An Ode to Summer

Summer is gone.  Today rain returns to the valley.  

I think back on the days of summer.  Sure, we had heat waves and fires.  But I had a great summer.  My biggest joy was going to the lake, kayaking up the rivers or just relaxing on my floatie in the water.  I also enjoyed sitting by the river.  I didn't do much else.  I was supposed to take a break from cat helping, but I really didn't do that.

I took one short day trip to the coast with a friend that lasted only a few hours.  High winds cut it short.  But it was still beautiful.

The range broke and I went most of the summer cooking on a sterno stove.  No big deal.

Now I have a nice new range, although I still need to pull it out again, cut out the build up on the bottom, so I'm not cooking chest high.  I like the new range's storage drawer.  Now the pans that hung on the wall are in that drawer and so are their lids.  Easy!  The storage drawer is probably a foot deep, giving plenty of space for the pans.  It's so nice to have them and their lids in one easy spot.

I spent two weeks trying to keep two scrub jay fledgings safe, with the neighbors.

I had the knee injury, which was very strange and resolved rather suddenly too, but I'm still dealing with that and see the knee doctor again this next week, on a plan for its future.  In reality, both knees need replaced.   My brother is having his other knee replaced this winter.  He hopes by summer to be a new man, largely without pain and ready for an enjoyable summer, for a change.  I hope the best for him.

My car broke down again, what else is new, but its fixed and working.  For how long, I don't know. You roll the dice with an old high mileage car.

I lost dear Brambles this summer and Angel too.  Dear hearts, both.

I got so far ten more cats fixed at the park, even trapping during extreme heat, by going very early in the morning.  I caught the black mom and her three black boys behind the gas station in LEbanon and all went to a Keizer woman who got them homes.  And I caught the 13 kittens and 6 adults on 3rd in Lebanon, finding the kittens foster placements.  And I caught 19 in two locations in Cascadia, and only returned 2 of the 19.  Orphan Paw Project of Corvallis, a vet student group, took 15 of those kittens, and despite accusations that I make money grabbing little black hissing feral kittens to sell, I didn't, and in fact donated $1500 from HCC, $100 per kitten, to the student group, to make sure I was not overwhelming them with costs.  Many of the kittens had terrible flea and worm and malnutrition issues.  I never want to cause a rescue composed of future spay neuter vets, earnest and caring and busy, a burden.

It's been a great summer, for me, with my visits to the lake, and for the cats I've helped.  Sure there have been disappointments and sorrows but that's all part of life and you can't live without sorrows and troubles, unless you just hide out completely in a cave and that's not jumping in, to live life and do what you want to do.

No regrets here!  Onward to infinity!

I will now overwhelm you with summer photo memories. But this post is for me, to look at in the days ahead, during the long gray of winter.

So long summer.  See ya again next year, if I'm lucky.