Tag: animals

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 8, 202110:00 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Silver

We celebrate International Cat Day with a shorthair sighted in the same yard where was the fourth feline profiled (Skull) in October 2016. Black-colored Monarch appeared on the same property two years later. I can’t say that either belonged there but express confidence about the newcomer: The home’s front door was open for the kitty to come and go; kids could be heard playing inside.

Silver seems so appropriate nickname—for gradients in the fur. Leica Q2 produced the Featured Image, which underwent unusual amount of post-production tweaking—and nothing to my satisfaction. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 250, 1/125 sec, 28mm; 10:43 a.m. PDT, Aug. 1, 2021.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 5, 20218:45 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Proudfoot

Only for the second time—Sentinel being the first nearly three years ago—since the series‘ start in October 2016 have I seen a feline along Park Blvd in downtown University Heights. Meet the lonely shorthair that earns nickname Proudfoot. My wife and I met the kitty apparently waiting for someone or something on July 27, 2021.

I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 28mm; 9:20 a.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 2, 202110:12 pm

Make a Wish

I know our daughter feels fairly disheveled on this 27th birthday—kind of like the Featured Image of the cat that we unexpectedly inherited from her in October 2014. I met Cali on June 4 of that year—the evening before she showed up in Molly’s bed. Now Cali is bonded to Neko, but her origin story will always be our recuperating birthday girl.

In the portrait, captured using iPhone XS, Cali sun-sleeps against my home office window on the Katris blocks that sit between the Belham Living Everett Mission Writing Desk with Optional Hutch and Casabelle Mail Center. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/142 sec, 52mm (film equivalent); 3:16 p.m. PDT, June 19, 2021.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 31, 202110:13 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Gracious

Late yesterday afternoon, my wife and I walked down the alley separating Louisiana and Texas, where Darth Mew and Princess Leia appeared recently. We hoped to encounter one or the other and expected neither. About half-way down the block, I spotted a pretty Tortoiseshell behind a screen and stopped for a few portraits. Right then, the 87-year-old property owner came out the back gate, and we started chatting. Annie and I met him many moons ago when we toured one of his apartments (which we might have rented had there been more sunlight coming into the bedrooms).

Raised in Michigan farm country, John arrived in San Diego at age 17 and never left. He is fit, with all his wits—meaning sharp and spry in all the ways that matter. While we talked about the shortcomings of modern education—writing proficiently of 1940’s eighth graders compared to high school graduates today—I heard what sounded like a meowing kitty. As we continued, sound increased in volume and intensity until, quite surprisingly, Darth Mew ambled over a six-foot-high fence. Without any elucidation, John said the cat’s mother is buried on his property (but the black longhair lives elsewhere).

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 28, 20219:18 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Samba

On the same block where Goose and Jasmine recently disputed territory lives Samba, whom I met with her owner’s roommate on July 25, 2021. He had her leashed, and she accepted being brushed down to remove shedding fur. Samba (yep, real name) makes the series‘ sixty-ninth profile from Alabama Street between boundaries Adams and Lincoln. I know of at least a half-dozen more beasties, but fleeting sightings aren’t usable portraits.

Leica Q2 produced the Featured Image, which demands being seen larger to appreciate the fine detail captured. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 28mm; 11:39 a.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 26, 20218:18 pm

Another Stand Off!

What’s up with my passing by feline territorial skirmishes? There was Ash and Bandit in late May 2021 and now Goose (left) and Jasmine, which respective yards are separated by an apartment building parking lot. All four animals are profiled in my “Cats of University Heights” series.

My wife and I came upon the pair, yowling and tensing forward or retreating, outside Goose’s home. That’s right, Jasmine was the aggressor. But sometime later, after I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image, she backed through the fence and he pursued. Somebody pulled up and parked a car, which broke the territorial tension.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 24, 20218:55 pm

The Photographer’s Friend

I am reluctant to post pics of myself, but this one presents opportunity to pay photographic homage to my wife, who captured the Featured Image using her iPhone XS. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 25, 1/1748 sec, 26mm (film equivalent); 1:01 p.m. PDT, today. Thank-you, Annie.

