Long Interesting Night up Quartzville

 I went back up, as you probably would guess I did.

I stayed all night up there, leaving at 7:30.  I never caught the last cat, but I caught the next to last cat.

I feel so bad for that last cat up there, a gray tux or gray and white.

I got up there a bit late, not arriving at the group camp until 7:00 p.m.   I'd dorked around trying to catch that kitten, but alas, not even the dry food I'd left in weatherproof container last Friday, had been touched.  I set a trap for a few hours anyway, but no luck, not touched.

I went on up to the group camp and set my largest trap and by 8:00, caught the young short hair gray kitty.  He's in my bathroom now.  Not with five other cats, who were in there this morning.  This morning, before I went to bed after being up all night, Kelsey, from Sweet Home, stopped by.  She is holding five of the Quartzville cats, three of whom I've gotten fixed already.  She had a coworker wanting to adopt Pebbles and Prince.  Off they went with her.   Sweet dear Pebbles with the heart murmur got herself a home with her beloved friend Prince.

So new boy or girl is in the bathroom with Julian, Poof and Boulder, all three of whom are leaving Saturday for a barn home through Silverton Cat Rescue.

I'd taken a donated extra large light weight true catch trap and that did the trick with this one.  I'll take it with me tomorrow when I try for the last cat, up there alone in that remote area in very cold wet weather.  The deer have been eating the dry cat food left out for the cats.

There was a deer waiting when I arrived in fact.   And later, when I returned from Thistle Creek, where there is one bar of cell coverage, that deer was not happy I'd put out no dry cat food. Thistle Creek parking lot/vault toilet is five miles back down the road towards the dam.   I drove back there twice, bored, to play on my phone, and thinking maybe that last cat would get in a trap if I left the group camp parking lot.  

When I returned, the deer met me in the parking lot.  And charged my car.

Not funny, you might think, but I broke out laughing.  Maybe that's the deer I hit last Monday night.   Maybe he's out to get me or maybe all the deer up that road are.

Later I cooked up some catnip tuna stew, trying to lure in that last cat.  I had my sterno stove along and had already made myself some hot chocolate.   I baited the traps with it, then called out into the dark "Here Kitty Kitty" trying to let her know, new bait, to come on and get some.  Instead, the deer came running out of the brush, expectantly, like "What have you got for me?"    Oh boy.   The last cat is really skittish in part because of this one deer that hangs out around there who is a tad aggressive.  And who apparently eagerly awaits whomever has put out dry cat food, although I don't think anyone is now.  Maybe I better find some grain free cat food.   Most cat food now is full of grain and will attract herbivores for that reason.

It was down in the 30's I think.   I was plenty warm, had warm clothes, hand warmers, blankets, sterno stove, all that.   Luxury living.  I could have survived a week out there with all the food and drink I had along.  Even sharing with the deer and the cat.

It poured most of the night.  There were just no let ups.  I knew I wouldn't catch the last cat in the downpour.   Finally it let up for about half hour about the time I was leaving.   I read a book I had with me.  I dozed.   I went back to Thistle Creek to play on my phone twice.   I exercised my feet and legs trying not to get a blood clot, from sitting so long in the cold.  You know, things to pass the time in your car.

The empty log trucks began passing by the group camp on the way up to wherever they're loading up logs about 3:30 to 4:00 a.m.   They're lit like Christmas trees, very pretty lights on those trucks. I know its so they can be seen, but I think they're beautiful to see coming out of the darkness.

I left at 7:30 a.m. and drove on back down and home, discouraged for that last cat up there all alone, way out there in this cold wet weather.   I needed to be home because I was worn out and because Kelsey was coming by, to pick up Pebbles and Prince to take to her coworker.

After they left, I went to bed and slept over 8 hours.   Woke up and did all the cleaning chores, the laundry, dishes, litter boxes, mopping, but headed off to bed again now.  

Strikes!

No, not the kind of strikes a pitcher throws.  Labor strikes are going on.

