Coming going
I don’t often have cooperation from my cats. This one time they stayed put till I got around to the front of the window. Elle, Ray, and Nutley are an unlikely trio to sit in the window together. Just trust me on this point. And, to find her in the middle is actually quite brave of her. I feel like thanking them for posing. Crazy! Yes!
Deck time
They gather. They line up in the window. Time to go out. My cats love the deck. Sorry, they are not outdoor cats. No escape. Yup, it’s like a prison camp. Indoors. It’s too pitiful to speak of. If I let them out onto the deck, Colleen is overwhelmed with fear a cat might be eaten by a bear. Ok ok, she’s had that happen. Me? I’m fat, dumb and happy. You pick – two out of three. So, I take pity. I let them out. No one has tried a second story jump. And our front balcony has no stair access. Good for us all. I hate chasing down our escaped cats in the big outdoors.
Cats in my window…
… cats on my deck. I have two cats (sisters) who just like being out on the deck. There is Elle who is very tentative and mostly afraid. So, she is mostly in. The boys? Why is it always boys? (Colleen’s on the floor laughing – at me.) They are otherwise escape artists who lead us on a merry chase every time I take pity and let them out on the deck. Yes, they double as cows while munching on the greens. My solution? Harness or collar. One way or the other they are restrained. No one goes over the fence. I’m too tired of chasing them down. They could go if they want but then Colleen would never let me come home either.
The alternative is the window. The screen lets the noise and smells of outdoors in without the need for vigilance. Note: no cats were harmed in the making of this post.
… jump ahead – it’s July – looking back, and I must be (have been) bored. It’s the third post about cat tricks in a short period. I’m in a rut. Alternatives?
Screened
For the delinquent cats it is the screened window. They can smell the fresh air. But no one gets to go over the fence. Elle? She’s an indoor cat who’s content to smell the flowers from inside the screen. She came to Colleen as an outdoor cat and she has no desire to out with the bears ever again. Patch and Willow content themselves to sit in the screen. The girls? They sit outside content to stay on the porch. Trustworthy? Yes, they earned it. … you just can’t make everyone happy all the time.
Social distance II
It’s not/was not intentional. But the cats are segregated into safe and unsafe. The white boys are delinquents. They jump the fence and are off in the wide wide world anytime they are out on the deck. I have no choice at this point. They won’t be leashed. I might try a harness? Meanwhile, we leave the window open and they gaze longingly. Social distancing? What goes through your mind as the image is in your viewfinder?
Auto focus
Before auto – everything, photography required a bit of set up: shutter, aperture, lens, focus, film, ASA/ISO. Ha ha! Point and shoot – iPhone, then on instantly to Instagram. I, too, am impatient. Too much. The eye and the mind can think faster than camera and fingers. I see things I can’t shoot. The camera does its best to keep up. Sometimes it fails. Focusing through a window screen it’s too much to ask. The lens/sensor it too good but not smart. Or, you can fool it. I thought I did. Confused. It’s why you shoot doubles and hope one came out. There is still image degradation shooting through the screen. But I’ll take it. The alternative was, miss the shot, or climb out the window.
Screened
Banned! Ray and Nutley are delinquent cats who jump the gate and make a break for the great outdoors whenever they see an opportunity. Punishment! They were consigned to the studio and could only longingly peer out through the screen. I like the graphic. They’d rather be on the other side. But, then I wouldn’t eat in peace. Hmmm? Don’t you eat with a camera beside you?
photobackstory 