In The Name Of Science

I confess.

I am a sucker for Science toys.

It's true.

It's a hold over from our homeschooling days.

Science catalogs kept me entertained for weeks.

My boys know this about me.

About a month ago Dylan and his friend Linden were conspiring to invest in a trail camera.

These two share an interest in surfing, hunting, soccer and track & field, and somehow it all seems to overlap.

When Dylan approached me with the idea I resisted.

I mean does that seem fair?

The hunted have to wander the forest without the aid of a camera.

And isn't part of the deal that you have to tramp around in the woods blindly, wearing yourself out, enabling you to have excuses to do this for weeks?

That's how it looks to me anyhow.

I'm just sayin'...



He let it go for about a week and gave it some thought.

Then he found one on ebay that looked perfect and my bright son took another approach.

He has an interest in Science and thinks it might be cool to some day work for the Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife.

But Mom. It will help me to observe wildlife and their patterns.

It's in the name of Science.

And my future.

Well what's a mother to do?

Who am I to stand in the way of Science and my son's future?

I'm such a sucker sometimes.





So he has a trail cam.

What surprised me is how intriguing I have found this gadget.

It's fascinating to see what happens when you aren't looking. These shots show dates and times which makes it all the more interesting.

First he mounted it down the hill from our house and got these:




I'm pretty sure this is a little family we have been watching since those babies were a few days old. We've watched them grazing and nursing and head butting and prancing across the yard.


I snapped a few photos of them a couple of weeks ago.




This looks to us like a juvenile bear. Strange that he would be out this time of day. Sean thinks he may have paid a visit to his chicken coop a while back based on the fur he found on the cage.




Then they took it to Linden's house and mounted it on an apple tree and got these:










This one is my personal favorite.



And 1300 other shots of grass blowing in the wind.

Seriously. There were 1344 shots fired and the vast majority was grass.

So they learned something.

Science right?

Help me out here.

I still feel suckered....but it is pretty cool.






A quick update from the garden. We were out playing at the beach this past weekend but this was haul on Sunday...plus a few cucumbers and tomatoes.


This is another one of my crops grown for visual coolness... I'm a sucker for those too. This carrot is called Purple Haze. It's a fun one for those of us who are easily entertained.


Yours, in the name of science,

Cath