Revisits, New Colony Cats, Beautiful Crops

 I was headed out about noon to Lebanon, to deliver traps, for tomorrow's cat roundup to the Lebanon apartment complex.  I was also to meet the feeders of another colony behind Safeway over there.  I'd trapped on this dead end street multiple times over the years, including behind the house I was headed for again four years ago.

But first, I had a car issue. I backed out of my driveway and when I put the car in first gear and started to go, it began a metallic yowl.  Shoot.  Its the sound on this video that tells the story.

I recorded the sound and sent it to the mechanic who said he'd be right there.  What?  How?  He lives in Lebanon and I'm in Albany.  I texted him that very question, and as I texted, I jumped, startled, to see him behind my car in the rear view mirror.  WTF?   Turned out he was at the Y just half mile away, had actually left it and was unbelievably close to my house when I texted him.  

He listened and knew immediately it was the metal guard behind the rotor scraping on the wheel.   I dug my door jack out of the back.  He jacked it up, took off the tire and bent the thin metal so it wouldn't scrape.   Problem gone.  

How'd that happen?  Who knows.  Had something to do with the repair or the new tires, doesn't matter, it was nothing.

Then off I went.  I was anxious to get to Lebanon before 2:00.  Why?  Because the Saturday Market there was open til 2:00 and there's this old guy with a booth, who sells cookies and brownies he bakes really affordably.  And they're so delicious. I wanted some.  I got there in time!!!!

Then I delivered two traps to the apartment complex and headed down to the dead end street to meet up with the feeders there.

It was so nice to see the woman and her friend, the man who owns the house, plus the feeder lady.  We sat in the back, to see if the new cats would come out, and chatted up a storm, mostly about all the new housing now right behind the house.  I spottted a hinge on the development fence that ran along behind the development and said wtf, why is there a hinged gate opening to your property from the development.  The feeder lady went over to inspect and confirmed its hinged and the size of a gate.  The house owner said he'd have his brother drive some stakes in front of that.  I just thought it was super creepy.

Here's one of the newbies

I spotted three of the unfixed ones.  I'd gotten five fixed before there.

Across the street, four deer lounged in a field like pets.

Six years ago, I got 40 or more cats fixed at the last house on the dead end street.  It was occupied by a pair of sisters.  I was asked to help by the adult homeless drug addicted daughter of one of the sisters, when I ran into her at a drug house a few blocks away, when also after cats.

She has now passed away.  

Only one sister is still living there.  She was happy to see me and talk about the cats.  There are not as many now, after half dozen years, but they looked pretty good.  We exchanged numbers again.

These cats were among the many fixed six years ago.

I went then down to the S. Lebanon colony.   13 cats fixed there in April.  She had more pee pads for me, the small kind perfect for trap lining.  We sat around on her patio listening to the birds with humming birds whirring by.  We too talked about the results of all the development going on, the MacMansions, the massive housing developments and apartments everywhere.  They're taking the country out of country, the woman lamented.  It's true.  This while the freshly fixed kitties, grabbed and ran with pine cones, chased them like cat toys, then in fits of fun, raced partway up an arborvita that has seen better days.

Danub, a boy, looking good

That's Madonna there on the bed by the ladder.  

I enjoyed the afternoon a great deal.  I saw some old friends, human and cat.  

I drove home past gorgeous fields of Meadowfoam in full bloom.  Beehives are out so the blossoms will be pollinated and produce seed, which is then harvested and crushed into oil.

That was my day.  Tomorrow we're supposed to get rain again, through Wednesday or Thursday I think it is.