The Ups and Downs

 Poor little kitten, Morning, from Sweet Home.

Sweet Home lady brought her over yesterday afternoon.  The heat was unbelievable yesterday, as it will be today.  About 100 here.   

They had also trapped the black adult they feed.   Morning, the little white kitten, is so loving, but also that horrible leg injury was hard to see, even to know about.   

She wouldn't eat much, just purred, tried to play a bit this morning before going to the clinic.

Last night suddenly I get a message that someone saw the black cat in trap photo on my HCC page and thought it was their cat, lost three weeks now.  Its good their cat is spayed and chipped.  I told them the cat would be checked for a chip this morning, so if it was there cat, they'd hear from me and we'd reunite them.   You'd think this would be great news to them and all they needed to know but no.  

 It wasn't long before a conversation with them went to the pits with her implying I trap and steal cats, sayiing lots were missing from their area and why does the Sweet Home woman feed/lure them to her yard.  It went on and on until I told them I was going to bed.  It was easy to tell the cat in trap was not their cat.  It was wild, for one thing.  Also, it had no white on its chest like their cat does.

But if it had been their cat, the chip would tell us that and the only reason they'd be reunited was because that Sweet Home woman cared enough to catch her and get her to the vet, who would check for a chip.  You thank people who do that, you don't yell at them and accuse them of things.  Didn't make sense to me at all.

No chip. Clinic checked first thing.

The clinic also told me Mornings knee was completely toast.  That protrusion is her tibia.  She was likely hit by car.  She's severely anemic and has lost weight since her spay, in fact.   I talked to the Sweet HOme lady, who was going to take her in herself, and we thought euthanasia was the kindest thing.    Then the vet came out.  I couldn't believe it, but she said we could relinquish her to the clinic.  They'd try to find out what is going on, could still be euthanasia if she has leukemia or something else going on, but she'd have a chance.  I was so relieved once in the car the tears rolled.   I made it home, at least, before they began again.  Just a release.  Seeing that sweetheart kitten in such horror, along with being yelled at by strangers last night, almost too much.

I need to go to Waldo Lake again.  Really soon.  Maybe tomorrow.

Last Days at Lake

 Summer is rapidly coming to an end.

In my all out attempt to enjoy it to max, I went to the lake yesterday.  Usually I don't go on Saturdays, its so busy.   I tried to get up there early but after doing all the cat chores, I didn't get off til almost 9:30.  So I got up there a bit after 10:00.

To my surprise, I got a parking spot.

There were already a lot of motor boats out on the lake, pulling people and kids on various big blow up type tow toys.    You don't see water skiis anymore or even wake boards rarely.  It's all the puffy blow up tow toys.

They look like great fun.

I paddled across the lake and around the shoreline, for a couple of hours.    I was looking for ripe blackberries and finally found a huge patch I could pick from the water.   I picked a quart into an empty cat treat plastic jar.  I like those treat jars.  They have screw on lids and handles.  I use them for lunch buckets too.

These are the sandals I've repaired over and over.   But the bottoms are coming loose again at the edges I found out yesterday when the loose edge caught and nearly sent me onto my head.  More super glue is in order.

Huge wall of ripe blackberries at the lake!

By 2:00 I was back at the boat launch to go home.  That was delayed by the endless stream of big boats launching and pulling out.  I didn't mind.  I just hung out on my kayak and also swimming.   Finally there was a break and was able to get my kayak out and into my car.

Today til Tuesday it will be near 100 degrees.   

The lady in Sweet Home trying to help the neighbor's cats, its breaking her heart.   The neighbors house burned twice and property owner living now elsewhere.  Someone lives at the property in an RV or small trailer but isn't seen. Property owner gave permission for the cats to be fixed and would like the kittens to find homes.  Easier said than done though.  The shelters and rescues are full.  The ones not full seem to be importing kittens from out of state.   Why?   No clue.  Why not help Oregon cats and kittens and dogs.  

 None of their cats were fixed and all live outside the RV.  Nine kittens and three adult females, at least.  By now, we've got the three adult females fixed and two of the girl kittens.  But after surgery one of the girl kittens suffered a terrible leg injury.  She's going back to vet tomorrow.  And one kitten was found dead in the front of the RV, probably hit by car on the street, which made the lady helping cry.  They kittens are crawling in fleas too and anemic from flea bites.

