Church Cat

© Copyright, All Rights Reserved,
Barry W. Hollritt, 2003

 This is “Church Cat”, though he probably has a real name.  I came upon this individual by happenchance and my normal serendipity wandering.  I had finished setting up my booth for an outdoor art show on a cold October afternoon and returned back to northern New Jersey to collect my work and prepare for the drive back to Flemington, New Jersey the next day for the show.  On my way home from the setup, I was diverted off of the normal highway and into the center of the town of Flemington.  Normally, I would not find myself in the center of this wonderful little town, but because of my traffic disadvantage, I decided to take the time and study the wonderful architecture on the side streets of the town.  It was a bright afternoon and the colors of fall were aglow.  On my wanderings through the side streets I came upon a church and immediately noticed the wonderful red doors.  While photographing the doors, to my astonishment, I found a wonderful lanky cat crawling vertically up the wooden abutments of the foyer over the door.  He appeared to defy gravity!  Outstretched and vertical like a squirrel climbing a telephone pole, he exceeded two feet in his length.  He seemed quite unique and quite intent upon his endeavor of chasing what I thought might be a mouse.  After observing him, he made his way back down the railing and ended up sitting contently in the sun and started to look at me with the gaze you see in the image.  Even sitting and posing like he is, you can observe his lanky stature.  His stare was intent for a few moments, when suddenly he jumped back up the railing and began his quest again.  In those few moments in the sun, I preserved “Church Cat”.  The bright red and dark contrast in the shadow make him a very outstanding image.