 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 8:05 p.m. PDT, Aug. 17, 2023.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 26, 20239:26 pm

Farmer @Work

In my Aroostook County hometown, students grades 9-12 returned to school last week (August 16). The summer start is so teenagers can go on break to help with the potato harvest: 10 school days, or effectively two full weeks, starting at the end of classes on September 22. During my growing up years, all the schoolkids had recess to help bring in the crop.

Confession: I hated picking potatoes, which perhaps explains the traditional basket kept as souvenir. A picker would fill one with spuds pulled from unearthed vines and then lug them to a barrel and dump in the load.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 25, 20239:55 pm

Easy Rider

Among my most favorite “Cats of University Heights” is Pepto, who joined the series in October 2020. He roams too much for my comfort, sauntering across once lightly-trafficked streets that bustle because of torrential construction of towering multi-unit complexes like BLVD North Park and the Winslow.

My wife happened to come upon the orange and white fluffer finely set up by one of his owners. What a fantastic photo-op, eh? She used Samsung Galaxy S22 to capture the Featured Image on Aug. 18, 2023. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 20, 1/470 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 3:07 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 24, 20239:51 pm

Neon Pizza

We return to the pizzeria located at El Cajon Blvd and Louisiana Street in the San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. Already you should have seen slimer dripping into three glasses and a table of leftovers.

The Featured Image can’t quite convey the evocative character of the sign just inside the back door that exits onto a patio. This one comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, like the others. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 500, 1/40 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 8:30 p.m. PDT, Aug. 15, 2023.