This is Morning, a kitten fixed last tuesday, that lower leg--swollen with something protruding.  Kneecap?  Bone end?   Large abscess? We don't know but the vet tomorrow will figure it out.

So last night her husband said he'd built a cage to keep the kittens comfy in their garage until they're fixed.  Then another neighbor is going to help find them homes.  That's a really nice husband.  Also last night they caught a pregnant black cat that comes out of the berry vines middle of night to eat.  I will guess she at some point too was associated with the neighbors who don't fix their cats but who knows.   There are two more adult females, she thinks to catch too.

Meanwhile, Happy Cat Club, our nonprofit, that pays for all these fixes, is struggling to keep up financially.   We are trying to keep at it, because its desperately needed, the help.   Thanks so much to all who donate.

The Change

 

The Silver Scion Feline Fleet!
Long May They Live and Carry Cats to be Fixed!!!

There's been a good change here that has me very happy.

A friend called me Wednesday night.  Said her friend is selling her car and she told her about me and to call her right away.

Ok.  I will.  My heart was beating wildly.   I know the car.  I used to park next to it at Gleaners.  It looks exactly like my car, right down to the color, but is a year older and well maintained.

It has half the miles.

I called, sealed the deal pretty much on the phone within 20 minutes.  My neighbor took me over yesterday morning.   I bought it.  It was too good a deal to pass on.  $1500.   I got help with it.  That's cheaper than the last repair job on the other one, including the repair required to fix the repair.

They're also cat ladies, older, in their 80's now, don't need the expense on insurance of two cars.  They feed a young stray female I'll help get fixed.

My mind numbed afterwards.  What to do with the car I've got.  The younger in miles one smells so nice, not like mine, of male cats and age.   The younger in miles one has no loud rattles, grinds and NO dash lights are on.  How will I drive a car that doesn't display at least four to six dash warning lights?  LOL, I will manage.

It's a manual transmission also and the clutch is twice as reactive as in mine.   Made me think I wonder if the clutch is starting to fail in the one I drive.  The seat in the one I just got isn't worn out and I sit higher up and comfortable in it.  

I began to think I need a back up car.   I began to think I don't want to smell up the latest with cat hauling.  I decided to sign the one I've been driving over to my nonprofit and use it alone for cat hauling, until its natural death of old age.  Then and only then will I use the latest one to haul cats.  For awhile at least, I will have a car to myself, one that doesn't smell of a zillion cats I've hauled to clinics.  When the one I've been driving dies, I'll donate it to the FCCO.  They have a car donation program.

I called the state's insurance help hotline and talked to an extremely helpful lady on the how's of a teensy nonprofit "owning" a car and what type of insurance I would need for that and what else I should do, like I have to change the title over to HCC.  She was so helpful.   I talked to my insurance company and quickly they seemed to understand what I needed and changed my current insurance to the latest car and signed me up for a nonprofit commercial liability for the old one.   It was a lot of calling and the like but really easy with the help I got from the state helpline lady and my insurance.

Today I will take the two titles in to the DMV to get new titles/registration.

I'm pretty excited to have a new old car.  Yup, a year older than the one I have but half the miles.

And now the nonprofit owns a cat hauler, for as long as it lasts.   

If you didn't look closely, you'd think they are the same car.

My neighbors were going to take their RV to River Bend county park today to camps five or six days.  They've had the reservations for awhile.   Then the RV decided to break down and dump transmission fluid out.   He tried to get it back to where they store it.   He got out though, to open the gate, and then the RV wouldn't go, so he was blocking the gate in and out.  Last I heard, when I went to bed, he'd been waiting on a tow truck for a long while and was told it was possible they couldn't get one there last night.   I wonder if he had to spend the night there, waiting.  

 I told her I was sorry about the camp trip, since to cancel she'd have to lose quite a lot, maybe all of what she already paid for the nights they reserved and she said maybe she'll go anyhow and sleep in her car.   I thought "good for her" as I'd planned to go up Saturday to visit her.  She wants to try out my kayak and I was eager for her to do that, at the reservoir.  I think she'd love kayaking and then I'd have someone to go with, if she does.  She's disabled, with neuropathy in her legs, but her arms are fine.  Kayaking is great that way.  

Cat Day

 Today was the day to round up cats.   Except I didn't lift a finger to do it.

Sweet Home lady got the two adult females and two girls of the 9 total kittens.  And they drove them down to me.

Then the other Sweet Home lady caught the last adult there.  So far she's caught 12, but she and her family tame the kittens and get them into Safehaven or homes.

