Trouble

I woke up to dogs barking. That's kind of unusual here, since the dog who lived in the house behind me, who barked day and night, left. Then there was yelling then screaming. I looked out my window because it sounded bad. It was the new renters and the older man who lives next to them, screaming face to face. The older man's wife was trying to move him back and away, putting her body in front of him and between him and the new renters. I thought there was going to be a murder. I called 911 and said "My neighbors are screaming at one another." She said they were already talking to both parties on the phone.

I have never seen that older man anything but calm before. I wonder what went on. I know the tension on the block has been high since the new people moved in, over some of the things they do, parking all over mainly, then the night stuff. But that was scary to see them face off like that. I don't know what triggered it.

I got a new couch. I bought it for almost nothing from the other neighbors, the evicted ones. It's leather and cleaned up really nice. It'd been in their garage. The cats love it. I am all nervous over those neighbors screaming match. I really thought there was going to be a murder. Guess I watch too many crime dramas.

It must be hard on both those households, living next to each other, hating the other that much. I can feel the tension clear down here. It might be all over all those cars they have to park somewhere and there's no room at the place they rent for them all. They need a bigger place with a huge parking lot or a field for their cars.

I used to know someone in Corvallis. She got this guy, a fantastic guy, to move in, because she had a huge place, including a barn/quonset thing, for all his cars and lots of space for him to work on them. He's a hobbiest and restores cars, maybe one every few years. Hows that for a way to snag a guy? I've always really liked her guy. From a distance. He's taken.

Mom of Machi is headed to her new home today, in Eugene. It will be hard on her at first, leaving her familiar surroundings and the cats she knows, up at the trailer park. But even though she's been here only a day, she has been eating and eating and eating. They don't get much up there and often it's just dry dog food. I think she'll do ok, but it will take some adjustment time.

UPDATE: I just delivered Mom of Machi and that is one nice woman. She gave me a bag of cat food to give to the trailer park people, to help them out in feeding the ones left. And she gave me some cans of cat food, which is a big huge help. She's very experienced with ferals, but Mom of Machi isn't that feral anymore. I handled her easily this morning, before taking her down, to make sure she had no earmites.

Every unowned cat who gets out of there helps the ones left get enough food, so it's a really good thing she got a home. I found out, when I returned the other three, that it was the wrong orange kitten I took to be spayed. By wrong I mean not the torti's third kitten. Can you believe that? There are tons of orange cats in there, including orange females, so I figured this had to be the right kitten, being orange and female and hanging out in front of the trailer where they are fed. Plus, the woman who feeds them ID'ed her as the third kitten. But she was not. There's another. Maybe the torti had four kittens. I don't know anymore.

So I found out the neighbor scream match was over, what else, the cars. One of the cars got parked in front of the older man's garbage can and it's garbage day, so he got mad and in their faces over it. He claims to count nine cars in and out of there, at least. I can't keep track. I have other things on my mind. I guess the renters say they're all from relatives visiting. Visiting a lot.

Parking is a problem lots of places where I've tried to trap. At one complex, there are no spaces for visitors cars and each apartment gets only one parking space allotted. I tried to park in an empty space and within 15 minutes had a note on my windshield threatening a tow job. I had to quit trying to trap there, for want of anywhere even close to park without getting towed off or vandalized because it was somebody else's space.

Same thing at a complex in Corvallis, when I delivered a cat they were adopting. Threatening note on windshield, because there is only one allotted space per tenant and no visitor spaces. I asked the couple, "How do you have company come over?" They said, "We don't."

Most of the trailer parks around that I've visited have no parking along their narrow streets, and so, when trying to trap at those trailer parks, it's quite tough and sometimes I end up parking in fields or RV storage lots or walking a real long ways with traps.

I don't doubt these new renters have a lot of young people coming and going. The traffic once they moved in has like quadroopled or more. But the parking thing, they need to double on rides or something because this tight little street can't handle so many many cars. We already got the Kinetic Car Lot down the block, run by the Mexicans, and those cars are everywhere and I have no idea what that's about. This is car city, USA, that's for sure.