In Albany, its the teachers on strike against the Greater Albany School District.

For higher wages, yes, but they're also striking for safer classrooms and smaller class sizes.

Some of the stories of violence are really shocking.  Student outbursts, throwing desks and chairs, biting teachers....yikes.

Partly this is because there are so many students with behavioral issues mandated a public education.   I'm not sure why teachers are forced to put  up with violent students.   If a student is violent they should get a warning and then be ousted.   One teacher described having to wear protective gear to make it less likely she'd need stitches.  Classrooms are routinely cleared while teachers deal with a student having an outburst that may or may not include violence.   Students there to learn, well how can they.  

Sometimes, I swear, in our society, parenting is so bad the parents expect the teachers to reparent and make up for their negligance. 

So, in the face of so many students with issues, the teachers want smaller class size and more one to one aides for students with severe behavioral and physical/mental disability problems.  Yes, this is expensive.   

So far, the students have been out of school for a week now.   Parents are stressed because daycare, for younger kids, while they go to work, is expensive and often eats up their entire paycheck.

Benton County employees are on strike too, over in the neighboring district.  I think that one is over wages and also safety.  The deputies and jail folks have to work regardless of strike I think.

Oregon State University graduate students, also over in Corvallis, are on strike.  They work long hours, teaching and grading, and also in research that brings the university money, and don't make much.  I think that's the reason they're on strike after a very long time in negotiations.

All three of these strikes affect taxpayers because the teachers, the Benton County employees and the graduate students are all paid by the taxpayers.

Not so with the strikes going on down in Eugene at Bigfoot Beverages and at Franz Bakery.  Here is one sentence from an article about the Franz strike, where employees are barely trained, understaffed, and overworked, often working 12 hour shifts six days a week:  

"Gettman emphasized that Local 114 union members are asking management to “be treated like human beings in this company.”"

The Bigfoot Beverages strike is getting nasty, with union strikers harrassing passers by, female employees and others.  People lose sympathy fast for violent strikers.

So that is five nearby strikes going on that I know of.  There may be others as I'm badly uninformed these days.  I think people want to be safe at work, for one thing.  For another thing, like the Franz Bakery employees, they want a work/life balance.   You don't want to sacrifice your whole quality of life for some company that doesn't give a shit about you or your family.

Back to Business Back up Quartzville

 Long day yesterday.   

After not as much sleep as I should have gotten, I drove early up Quartzville road, hoping to see how many are left up there and maybe even catch them.

Ha!

I saw nothing, stayed about two hours is all, walked around, talked to a man at the Thistle Creek parking lot, about the trap stolen there.   I gave him my card, after he asked who he should call if he saw the kitten seen a quarter mile from there.   I was unsure if I's just talked to the man who stole my trap or someone willing to help if he can.  Doesn't matter.   Was nice he even asked about the kitten.

I put some food out again where I'd seen that kitten.

Wet sloppy food, because birds won't eat that.  And I would be able to tell then if something else might still be there.  

I took photos of the chaos being caused once again, by the drawdown of Green Peter dam.   I took two photos at Foster Reservoir, where the two rivers run into it at its east end.  The south Santiam has no dam above it and looks pretty clean.   The Middle fork of the Santiam comes from Green Peter dam and is muddy as hell as it dumps into Foster Reservoir.  Same old.

Looking up the middle fork of the Santiam, that comes down from Green Peter Dam, from Foster Reservoir

And this is looking up the other river that empties into Foster Reservoir, the south Santiam, not the muddy mess the Middle Fork is, due to the Green Peter draw down.

Here is what Green Peter Dam and Reservoir look like currently, with most of the water drained out.

this is the downriver side of Green Peter dam, through the trees, from the pullout at the dam.

This is the reservoir side of the dam.  Ordinarily, the water level would be up to those trees and that green grass area.

That orange snake line, that's the debris float linee, to block debris and boats from the dam, when its full.  See where they're snaking from?  Way up top?  That's the usual  level.