So I'm housing the four in my bathroom and Scrappy from the other situation is in the garage.  They brought her over after they caught her.  The bathroom four were crawling in fleas.  I first dosed each with Advantage but  that takes too long, so I got out the capstar and each got that.   I also gave them strongid and a three way vaccine.  It's cheaper if I do these things, when using the private clinic.   With Scrappy who is really wild, I could only dribble generic Revolution on her neck through the trap, by distracting her with the other hand.  It will kill roundworms and earmites too, at least.  She'll then get the three-way vaccine at the clinic plus droncit to kill tapeworms.

I like this sort of cat round up.

Here is Scrappy from Sweet Home:

And here are the four from the other Sweet Home place.  

Fleabee

Morning

Spot and Easy

My neighbor wanted me to ride with her to Salem, where she gets her meds at Keizer.  So I rode along.

A hay barn is on fire along the freeway just outside of town.   The fire started last night and is still burning, just being monitored since they can't put it out.   They are looking for a car seen on security cam at the propery before the fire started.   Anyhow, traffic in both directions on the freeway slows to a crawl for gawkers.   I took this video as we gawked on the way home.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow and maybe Wednesday too, so that should help.

Tugs' New Personality

 Since Slurpy died, her best friend and snuggle mate, Tugs, a very elderly torti, has been in personality transition.

First it was wandering the house calling pathetically for her friend.   But now, she's switched her need for snuggles to me.  I haven't been able to hold her in all her time here.  Tugs is somewhere around 18 years of age.  Sometimes mornings, she'll come on the bed, for petting but never onto my lap before.  

This morning, she marched into the exclusion room, door was open, and jumped on my lap, where she remained, off and on, for an hour.   

Tugs has always had a very direct no nonsense no drama personality.   She is not a bully, but does despise bully cats and whacks  them if they bother her.   She knows what she wants and tries to get it, without fanfare.  She loved Slurpy.  They slept together and ate together.   Now, she still has friends, plenty of cat friends, but she needs more so she just asks for it.   

Tugs, at 18 years of age, won't be around much longer either.

I thought I was going to get a bunch of Waterloo cats fixed Tuesday.  I have ten spots reserved at the private clinic.  I reserved the spots specifically for those cats, otherwise, like I said, on break so people need to do for themselves. Then that fell apart when some kids took off with the kittens.  Not a good thing, if you know the area.   So that's a no go now because those kittens were to be fixed and they also created such a ruckus they freaked out the adult cats I was to catch.   I didn't want to leave the clinic hanging though.

So I switched out offering spots to two Sweet HOme folks dealing with colonies.  I was going to try to catch more from the Berlin Road mess, but the latter's caretaker doesn't seem interested in the least in getting more done there.  Unless I do all the work.   So I'll probably instead have one of the Sweet Home lady bring some of the 9 kittens from that colony also.   At least she is engaged in the effort.

Half of the ten spots will be filled now by the tech from the clinic who is helping a Lebanon woman get cats fixed around her place.  HCC already paid for one pregnant female to be fixed from this place.  T  I'd rather help people willing to catch the cats themselves, than people who seem uninterested in getting cats they feed fixed.   Man I'm getting lazy.  Or, maybe realistic.

Cool cloudy day today.  

Last Day at Waldo, Last Thursday

 I left for home about noon from Waldo Lake campground and was home just before 2:00. 

It's not a long drive between Waldo Lake and me.

It didn't take me long to pack up either, since I didn't take much.   I loaded my camp gear tote, took down and rolled up the changing tent and that was about it.

However, my kayak was down at the lake calling me.  So out I went one last time.  I didn't go far.   I paddled around Shadow Point, down to First Point and just beyond.  There's a sweet little lagoon and another small Island I call Little Land.   I went to that, then back to First Point and down along First Point to First Point Beach, which is beautiful and back to camp, where I pulled the kayak the 50 or 60 feet from the water, up the soft dirt trail, to my car, then shoved it inside the back beside my camp tote and called it a camp trip.

Goodbye to the Stellars' Jays, the Gray Jays, the chipmunks and the ground squirrels too.

Waldo, I don't want to leave.

First Point, with two of the three Sisters in the background.

Green Point on the left, First Point on the right

Little Land, the island beyond First Point

The wind was blowing from the southwest and creating rapids in the shallow water between Little Land and the shore.

I like to stop at these flat rocks along the south side of First Point.  They stay warm and are great for sunbathing or napping.

