Trivial Life

 The trivial day to day of life goes on here. 

 The rain stopped.   We're supposed to have a couple days decent weather then a plummet into the 60's with more rain for a couple days, and after that, fair weather.

SCR had barn homes open and the trailer park was still on the list.  I dreaded tackling it, but HCC is spending over $100 a month supporting them on cat food.   If we could get a bunch out of there into barn homes, might make it plausible for the rest.   

Filling one barn home wanting four cats seemed just so easy, for a lady feeding probably 25 or more.  They're all fixed.  Sure its a mix of owned and wild but by now she should know who is who.   I took her the drop trap last week and told her to get at it.   

But she really wasn't into it.  I have yet to meet someone there who is, or who gets up before 10 a.m.  She did catch two little tame teens, owned, but she argued they should go anyway, because their people don't care for them.  That is very true--they don't.  But tame teen cats aren't good matches for barn homes that want mousers.   Nor can I snatch known to be owned cats.  I'm no cat theif.   

Finally she caught one of the wild ones--Butterfly, who spent time in my garage with her half sisters Sequoia and Willow last November, before all three were fixed.   I thought maybe she was on a roll.   She'd decided to catch Black Mama, who is wild and is the mom of Butterfly.   I went over when she said she'd caught Mama, and that she now was under the drop trap, to transfer her out to a live trap.   

Didn't seem quite right.  The cat wouldn't budge from just sitting, looking shocked, in middle of drop trap, when I was transferring.  I had to push her into the live trap.   I should have realized then this was a tame cat but the feeder was going on and on about how sad she was to see Mama go, cooing at her how much she'd miss her, a lot of shit like that.  I took her home and added her to the other three, two of whom would be returning (the tame teens).   

It was then I realized this is a completely tame cat.  I knew instantly it belonged to a lady two trailers down.  But how did someone not realize that who sees them all day every day?   Hell if I know.  This morning, defeated, knowing that lady would never catch three more of the wild ones today, for the four cat barn home, to go with Butterfly, I took all four back (Butterfly and the three tame ones) and collected my drop trap in defeat.

I felt guilty when I contacted the barn cat team, to let them know there would be no cats from the trailer park for the transport tomorrow to the 4 cat barn home, and that the trailer park should be removed from their wait list.   They were nice about it.

So life goes.   You win some you lose some.   I'll try to figure  out a way to get cat food to them.   Everything has gone so expensive.

The backyard mow sent my right knee, already inflamed, still from the pt for my back, into another sphere of inflamed pain, up several notches.  It hurts most at night.  It's swollen.  But its not unstable, so I assume this will go away.  I might use crutches for a week.  There's nothing like weight off something most of the time, to let something like an inflamed tendon heal.  I use my knee brace off and on, and also ice whenever I'm sitting.  

Meanwhile, as for the trailer park cats, I've already let it go.  My mind is out at a mountain lake, not here anymore.  I might be here physically but I've drifted off.  My body is sure to follow.

Memorial Day

 The long holiday weekend is almost over.

I hate to admit that I have not so much as left the house.

I did go outside at least.  I mowed the front yard and I mowed the backyard.  I did not cut the grass in the cat yard yet.

Today is a memorial for those who died defending the country.

We have many veterans in the family but this is a day to celebrate those who died in wars.

Not the living.  Not the dead of natural cause.  Many use it as a day to remember any deceased loved ones.  I still talk to some of my dead friends as if they are here, since really, who else am I going to talk to, except my cats of course.  

What we as humans do to one another in conflicts is barbarian.    What we do to one another prior to conflict to cause conflict is also usually barbaric.

The end of cul de sac folk had a get together was it Friday night or Saturday?  I don't recall which day.   Lots of cars along the street, is all I notice, and young kids playing with balls down at the end.  Young people voices are welcome to my ears.   Sounds like life.

Yesterday, it was cars at the house next door.  Then people.  I was out to do the back yard finally.  I said hello and asked if they were the new neighbors and they said yes and came over and introduced themselves.  I thought it was a large extended family at first but realized it was a dad helping his young adult daughter move.   There will be three young women there, one of them said.  All seem very nice and I am relieved.    Its' a crapshoot to get new neeighbors.   I think my big fear was to have some psychopath control freak cat hater, or general hater of everything, move in.  I like our neighborhood.  I want to keep liking it.

One of my friends told me she had worried my luck would run out.  I've had good neighbors every time so far.   But I lucked out again!    I should have trusted the owners of the house next door and their prop manager who found more excellent folk to rent it to.   I will curb my enthusiasm, lol.   I can be a little like that overly friendly golden retriever eager to meet everyone.  Young people bring life and generate newness to a neighbhorhood.

Meanwhile, while mowing my own back yard yesterday, I saw that the neighbors behind me have grass growing in their backyard closing in on five feet in height.   Hope they cut that soon.  That's a fire hazard.

Neighbors backyard grass, nearly as high as their five foot leaning falling apart fence.

It's back to raining here today.  Gloomy.  Gray.  Icky.

First Day on Lake

 The reservoir is almost full.  This was only accomplished by filling Foster with water drained out of Green Peter reservoir, farther up one side.   

