The Non-Blogging Blogger

That's me. I have plenty to say, given the chance. I just haven't had time to compose it and post it.

Trapped Cat

Trapped Cat
Originally uploaded by Oliver Leveritt

There are a LOT of feral cats in our neighborhood. Every time a female goes into heat, the night-time hollering, howling, and wailing is enough to drive a person out of one's mind. Sleep is an impossibility. The start up at around 11:00 p.m., just when you ting you are asleep, and carry on for a while. then, they start up again around 5:00 a.m., when you want that last little bit of sleep. They destroy an 8-hour sleep, turning it into a 4 or 5 hour sleep. That gets old after a while.

Now, compound that numerous times with the presence of many, many female cats. On the other hand, there is the issue with the male cats. Some of them probably belong to residents -- people who don't accept responsibility for their animals, leaving their tom-cats to roam the neighborhood at night. The toms fight. They compete for the females. The holler and howl. They "talk" to each other face-to-face, sounding like a child who is being mercilessly beaten. They destroy sleep and sanity.

So, I trap cats . . . and take them to the animal shelter. . . . and hope for sleep. I also wait for the day that tom-cats don't piss all over my motorcycles in the process of marking their territory. When they do, it ruins the clear lacquer on the wheels. Cat pee can destroy most anything, it seems.

If you have a cat, neuter it. There are too many cats running around. It is estimated that there are half a million (give or take 100K or so) feral cats in this city. That's too many, by a loooong shot.

Ring-Necked White Dove

2326 White Dove
Originally uploaded by Oliver Leveritt

A couple of people have viewed this photo on my flickr page and told me that ring-necked white doves are rare in the wild. I guess that makes me a fortunate person in that I watch them frequently on my back fence. I quietly take position inside the house. The doves are very cautious -- more cautious than the other birds. There is a bird feeder in the patio next door. Other birds zoom straight in to the feeder. The doves land on the roof of our building and scope the scene from two stories up. Sometimes, they move to the carport roof to survey it a little closer. They know the cats might be there (yes, the feral cats). Then, they move to the fence to check out access to the feeder. The fence gives them a good view of the area. While they are taking their time on approach, I can get good shots of them thru the window. They are aware of every shutter click. That causes them to look in my direction, even though I'm in the house with the doors and windows closed. I have to move slowly so that I don't spook them. This bird raised his head and looked in my direction as a result of a shutter click, giving me a much nicer "pose".

Tyler & the Hibiscus

Tyler & the Hibiscus
Originally uploaded by oliverleveritt

Tyler came to visit this weekend. This afternoon, he was having a difficult time with his behavior, as kids sometimes do.

After being reprimanded, he was wandering around on the patio with his bottle of water. He'd take a sip and then pour some water on the grill. He'd take another sip and then pour some water on the swing.

I was watching thru the window. He took a sip and began to water his Grandma's hibiscus plant -- right into the bloom. As he aggressively watered the bloom, he pushed it back too far and broke it.

I went outside and explained to him that flowers were to look at -- not to mistreat.

I decided that the poor broken flower's purpose in life hadn't quite yet been fully served, so I got my camera. I think my wife appreciates the photo enough that the immortilization of the sole bloom on her hibiscus plant will displace the loss.

Chandelier (needs to be dusted)

Chandelier (needs to be dusted)
Originally uploaded by oliverleveritt

This was an experiment in inclusion & exclusion. I wanted to include the details of the chandelier, but I wanted to exclude the background. I wanted to include the detail of the bulbs, but exclude the overpowering glow of the light. So here, suspended in black space, is my dusty chandelier, and its pristine white light. Should I simply clean it, or buy another one to photograph??

Mercury & the Moon

Mercury & the Moon
Originally uploaded by oliverleveritt

I was out shooting photos at night -- again. I set up my tripod to take a photo of the moon. There were lots of fast-moving clouds, but I figured they would be invisible across the moon itself during a long exposure. I took this shot and almost discarded it until I looked more closely.

There was something else in the photo. After adjusting brightness and contrast, I saw another planet. A quick Google check led me to info indicating that I had just captured Mercury.

This kind of thing becomes addicting. Now I want to do research to find out when I can possibly get photos of other planets. The problem is that even if I had known that Mercury was lurking up there within range of my camera, I might not have been able to find it. I only captured it through long exposure and light adjustment -- a fortuitous accident of sorts.