There's the beautiful First Point Beach, perfect for a picnic and swimming, then a nap.

Beautiful First Point Beach

And then it was so long Waldo Lake.  I'll  be back if I'm able.  Count on it.  Don't burn this summer PLEASE.

Home before 2:00.  Unloaded most of my things quickly, propped up the empty ice chest to dry out, started laundry, and began the clean up.  I'd had a petsitter but she only had come three times so I had clean up to do.  The cats were overjoyed to see me.  Usually they're not.  They ignore me for days.  Not this time.

It was hard to be back.   I didn't want to be back.  I still don't.

Waldo Wednesday Part II

 Wednesday morning not only did I take a little walk along the shoreline trail, but when enjoying my coffee from the inside of my car, so I didn't have to share blood with mosquitos, I spotted this little guy running around.

It's not a deer mouse, at least.  I don't want to see deer mice.  That's because they're the known carriers of Hantavirus.   Hantavirus is a killer.   I helped an old lady once in Albany get a bunch of cats fixed.  Part of helping ended up being a witness with a notary public to her will.  She couldn't find anyone else to be witness and had two loser sons already battling over her shack, should she die, and it was nothing more than that.

It was awhile later, after she had died, I heard a man died after cleaning a shed filled with deer mice and their droppings, of Hantavirus.   One of the sons. 

I headed across the lake for my kayak trip Wednesday.   Straight across, to the old plugged tunnel.

From a long ago Eugene newspaper article, briefly explaining the tunnel saga:

"Waldo has no inlet creeks, receiving its water from rain and snow. That fact led to the failure of a power-generation scheme devised by Danish engineer Simon Klovdahl. In 1912-1914 he successfully built a tunnel that tapped Waldo Lake’s water, diverting it west to Black Creek. The tunnel would have drained the lake by 40 feet. The project was abandoned, however, when it became obvious that the lake would take a decade to refill."

It's quite a paddle across to that point. A paddle boarder named Jake, from Bend, followed me over. He didn't really follow me, just saw the structure from a distance and decided to investigate. He was very friendly and said it was a workout to paddle over on an SUP. I can imagine. They catch the wind, having no hull or keel, and you're paddling with one blade, not two, as I did, with a kayak paddle. He was kneeling on the board instead of standing, to make it easier and reduce wind drag.

So I forgot to take any photos and as Jake headed back across the lake, I headed south down the southwest shore, much of which is badly burned, right up to West Beach, at the south end.

I call this place, along the SW side My Little Lagoon.  I've been coming to it since before the fires.

Flocks of Dragonflies were everywhere along the west shoreline.  Sometimes many congregated on my kayak as I paddled.    Or on my legs.  I said no, if they were mating.  No mating on my arm, I told them, shaking them off.

East Beach.   I avoided West Beach because there were people laid out there and I wanted to give them their peace and privacy.

This is another popular place to hike or canoe-in camp. There is even a fire ring in the field behind. But they don't want campers on the beach. It spoils views for kayakers and also people often don't understand you don't poop or pee near waterways. Some people will never understand that. At the reservoir, I see people pee directly into the lake from their boats. I want to ask them, do you know we drink this water downstream? Do you consider what if all the hundreds of people using this lake in one day did that? But these aren't bright people or they wouldn't be using our waterways as a toilet.


I went swimming at East Beach.

From east beach, I paddled back out and around a point and back down to the end.  There's another island, to paddle behind and there were tent campers who seemed eager to chat there.   They had canoe'ed in their gear and now seemed bored.  On along the shoreline, crossing the long lagoon finally, down which is the boat ramp and day use area, and on to Shadow Bay and camp.

The trees are covered in spanish moss.  Especially the north side.   It was everywhere on fallen branches I collected for firewood too.  These branches were bone dry and so was the moss.  I used it to light campfires, as tender.   When you see how thick the forests are in moss, and that this stuff lights with a spark, you understand how easily forest fires can start, whether its from lightning, a tossed cigarette, a spark from a vehicle tow chain or exhaust.  Here's a demo, with my campfire, lighting it single match, moss as tender.

Trees covered in moss like body hair

It was time to relax after I got back from my five hour kayak trip.

But I went out one more time.   Evenings there were always many people heading out to Shadow Point, down the shoreline trail, like a pilgramage, to watch the sunset.   I decided to watch it, on my last night, from my kayak out on the water.

I love Waldo Lake