Lots of logs and debris in the water, which only affects motor boats going too fast to see the debris in time.

It was supposed to be over 80 today, but only achieved 74 in the time I was there.  We will get three more days in the 70's, according to my weather app, then Monday, the temp high is alleged to be 60 with rain.  That's quite a change.

When I looked at the days of good weather and considered by tomorrow, the lake may get very very crowded, today would be the day.   I spent two days fixing the kayak.  Several of the fasteners the seat attaches to had pulled out.  Last year, I ended up just not using a seat and really that's the easy solution. Or I can just sit on a piece of yoga mat.  I don't really lean back against the seat much.  Nonetheless I reinstalled the fasteners.   

I drifted up the S. Santiam.  It's strange to say I drifted upriver but that's how it goes there.  Then I fight the wind paddling back to Foster.

The wind was really strong in my face on the way back by the time I was coming back under that bridge in the picture to go to the boat ramp.   

I exhausted myself today, being not used to all that paddling exercise but it was worth it.

Thimble Berry Blossoms

I'll be sore tomorrow.   I got back home and discovered my yard debris hadn't been picked up today.  Its annoying, they charge so much and now there's nowhere to put grass clippings should I mow my lawn, which really needs done.  And yet I put it off.  Again.  To head to the lake.  Ha!  

I got to the lake about 1:30 and was home by 6:00.  Nice day, not too warm, not many people out on the lake since it just got filled.   

Memorial Day Weekend

 The holiday weekend is coming up.  I have no plans.  

I can't even get anyone to text me back, let alone call or do anything.

I got a whole lot of cleaning done yesterday and yardwork.  

I took Sierra back.   I didn't want to, but there was nowhere for her and I can't handle anymore here.  Tugs is failing.  She's so old, 19, going on 20.   Tweetie, Juno, Mopsy and Clover will follow, sadly.  All my dear old ladies.

Anyway, no new neighbors yet but I think the house is off market now, indicating it must be rented out.  Enter the moving van, probably over the weekend.

I got a food box.   In it, there is usually  big thing of quick oats.   I have a tough time using those  up but I began making overnight oats with them.  With quick oats, it only takes an hour or two, for it to soak up the liquid and be ready.   I had some last night.  1/2 cup oatmeal.  1 cup milk.  Chia seeds, a sprinkle, honey and strawberries.   Delicious.

Cooking shows I watch inspire me to be more creative.

Last night I started a crockpot of rice that included a can of soup, vegetable broth, canned chicken, garlic clove.   I rinse any canned food, since canned foods are generally high in sodium.     These were all items from the food box, except the garlic clove.

This concoction will likely last through the weekend and I'll put it over something like roasted potatoes.

It's not that expensive for one person, a not picky at all person, to eat.   

I'm fixing clothes too, for the summer.   I got some off Amazon Haul before tariffs increased prices there.  Way too big.  You don't return and exchange them there. I tried and they said just keep those and sent me smaller sizes but they turned out to be the same too big size.  Go figure.  So I'm altering them to fit.  I do no sew altering since my fingers are arthritic and I don't have a sewing machine, nor do I want one.   Fabric hem tape and glue can do wonders, if I plot it out carefully.

I found out why my left foot is chronically off and on sore on the pad behind my big toe.  I thought it was seismoiditis, inflammation of those little tiny foot bones and cartilege there.   That was until I went to wash those shoes.  I got two pair when on drastic sale, lightweight slip on tennies, bright colors, and I love color.  I went to wash the burgandy colored pair, turned them over this time, to inspect how much tread is left, since they're old and highly used, and saw a screw head in the bottom, right where inside, my foot pad would be.  I couldn't get it out by prying.  It was literally screwed in.  I was shocked to see it was a one inch deck screw.  Omg, I thought, so this has been poking at the bottom of my foot how long?   I couldn't find a hole inside my shoe, through the inner sole, so its just been prodding and sharply poking at my foot for I don't know how long.  Well, foot pain problem solved.  I was happy.

I got so much done yesterday, today I most likely won't.  Seems like I have one good day, then slouch it for a couple days after, and lack motivation.   Here's something great though---I do my back exercises every morning and my back is so much better.  I'm happy about that too.  And very grateful.

Zeus

 The tech at Rad sent me photos of a bottle babe she'd taken in.  Her daughter had named him Zeus.

Zeus is only two to three weeks old.  He was found in the wheel well of a work truck.  Since he's way too little to have gotten up in there himself, he had to have fallen from the engine compartment.

The truck had just arrived at work which does not bode well for any littermates or mom.  A mom cat could also have been moving them out of the engine well, before the truck was driven to work, and forgot him.  Or didn't have time to get him.

I went and got him Friday night.   That's because we thought maybe Sierra, the emaciated mom whose five kittens are now with a different Radpets employee, would mother him.  She still has plenty of milk.  She's been in my bathroom recuperating.

Bri sent me this photo of Zeus, as introduction

But Sierra would have nothing to do with Zeus.   

I left them together in the bathroom but put a baby cam on them, to see what would happen.  Sierra attacked Zeus.  I ran in and got him out of there.   

