This chair must be valuable—despite its, ah, drop seat. My University Heights neighbors typically put out giveaways in alleys, but the claimed antique was on a street corner—Georgia and Meade. Hey, that’s the same intersection where my wife found an ugly art print facedown in the street.
I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image, which is composed as shot. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/125 sec, 28mm; 3:59 p.m. PDT, Oct. 7, 2021.
A chapter is closed in the saga of the two Maine Coons whose backyard territory was clearcut in early August 2021. Their old residence listed as sold on October 28. Mimi and Sweet Pea occasionally go into their old habitat, but the behavior must stop whenever new construction begins. I expect the owners will demolish the existing house and build an apartment building, based on zoning.
Both kitties appeared in my “Cats of University Heights” series during May 2018. Mimi is mother to the other; both are ferals who lived on the property for about eight years. The woman who fed them has made space in her smaller, fenced outdoor space across the alley—and both go there for food and safety.
My handwriting is notoriously bad. Teachers told me during elementary school years and no amount of sincere effort improved my penmanship. I was relieved at the age of 14 to inherit a manual typewriter; I don’t recall why the family owned one or how it came to be in my possession but the thing became my go-to for homework and personal writings. If I rightly recall, Royal was the brand.
I will always be fond of typewriters, even if my typing long ago transitioned to computer keyboard. The appeal grows with age and nostalgia for archaic technology. So I was both delighted and disappointed to see that someone left an old L.C. Smith model in a nearby alley—and I don’t recall which one. As you can see, this old machine is rusted and presumably beyond meaningful repair—although the thang would fit properly on appropriate movie set showing decay and dystopia.
I cannot properly express my relief that what we affectionately call the “1917 House” has returned to its festive state following last year’s hiatus, presumably brought about by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 […]
Blind kitty Petey shares space with Spartacus—and, yes, both are real names. Their residence is just a few doors down from the Schoolhouse, which my wife and I almost bought in late-summer 2017. Click the link for an education in home buying that unfortunate experience teaches better than anything from the classroom.
I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image and companion, on Oct. 24, 2021. The original files were RAW imported to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic, cropped, edited, and exported to JPEG. I am dissatisfied with the color profile changes applied during import for the smartphone and will likely use different software in the future. Vitals for both: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/602 sec, 77mm; 10:28 a.m. PDT.
A few doors down from the Schoolhouse, I heard, and then saw, a meowing orange kitty on Oct. 3, 2021: With no eyes. I worried that maybe he got loose. After prowling about, cautiously, the shorthair moseyed into the building’s courtyard and through the open door of an apartment. I knocked and yelled, asking if someone owned a blind cat. I got an affirmative answer to which went my reply about the animal being outside but now gone in.
Assured by the owner’s calm voice, I resumed my walk to the grocery store and deliberately returned along the same route. Timing was excellent, because I met the man who responded to my query. He told me that about four years ago disease crippled the animal’s eyes, which caused so much pain they had to be removed. But despite the handicap, the kitty is adept at finding his away around.
Today here in San Diego, more than 20,000 runners participated in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Series Marathon and Half Marathon, which occurred concurrently. The routes go through and around my neighborhood of University Heights—Hillcrest, Normal Heights, and North Park. Highway 163 partly closes down for participants, too. SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns forced cancellation of last year’s event.
My wife and I walked along Georgia towards the bridge that crosses over University Ave., hoping to see runners below. But the bulk of them had long gone by. The Featured Image shows a small group coming up to the misting and watering station along Georgia Street between Lincoln and the overpass. I used Leica Q2 to make the moment. Vitals, aperture and shutter speed manually set: f/8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 9:40 a.m. PDT.
Early last month, I passed by a yard with a white kitty lounging. But barking dogs—two of them—convinced me to move along. Quickly. On September 15, the shorthair appeared again, and I haven’t seen it since. The Featured Image comes from Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 10:13 a.m. PDT.
This fine feline, who earns nickname Winter for coat color, lives on Panorama Drive along with: Brick; Buff; Cobby; Gem; Glory; Hawk; Herbie, The Love Bug; Poinsettia; Roadie; Sparky; and Stern. Yikes! There’s that coyote, too.
If this scene is to scale, you should be very concerned about the size of the spirits hanging around your place. The question: Are bigger ghosts merely more menacing or do they pose greater threat to the living?
I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image and companion on Oct. 16, 2021. Vitals for both, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/30 sec, 28mm; 2:56 p.m. PDT. Whoa, look at that shutter speed and no camera shake—although in this instance a little motion blur would add appropriate ambiance.
I should have taken photos of these two plushies back when they had more color—before searing San Diego sun and two recent torrential rainstorms weathered them. The pair adorned this yard for months. Faded and ragged from the elements, they appear in black and white, which best presents them.
The Featured Image comes from Leica Q2 Monochrom on Oct. 15, 2021. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/640 sec, 28mm; 12:39 p.m. PDT. Coincidentally, porker Hamlet used to live in the same residence. After Hammy’s family moved away, new renters brought a dog and kitty nicknamed Breezy, who joined my “Cats of University Heights” series in March.
I don’t know what to make of this. Just inside the Vermont Street Bridge, still on the University Heights side, I saw a wayward bicycle frame—early afternoon Oct. 15, 2021. Bike chop shops pop up […]
On this date five years ago, the series started with a kitty nicknamed Scruffy—seen once and never again. A few months earlier, surgery in both eyes recovered my vision, remarkably also making it better than anytime earlier my life. Adjusting to a new way of seeing and also wanting to improve my photography skills, I chose cats as objects for my camera (and smartphone).
But I expected the project to be short-lived. As stated on Oct. 17, 2016: “I begin a new series that ends when the photos are all used”, thinking something like 30 days at most, given the pics already taken and the few additional to follow—because in a community dominated by dogs surely few cats could be found. Obviously, I was gravely mistaken; happily, if you prefer.