Fast Trip to Tigard

I was up at 5:00 a.m. today, ready to be up in Tigard by 7:30, with nine cats. Complication. One gray male had broken out of the carrier he was in and now was asleep atop the garage room.

No tuna in live traps by my car in the garage had enticed him down and out of a cozy nap.

I propped a ladder against the side of the garage room, between my car and a wall, and climbed to the top rung, in my PJ's, trying to coax him down. I could get him to come almost within reach. Standing on the top rung of the laddar I was almost high enough at the waist to pull myself up atop the garage room, but, I knew, with my luck, I'd fall through the ceiling of the garage room, busting through between the studs.

That wouldn't be fun. I'd be adding aches, pains, maybe broken bones to the ache and pain of my tooth problem. Also, it would have been quite embarrassing to explain the circumstances of the fall and what I'd been doing at that early hour in pajamas up near the top of the garage, with a net in my hand, to emergency crews or ER doctors, if I was still conscience or even alive, when finally found.

I finally duct taped the handle of a fish net I use to catch cats to an old five foot piece of PVC pipe I had, as an extension, and again climbed the ladder with that. All that did was make him mad and make him move. So, I moved the ladder and hoisted the net up and above the room again. He moved again. I repeated this procedure about ten times, which was slightly annoying, until he decided he'd take his nap down. Growling and hissing, he jumped down atop some shelves and to the garage floor and went under my car.

I decided to try some flirting. I told him real nice things about himself and offered him tuna and catnip and boy was he mad, when, after he believed me and came out to be coddled and appreciated more, I stuffed him into a live trap. I did give him tuna, a tiny bit since he was having surgery, and smeared some catnip on his face, too. But by this time, I was way late for take off and had to skip my shower.

Off I went into the big city world for a few short hours. I arrived just before 8:00 a.m., only slightly late, dropped off the nine cats, then headed off, as usual when I drop cats off in Tigard for fixing, to Poppa's Pres's house in Hillsboro. She was barely up, but fixed breakfast for both of us, before I went in her rescue cat room to admire the cats there, and promptly fell asleep on a futon.

I woke up with Bono, one of her rescues, pulling a button off my shirt and trying to poke his paw into my exposed belly button, which fascinated him. (I'm an in-y)

I decided to head out to Recycled Gardens, see if they had anything easier than roses to take care of. I intend to dig up the roses here, since I'm no good with them, and take them to RG to sell. But Keni, Poppa's Pres and plant expert, told me not to dig them out until at the earliest, fall, better yet, wait til next winter.

Anyhow, so I got a sword fern. Dave, the king of RG, a very wonderful long time volunteer there, told me to just take it, refused to charge me. He said "You do so much for the cats every day. I will not charge you." So I have me a nice sword fern for my yard.

By then it was noon and I could pick up the cats by 12:30. So I did. Not a bad deal at all, I'd say, to have nine cats fixed and be home by 2:00 p.m.

They're all delivered back to their people, too.

But, oh my gosh, just as I was delivering the now fixed cats back to Heatherdale, the pea hail hit with such force it hurt when it would pound on my head. Whoa. With thunder roaring and lightening piercing the low hanging clouds with sudden eery yellow flashes. The woman whose male, Reject, was fixed Wednesday, was helping me deliver the cats to the various owners. She's really been extremely helpful over there.

There was snow through Salem coming down on the way up. I wonder who up there somewhere, maybe the weather god, needs to wake up and turn a few pages on their calandar and get things on the right track.