Cat in a Car Grill

 Saturday morning, before the weather turns hot that day, I made plans to try to catch a mom, left behind at some apartments in Lebanon, and her five kittens, along with two other outside females.

Not that I have enough appointments for all, if I was lucky enough to catch all of them.

But last night, I got a message from the woman involved.  She was seeking a chip reader.  I told her I didn't have one, but said Keithas Kitties did, and their director lives not far from that location.  Seems her husband had been in Keizer at work, came home and discovered this in his grill.

Yes, a cat!
He doesn't know for sure the cat climbed in there while he was parked in Keizer but thinks it likely.  The cat even has a collar with bell.  It's a boy, neutered most likely.  (she sent me a butt pic).  The cat is sadly not chipped.

He's very friendly and quite fluffy actually, especially his tail.

She's hoping to find his owners, if he has any.   

For now, he is safe inside her house and won't leave them alone.  A very affectionate kitty.

Before the cat in the grill drama, I went to the lake.  I wanted to pick blackberries and found many wonderful patches.  I pick them from my kayak.   The lake was very busy and again I got the last single car parking space at the ramp.  There were lots of empty boat/trailer spots, which made me curse under my breath that the lake is so kayak unfriendly still, as far as access to the lake and parking for single cars.   That ramp is the only one really suited for kayak launch but has nowhere you can tie a kayak up, well anyhow.   There are seven single car parking spaces at this ramp is all.  SEVEN.   I got one of the ones almost out to the road, which means a long walk back to the ramp, complain complain.  Makes me stronger, right?  

I kayaked a long way.  I found two blackberry patches with some very nice ripe berries and filled two zip lock bags with berries.  I beached the kayak and swam twice in two places then got myself in a jam.  I had stopped at a tiny little beach near Sunnyside campground beyond the second bridge, to swim.  But boats going by there were creating huge wakes that knocked my kayak about.  I had it partially grounded on the little beach piece.  I swam back to pull the kayak out so it wouldn't bang or turn sideways with the boat wakes, and decided to just swim, pulling it, find another little place.  Only I couldn't find another little place or even a place shallow enough on that bank, overhung as it is in tree branches, to get back in.  So I got stuck in a long swim pulling it, back to the bridge and across the arm to the other side.   There I searched the bottom with my eyes underwater to find a flat rock the right height I could stand on to get back in my kayak.  Finally I did and gave a sigh of relief.

Blackberry patch, some very ripe, got two bags full!

I had to get back to the other side of the lake to leave.   I was heading to the bird lady's old hood for a night out block party.  I was invited because the neighbors knew Evelyn would have invited me.  This touched my heart.  Evelyn died last May.

I had to paddle back up from the second bridge to near Lewis Creek day use area, cross the arm, go around the tip of the point, that juts out into the lake between the two bridges, cross the second arm to the ramp.   The wind had come up and the waves the wind whipped up combined with boat wakes made for one exerting paddle until I got around the tip of the point, then the wind was with me and I could almost surf the big waves back to the ramp.

I was beat though and the long trudge to get my car brought more under breath curses for the lack of single car park space there for the likes of kayakers.  Complain complain.

On the way home, an alert came up on my phone with level three evacs for an area just south of Sodaville, which is just south and across highway 20 from Waterloo, where I've caught a zillion cats.  Wildfire!   But they got the brush fire under control by the time I was home again.

I got home just after 4:00 and took a shower.  I'd unloaded my kayak and the blackberries I'd picked.  I put them on the kitchen counter.  Alas, one bag had a leak and leaked out blackberry juice all over the counter, over some dollar bills and turned purple my $20 permit to be on public waterways with a floatation device ten feet long or over.  Oh shoot.   I was able to dry it out, but its forever blackberry purple now.  Well, as long its good, that is, which is for only a few more months.

I picked up the cat cookies a friend and her daughter made with me, over at her place, in honor of Evelyn and took them to the Night Out party.  I meant to comb my hair, but forgot and only remembered once home again, that I'd never combed out my wind whipped lake water damp hair.

The cat cookies didn't last.  They got eaten!  I was terrible at decorating them.  But Karen's daughter Brianna was much better at it, fortunately.

The National NIght Out block party was already going strong at 5:45 when I got there.  A police car was there.  Two officers were taking photos with the bird lady's daughters big tortoise.  She'd brought him along.  That was some tortoise and he could move fast!   I'd always thought they would be slower.

The police always come to each night out block party.   There was a lot of food, a few familiar faces but not many.   But it was nice.  I stayed a little over an hour.  No mariachi band this year.

Tomorrow is another trip to FCCO.  Two cats this time, from same place.  She made the appointments a couple months back and I had at that time offered to loan her traps and drive them up.  I then completely forgot about it, til a week ago.

As for the Cat in the Grill, I'll be interested to see if they find his owners.  I had a great day yesterday.  It was a two Alever day.   I should have pre-Aleved my activities, but oh well.