We walked by the house where live Bruce (pictured) and Guido, both of which are profiled in my “Cats of University Heights” series, and the fluffier feline came on to the sidewalk to visit.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 20, 20218:44 pm

A Bird Poses

I don’t typically shoot bird portraits—yet here is another within three days (remember the seagull). But an unexpected opportunity presented early this evening. As my wife and I walked along Mississippi Street, between Monroe and Meade, in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, we came upon a wayward dove (correct my identification if mistaken). It made no attempt to fly off as Annie passed, so I stopped and pulled around Leica Q2.

As the shutter clicked for the first of two shots, I realized that while the electronic viewfinder presented a green outlined box indicating focus the bird was blurry. Ditto for the second (half-press), so with the dove staying still, I turned the camera’s manual focus ring and produced the Featured Image (do click the link see this one bigger).

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 17, 20219:44 pm

Seagull Shopper

My wife and I drove down to Westfield Mission Valley today to take advantage of an expiring coupon: One free pastry from Panera. She chose the Kitchen Sink Cookie—so large two hands are required to hold it. Walking, while she consumed, we encountered a seagull so squawky that it more or less honked like a goose. The thing prattled about looking for food, presumably, making no attempt to fly off as shoppers passed by. I wondered if he might be wing-injured. Annie wanted to share some cookie but rightly worried that the one sweet thing wouldn’t be good food for the other sweet thing. Yeah, we found the bird endearing as it weaved about shoppers.

I brought Leica Q2 Monochrom to the mall and used the camera to capture the Featured Image. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 2:32 p.m. PDT. We briefly continued, then I stopped and asked Annie if she minded my going back for more photos. Happily munching, she motioned me on. As I approached, a couple with a stroller stopped to gawk at the bird, seemingly unaware that they had cornered the thing between a store’s window and sidewalk sign. The gull’s only escape route was inside the shop, and that is where it briefly fled.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 15, 20219:30 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Loki

A few weeks ago, my wife made acquaintance with one of two black putty-tats that live in the same house. I started looking for him and twice saw a shorthair cross the street and jump a fence into a neighbor’s yard. Based on that behavior, he was most likely Loki (I don’t know the other’s name). But on neither instance did I see him upon reaching the location.

Three days ago, as Annie and I approached site of the previous sightings, Loki cautiously crept into the street with nose to the asphalt. There he stopped and sniffed a dead squirrel. Annie stayed on the opposite side of the street, which I crossed bringing me close to the fence. About that time a car came along and the cat fled to safety between two parked vehicles. Then he saw me and surprisingly visited.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 11, 20218:52 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Honcho

When first approaching this kitty, I thought he might be Ginger, who was profiled in the series three years ago. Both appeared along Louisiana Street on either side of Meade—towards El Cajon for the newcomer and closer to Monroe for the other. While the faces bear some similarity, fur markings and tails differ enough for separate identification.

The feline walked uncharacteristically slow—sign of older age—but with sure-footed commanding charisma and presence. That’s why I chose nickname Honcho. I used iPhone XS to capture the Featured Image, today, at 10:57 a.m. PDT. After he swaggered past, Honcho ducked between a hedge and cottage exterior wall. I returned just after six this evening, when many cats would be out and about as sunset approached. He surprised by being still huddled up in the same safe spot. I wouldn’t have seen him if not knowing to look.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 9, 20218:59 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Posy

The sixty-eighth Alabama Street kitty—this one between Howard and Polk—is also the seventy-second seen behind door or window. The Featured Image and companion won’t win awards for composition, but, hey, you work with what you got—and I had seconds to shoot both portraits because of parking cars. Vitals, same for both, aperture manually set: f/4.5, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 28mm; 9:50 a.m. PDT, June 30, 2021. I captured a photo of Noir, hours later, along the parallel Florida.

This fine feline earns nickname Posy for the natural bouquet of flowers running up the side of the apartment building. The first crop shows off them more, while the other gives greater attention to Posy. Both come from Leica Q2.