Cats

I've been planning on doing this post for months, but now that I'm finally doing it, I feel really weird.

Here's what happened: This summer I was walking a lot, and while the audiobooks helped keep the walks interesting, sometimes I would still bring my camera along for even more incentive. The neighborhood I walk in is so pretty with flowers and trees, and in the evening everything is glowy and inspiring.

Bringing my camera on walks isn't super convenient, but I've done it a handful of times since May. I'm always fairly self-conscious about taking pictures in unlikely places, and I don't typically do it in front of people, but of course some people probably see me from their houses. Actually, I know for a fact this is true, and you can read a little story about it at the end of this post.

Anyway, there also happens to be a lot of cats around (surprise!), and I came up with the idea to photograph as many as I could, and then present them here in my blog. That's all fine, but now that I'm doing it, I feel like the odd camera lady. I bet some people refer to me like that in their homes (maybe OCL for short?), where I can't see them. But sometimes our favorite hobbies make us do weird things, and what's done is done. Here are some cats.

I should probably note that I'm not even a cat person. In fact, I don't think I'm really a pet person at all, but cats in particular have their annoying habits that make me not want to own one. Photographing them is different.

I just noticed the Keds in the background. Are they cool again, or did I time warp back to 1989?

Special treat: Renton, WA cat!

Can I help you?

A very large cat. This was actually the first time I've seen a deer while out on a regular neighborhood walk.

This cat seems like a stray, but he/she is very friendly.

So friendly that it was hard to take pictures because he kept coming too close.

This was the only time I've been approached about my neighborhood picture-taking. After photographing this cat, I continued my walk around the cul-de-sac when a woman walked out of her house.

WOMAN: I don't mean to seem rude (or did she say "weird"?), but may I ask why you're taking pictures of my neighbor's house?

ME: (Expecting her to say "cat" instead of "house") Oh...no, I was taking pictures of the cat.

WOMAN: Oh!

ME: Not that that's any less creepy.

WOMAN: No, that's fine. I thought you were photographing her house and I wanted to check...she's not there, so...

ME: Oh, no just the cat. (And I'll start planning a burglary stat.)

She wished me a good night, and part of me wondered if I should explain more about why I was photographing a cat, but I just felt embarrassed and exposed. The good news is that I never walk through that court--it was just a last check for cats before I put together this post. So hopefully I'll never see her again.

And that is part of why I feel weird about this post. The end.