Sunday, March 11, 2018

Bad Cherry and More Cats

My cherry tree is bad.  Very bad.

It's infected with a new bug to the valley that attacks nearly ripe and ripe cherries, creating a black spot where the insect larvae grow inside the cherry.  The Oregon State University extension office told me there was no spray to kill these bugs and it was advised I even pick up fallen cherries and seal them in plastic bags before disposal to prevent spread of the bug. 

I knew then I needed to down the over sized cherry tree.  Not that easy for me to do.  It sits right by the fence.

Yesterday I climbed up the aluminum ladder after securing it to the main trunk and began hacking off limbs with the reciprocating saw.  However, its battery lasts only for a few cuts, making this project time consuming.  In the end, I went at it with a dollar store hand saw.   I got most of it cut down but not the tallest trunk whose branches support one of the widow makers fallen from the maple.



The project created a lot of debris.   Slowly I am cleaning that up too.

I am very sore today but had taken Aleve before I even started to ward off some of the after effects.

I also began to trap a colony last night outside Lebanon.   Not sure how many there are.  By now, I've caught five.  I had four of the cats in the car last night on the way home, after dark, driving a rural road.  A car had come off a side road behind me south of highway 34.  Once across highway 34, it slowed way down until I could barely see his headlights behind me.  I wondered what was up with that.  But suddenly the car increased speed so dramatically he was merely a couple hundred feet behind me, as I watched, worried, in my rear view mirror.  When suddenly I saw the lights of the car go topsy turvy.  The car had flipped off the road. 

Yikes.   I hit the brakes, backed up, put on my flashers, got my flashlight and walked back and saw the car upside down in the ditch.  I waved my arms and flashlight to stop other cars for help.  Lots stopped very quickly.  Most of the occupants were young folks who quickly stepped in to help.  The guy was still in the upside down car, but seemed just fine.  He was banging on a window trying to get out.  Some guys rocked the car up so the door, jammed against the side of the ditch, could be opened.  The guy popped out, not a scratch on him. I'd called 911 and the police arrived.  I had to wait to give a statement and did.  A bit of excitement I guess and the guy seemed completely unaffected by his roll over.

Did everyone in the states just love losing an hour as we "spring forward" to daylight savings time, whatever the hell that is good for.  I've never quite understood it.  You don't lose an hour really, you can't lose time, but setting our clocks forward essentially jet lags everyone.

I needed a nap by mid day today.

Anyhow, here are the five cats caught so far at the Rock Hill Colony.



I took this photo before I started trapping.




This one too, before trapping started.  
There are at least two more out there needing caught.   Maybe more than that.   Traps still set.

The first five will get fixed tomorrow.


13 comments:

  1. Lucky guy in the roll-over.
    You look to have taken on not one but two big jobs. Yet another cat colony and downing that tree.
    Please take care. And take both jobs slowly.

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    1. Well, done with both, although the ladder is still tied to the tree. Eventually I"ll untie it and store it again.

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  2. Too bad about your cherry tree. Did you get a lot of fruit off of it?

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  3. Anonymous1:28 AM

    Good on you for stopping. You could have just kept driving. Also good that many others stopped. Most people are good and caring. Do be so careful on the ladder. Advice here is men should never get on a ladder past the age of 50. I ignore that, but I am super careful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I'm done on the tree for now. Hoping my brother will come up and take care of it when he gets some time off. The ladder is actually tied to the tree in three places.

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  4. Please don't take down the main trunk of the tree. It is very dangerous and requires a lot of expertise so it comes down where you want it to--away from people and things. I have watched my husband's family study it for years and the complexity it involves. With that being said, what are doing with the debris? Finding a place for all of our yard debris is a problem we have at our house.

    That accident sounds very scary but I'm glad everyone turned out okay in the end. You were a hero as you are with the cats you save every day.

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    Replies
    1. No, I am not taking anything further off the tree. My brother will have to take care of that one day, if we ever completely remove it.

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  5. Wow! I'm so sorry you're in pain. And thrilled you weren't injured! ~hugs~ You are a hero, for sure. I wonder if that guy was high on drugs. ~shakes head~ Beautiful kitties!

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    1. Never heard anything more about that accident. Maybe he reached for something on the floor board, or was on cell phone? Don't know.

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  6. Oh, I know what I forgot to add... Yesterday while buying cat litter I spoke to a lady with a cart full of pet food. "What we don't do for our pets," I joked, hauling a second fifty pound bag. She grew animated telling me about the forty or so animals at her rescue at any given time and named a figure of adoptees that eludes me now but would please you, too. She said she hopes to work herself out of a job someday and I in turn bragged on you. Be well!

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    Replies
    1. That's wonderful and thanks for bragging on me!!!

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Round Up

Today is cat round up for tomorrow's five spots.  Two more came up from the vet student in Harrisburg late this morning.  Over 60 fixed ...