He was an easy keeper at least.   I would only have him for the night since Sierra had rejected him.  I fed him well and put him in a carrier in my exclusion room nestled in with handwarmers.  He was so warm and comfy he slept through the night.  

Sierra did not however and yowled the night \away.  Also I could hear her jumping up and back down from the counter too.  I got almost no sleep.  She's going back as soon as the weather breaks.  It's been so cold, windy and rainy.

When I drug myself out of bed this morning, I fed Zeus again, then later on, after feeding him once again, with a nippled large syringe, played with him on my lap, before Brianna arrived to take him back.

Shortly after that, Brianna picked him up.   I finally went outside to put the cans Brianna had at her place into blue bags, so I can deposit them at Bottle Drop under the nonprofit's account there.   There was activity at the empty neighbor's place.  The realtor who also does property management was showing it to potential renters.   Two or three came by while I was sorting out the cans.   

I should have drug my lawn chair out front to have a better view of the candidates coming and going.  Great entertainment!

I would hope to have a friendly neighbor again but I know that's quite rare to get these days.  What I don't want is neighbors with barking dogs.  I'm in my yard a lot in the summer especially and if there are barking dogs in the yard, life turns miserable.

I've felt very lonely lately, with the neighbors gone and the usual lack of human contact.   I can't even stop by the Lebanon woman's house anymore because she's gone too.   The friends I have left who haven't died or moved are facebook friends, whom I don't actually see in real life.  

I had the company of a tiny new life today for awhile and that was nice.  I decided to take a nap later on, since I was sleep deprived from the night before.   But then I didn't wake up until 3:00 a.m.   Uh oh.  Now I'm really off kilter with sleep.

I'm looking at the weather app, and it says by Monday it should be 70 degrees again.   So I'll take dear bored Sierra back Monday.  The young women are getting her an outside cat house.

Gray Icky Days

 It's been gray and cold with off and on drizzle or outright rain.   

Very depressing.  The cats hate it.   

I think the forecast might be for at least mid or high 60's next week, or even 70,   I can't remember.  I rarely watch the news long enough to see the forecast.  The forecasts change so fast now anyway.

How about a slo mo bird video.....

Life Goes On

 My tooth has to be pulled.   I can't pay for a crown and root canal.  Costs thousands.   But I have insurance that will cover its extraction.   That's life.   Not til June 1.  Meanwhile, I have a temp filling in the hole left when part of the tooth split off.

I'm grateful to have the extraction coverage.   Many people do not and those cost a lot too.

Everything does these days.  

 I put gas in the cat carrier car and it cost over $40 for 8 gallons. That will let me drive to pick up or trap and take cats to clinic for 250 miles.  It's about 30 miles one way to the Salem clinic, for reference.  That's 120 miles in one day if I just went to and from the clinic and not off into the boondocks of our county to first catch them.  

People with trucks and gas guzzling cars or who commute daily must be really having a hard time along with all the other high prices, like with food.  There was news showing people lined up for miles to get food box help down in CA somewhere.

The way it is here now.

I went to the store for food and left with almost nothing, the prices were so astounding.   Eggs are still affordable and bananas, some other things.   I'll just watch better for sales.

It's not like I"m starving.  Lucky I guess.

I got my Lebanon moving friends last stray boy, at her place, fixed yesterday.  She had never petted him before she got him trapped.   He's  a handsome fellow.  

She calls him Hero.  To me, he seems mild natured

I told her how sorry I am that things turned out the way they did with the place they bought.   They're still thinking maybe they could sue them.   I don't know if they will.   The two unfixed cats the former owners left behind are both Siamese, she said.  She's going to try to get their son to take them, then he can get them to them.   They'd probably be way better off with her, however.

She has to be out of her residence by end of tomorrow so will sleep there for the first time tomorrow night, she said.   She said it looks a lot better since the junk haulers got as much stuff as they could out of the house itself.  Not from around it or on the property or in the barn though.   It may take years to haul away all the trash and junk they left.

My knee acted up so badly yesterday, just all of a sudden, I knew it wasn't from my back.  I could barely walk and had to put my knee brace on.  Then last night it kept me awake off and on.  Oh the joys of getting old.

This morning I saw the dentist at the same office that I went to after I had the other filling fall out a couple years ago, while engaged in helping the Quartzville road abandoned cats.   I really appreciate them getting me in so fast once again, despite operating only two and a half days per week.

By early afternoon, they'd already filed a request with insurance for referral to an oral surgeon and had it approved.  By days end I had an appointment with the oral surgeon for June 1.

I don't think I've ever had something happen that fast before and its why I like this office a whole lot. 

The vet clinic informed me Sierra, the mom of those five kittens, is incredibly emaciated.   I couldn't take her back there then, so for now, until she recovers from the constant kitten production and parasites, she will remain in my bathroom.  She's all cuddled up in my cozy bathroom cat shelf, with some really soft blankees.   Something very new for her to experience.  She so deserves it.  

My old rhododendron is spectacular this spring.

Rascal the yard stray I got fixed a few months ago still comes by daily and often wants to play.

If you want to see a good movie, I love this one. Remarkably Bright Creatures.