Lake Day

 I went to the lake today.   It's been in the 80's.  Before that it was in the 90's.  

They began filling the reservoir May 16.   It's still low, but I couldn't wait any longer.

There was a horrific wreck on the interstate just north of our town yesterday afternoon.  Seven migrant farm workers were killed in a passenger van and four others were injured.  This was when an intoxicated truck driver rear ended them crushing the passenger van up against another big rig backside.  

Fucking drunks out driving.  Hate them.

It was extremely disturbing, this wreck, the violence of it.   I can't imagine what the first responders went through there.   

My escape was to load the kayak into the back of the car and head out.

My neck has been inflamed something awful, from mowing and weed eating.   I didn't dare do too much paddling, so I stayed in one arm of the lake only.   But it was good.   The ramp there is still out of the water by a couple feet, so no motor boats can launch and I could wade if I'd wanted to, half across that arm.  In places it was just inches deep.   But if it floats your boat and it did mine.

You can see how shallow it is.  This area should be five to six feet deep normally.

There were a handful of others on paddle boards mostly, and a few kayaks that I saw.  If there were others out, they'd be on the other side, where there's a boat ramp low enough to get in from it.  Saw several floating dead fish.  These are likely dead from people doing catch and release I would guess.  

I'd taken traps to that colony near Sweet HOme.  They have my five spots for Monday although I'll transport them to the clinic.   There are three more litters there but they've only found one of the litters.  She's another bobtail, like the first two I took in from there to be fixed.  I think she's got five kittens, and so far, taking good care of them.

The Albany mom and kittens were picked up by Vivian of Silverton Cat Rescue.   

I had to break up a fight on my front walkway this evening.  It was Stevie and a second cat owned at the house behind me, fighting with Fritter, or trying to.  He knows now he's old and losing his edge at it.  He was abandoned by his humans at the apartment complex, then taken in by the single man who lived at the end until he died suddenly.  The young couple and their kids who live there now were asked to feed him by family of the deceased man and they do, even have a little house for him on their porch.  He comes down here for catnip.     I told Stevie and the other cat who lives behind me to go on home now, and herded them that direction and gave Fritter some catnip to calm him down some and came inside shaking my head over a group of fixed boys still tiffing and screaming, for no reason really, like politicians.

The dark green water towards the far side in this video is where the channel is, with deeper water.  The rest of the area is so low I could wade it if I'd wanted to.   

I wonder what happens to the families of the migrant farm workers killed and injured in the wreck.   One man, whose wife was killed, was sobbing at the arraignment of the driver today, saying they have a toddler who will grow up without his mom now.   I hope they lock up that drunk driver forever.  Killing brutally seven people, injuring the other four.  He has a long criminal record too.  What's he doing behind a commercial truck wheel anyhow.  How'd that get by.  I probably need to go back to the lake, get it out of my mind.