I took these from a pullout.  It's disgusting.

Down to a shallow muddy river that local wildlife can't even access, cause that mud would suck them down.

Looking down from the first bridge overlook, can make you a little dizzy.  Long long way down, to trickle river.

Anyhow.....

Foster Reservoir is mile one on Quartzville road.  Green Peter Dam is at mile 5.   The large group of cats dumped is at mile 15.   The kitten was seen at mile 10.  

I returned last night, alone, and set a trap and fell asleep very quickly.  The kitten five miles closer to the dam, had eaten the food I left a few hours before.  Or something had.  I left a weather proof set up and dry food, but longed to leave the group dump and go after that kitten.    I saw one cat about 6:30 p.m. and remembered I forgot to set out the game cam, so when that cat did not go in the trap I set out the game cam.   I fell asleep again.  Woke an hour later and the rain had finally stopped.

The full moon came out beautiful, but very briefly.

Periodically I'd shine a flashlight around, to check for cat eyes.   I left at 11:00, having seen only the one cat, the gray and white short hair.  My game cam batteries had died and did so shortly after 7:00 I saw on time stamp where the last photo on the cam was black.   But....there was a second cat on the game cam before the batteries died.  So there are at least two very trap shy cats left out there.  One lady had initially caught two cats and tried to transfer them to a carrier while there, and they got out.  These may be those two.

I drive like a grandma back down Quartzville road, flicking my lights from high to low beam, not wanting to hit a deer again, thinking that might help for some reason.

Lastly, saw this beautiful double rainbow on the drive up.

Today, is hang out day with my own cats.

Quartzville Sweeties

 

Prince up front. Behind him Boulder on the left and Pebbles on the right.  She loves the boys!

Boulder and Prince

Poof and Julian

Poof and Julian are hanging out in the bathtub.  There's a reason.  They loved the carrier beds.  Until yesterday morning, when I put the back of a transfer trap up near a carrier door, to get Boulder into it, to take to be fixed.  Instead, Julian had run into it.   So they got all scared of being in a carrier, with its one escape door, over that.  Doesn't take a lot.

Pebbles is the only one currently still using the carrier beds after yesterday morning.  Getting Pebbles and Boulder contained took all of five minutes yesterday morning, but you know cats, they remember things.  Pebbles is the sweetest little thing.  I wonder if malnutrition damaged her heart or if when she's gotten enough good food for awhile, if she'll be better.

Pebbles and Prince are going to a home on Monday.  The other three will go to a barn home with SCR a week from today.

Five Cats Fixed from Quartzville

 I took five of the Quartzville road dumped cats in to the private clinic to be fixed today.   There were two boys--King George, a lilac point Siamese.  There was little Magnus, the smallest yet of the gray teens, maybe 3 months old, very darling.  And finally, to round out the three fixed whom Kelsey caught and is holding, there is Sariba and I"m probably getting the name wrong.  She is also a Siamese, snowshoe mix.

Then from my bathroom, the two unfixed ones in there--Pebbles, a four month old gray girl, and Boulder, a long hair gray tux young male, went.

All five were also tested for FIV/Felk, as they have to be in case they need to go to barn homes through Silverton Cat Rescue.

This created a very large bill to pay.  Fortunately, my nonprofit had the money.

However there was a hitch.  Little Pebbles has a very severe heart murmur.  When I first had her in the bathroom, before three more joined her and Boulder in there, she was the tame one and as I held her, I could feel her heart beat wildly.  I hoped it was fear.  But it wasn't.

She could die suddenly at anytime, or live a long time.  

Precious little girl.

I didn't do much else today but try to catch up on cleaning.    The Sweet Home three went home late this evening.  

Three of the bathroom fixed ones will soon most likely leave for a barn home.   Pebbles and Prince, also a Siamese, too white and bright for a barn home, will remain.  They're bonded and I hope someone will take them both, to keep, even if Prince remains shy, just because they need a safe space, some kind humans is all.   I doubt Pebbles will have a very long life with her heart so bad.

