We unofficially celebrate Caturday with a basking black seen late this afternoon along Maryland Street. Because kids and kitties live in the somewhat identifiable home, cross-street is withheld to protect residents’ privacy.
I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 40, 1/99 sec, 77mm; 4:46 p.m. PDT. At least one other feline belongs to the family. I saw the longhair a few months ago but failed to get a portrait.
Had I passed by this alley window seconds later, the black and white in the foreground would have been out of sight. Only companion Solo would be seen and added to the series alone. Cat-prowling, like so many others things in life, is all about timing.
I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image on May 4, 2022. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/2597 sec, 77mm; 9:54 a.m. PDT. Since Star Wars fans regard as special the date—because “May the Force be with you”—I feel inclined to assign an appropriately silly nickname. How about Jabba, who this shorthair looks nothing like, which is my point. May the Fourth and may the Force? Seriously, people?
The parade of kitties looking out from indoors continues with the ninety-seventh feline found behind door or window. Initially, two were together—as you will see in the next profile. This fine furball appeared as his (or her) companion departed from a vantage on the Florida side of the alley separating Alabama. I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image, on May 4, 2022. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/1815 sec, 77mm; 9:54 a.m. PDT.
Since Star Wars fans regard as special the date—because “May the Force be with you”—and also acknowledging that the other cat abandoned this one, nickname Solo suits both situations. The moniker refers to character Han or to being alone. Clever, eh?
For the ninety-sixth feline found behind door or window, we return to Alabama for the ninetieth profiled putty-tat from the street between boundaries Adams and Lincoln.
I first saw the black on April 30, 2022—date for the Featured Image. The companion comes from today, and I used iPhone 13 Pro for both. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/602 sec, 77mm; 1:38 p.m. PDT. The second: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/1179 sec, 77mm; 3:23 p.m.
Today, while walking with my wife, I spotted a black-and-white kitty looking out a window. But approaching, I discovered two shorthairs. Surprisingly still: Tonight, while examining the Featured Image, I see somebody familiar. The larger furball, with dark face, is Scooch, who I observed outdoors a few houses away with Springer during September 2021. Both are nicknames.
The portrait comes from iPhone 13 Pro. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/469 sec, 77mm; 9:32 a.m. PDT. What shall we call the ninety-fifth feline found behind glass and/or screen? I say Doodle for spots that look like they were drawn on with a marker pen.
The number of dogs living in the neighborhood exploded exponentially during the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns. Northern California is fido-country, and high-techies suddenly able to work from home hightailed south, where lofty salaries ($296,000 median at Google) made buying or renting in San Diego comparably affordable for San Francisco-area escapees. Can we send them back?
How many mutts can one person, or couple, own? Gotta ask because I see fewer people walking one dog and many more leashing two, three, or more—and that’s without tallying the overall increased numbers. Not surprisingly, doggy decorum demands harassing cats; do these NorCal migrants simply not know better because they lack feline finesse or are they merely amused letting their beasts taunt kitties?
Among the four-hundred ninety-three profiles in this series, thirteen, including today’s newcomer, live outside the neighborhood’s official boundaries: Buddies, Chill, Coal, Envy, Jade, Mona, Moophie, Ninja, Promise, Queenie, Sammy, and Tom and Jerry. Darth Mew initially belonged to the group, until later turning up in University Heights.
This morning, I passed Guapo (yep, real name) leashed by his mom along Adams near Arizona, which is the teensy-bit inside North Park. I met them while walking home from dropping off our car for routine servicing. We greeted, I passed then turned back asking if I could take his portrait.
On the same property where nearly six years ago appeared the series‘ fourth and fifth felines—Skull and Biscuit—another surprised me on June 8, 2022. The Featured Image, taken with iPhone 13 Pro, shows still posture that made me think statue. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/881 sec, 77mm; 4:50 p.m. PDT.
Only later did the animal move and, briefly, turn my way—long enough for a portrait using Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 28mm; 4:53 p.m.
Hey, that’s not Paws. Same window, different kitty. I shot portraits using Leica Q2 and iPhone 13 Pro, but the Featured Image comes from the cellular device; telephoto lens and 95-percent post-production crop wins the day. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/622 sec, 77mm; 1:56 p.m. PDT, May 28, 2022.
The ninety-fourth feline found behind glass and/or screen earns nickname Chocolate for fur colors. She (or he) is a Snowshoe like Willow, yes?
In the driveway where I met Peohe in December 2017, a tabby appeared on April 25, 2022. He (or she) presumably belongs to the family that purchased the property sometime during the first two years of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 restrictions.
I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image and companion. f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/1488 sec, 77mm; 9:56 a.m. PDT. The other is same but 1/645 sec. Location: Mississippi Street, some place between El Cajon Blvd and University Avenue (I know where but won’t say).
This is not the photo you are meant to see. I failed to capture the right one for you. Please accept my apologies for being too stunned and too slow to get either camera or handset out before opportunity passed. Lesson learned; I need to practice my draw, so to speak, like a gunslinger of old—or modern-era concealed carrier.
While walking along Monroe Avenue this morning, close to 10 a.m. PDT, two police cruisers, their lights flashing, slowly approached from the East. They trailed the lame-legged coyote that some locals call Notorious. My wife and I first saw him along Louisiana on Sept. 8, 2021, date of the Featured Image. Sadly. Honestly, there should have been enough time for me to get off a quick shot of Notorious, if not the cop cars.
We fly back to Aug. 3, 2004, joining seals and swimmers. I used Nikon D70 and 70mm-300mm lens to capture the Featured Image, which is composed as shot. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/1600 sec, 300mm; 3:17 p.m. PDT.
There is something oh-so prehistoric about pelicans, and by studying them you can perceive how they are descended from dinosaurs. Meaning: The extinct animals are more aviary and than reptile.