This is Prince

Pebbles, the little bad heart girl, but she made it through anesthesia today and spay

Somewhere I have photos of the other three fixed today that Kelsey has taken.

Stolen Trap

This piece is also now missing from my car, after the deer hit.  I don't know if its important to replace or at least cover that to keep wind and rain out when driving.   My car is square, so wind does affect it and that is now a wind sucker hole.  I found a replacement part on ebay motors and ordered it.  I love ebay motors.

 I loaned two traps to a Lebanon woman who went up yesterday to try to catch that kitten, seen crossing the road at milepost 10, up Quartzville.

Instead of catching it, she messages me the trap she left set unwatched for I don't know how long at a parking lot with restroom, was stolen.  WTF.

I'd told her never to leave a trap unwatched, but especially in a public place, even if remote.  Inside I was steaming that another person nodded when I gave instructions, then completely ignored them and lost an expensive trap.

But worse, I think, was there anything caught in that trap when stolen or what kind of person took it, and will they use it to harm animals.    But, I also thought, what would I do, if I saw a trap set, middle of nowhere, public place and nobody anywhere near, to check it.  I'd probably at the least sprng the trap.  I might wait 30 minutes and if no one showed up, take it, turn it in to police, something like that.

Anyhow, a blow but not the end of the world.  Maybe the biggest blow, can't trust her with my equipment now.

Today, there's a storm blowing.  Rain and wind.  Leaves blown down and falling like snow.   It's beautiful!

The Deer and The Cat

 

I headed up to Moose Creek on Quartzville road yesterday afternoon, with Julie, to see if we could catch any stragglers still there, of the cats dumped.    We had been told there were still at least three cats up there needing caught.

It was pouring on and off.   And dark by the time we started up Quartzville road.   I was going very slow due to intermittent fog and wet pavement and curvy narrow road.

Suddenly there's a deer dashing out.   The front of the car and deer collided, but at low speed.  The deer was knocked on his side in the road.   He laid there only an instant before scrambling up.  I held my breath, would a leg be broken.   No, he didn't limp at all, made his way to the other side of the road, looked back at the car, went on along the road then vanished into the brush.

Julie always carries a gun and if the deer had been injured she would have shot it and we would have put it in the back and she would have reported it to fish and game, as required, and her family then would have eaten it.  But the deer was not injured.

I didn't get out and check for damage.  I should have because I would have had none if I had gotten out.  The scion emblem, a plastic piece about 3 inches diameter had been knocked off the grill.    As we started off again, towards Moose Creek, my rear tire crunched something, most likely that.

We sat up there at Moose creek until 9:00 p.m.  I'd brought my game cam and my catnip and Temptation cat treats.   We saw a cat running around in the pitch black and sometimes with rain coming down.   It was not going for the traps I'd set however.  So I got out and went over to them and spread out the catnip and Temptation chicken treats and soon we caught that one.  We waited another two hours to leave, hoping to catch the others also, but nobody else showed up.

On the way back down the mountain, I went slow again, hoping to find my car part in the road.   Suddenly something ran across the road into the ditch.  Looked maybe like a rabbit so I drove closer to check.  It was a young tabby, kitten or teen, who then shot out of the ditch, recrossed the road and vanished.  This was a heartbreaker and miles from where the other cats were dumped in mass.  What is wrong with people around here.   

We left food in several places, noted the exact location on maps app, and milepost even though we were still in a no cell coverage area.   It was depressing to see a little one on its own so far out.  ANOTHER ONE, besides the 20 dumped even farther out.

Got back home near 11:00 p.m.  Did cat chores, went to bed.  Tomorrow five of the Quartzville cats will be fixed at Alpine and tested  If negative, then some can move on quickly, as SCR already has a barn home for three of them.  I hope they test negative.

It was a good night, despite all the other stuff, because she is now safe!