Camera trapping offers recreation, physical challenge and mental exercise, not to mention education, and even varieties of spiritual revelation.
It can also usher in a deeper understanding of self and an appreciation of one's better half, as Chas Clifton of Southern Rockies Nature Blog recently discovered.
Don't worry Chas, we've all been there, and we're better men for it.
About Me
- Camera Trap Codger
- Native Californian, biologist, wildlife conservation consultant, retired Smithsonian scientist, father of two daughters, grandfather of four. INTJ. Believes nature is infinitely more interesting than shopping malls. Born 100 years too late.
7 comments:
You would think that with only three cameras to keep track of (after the bear wrecked #4), I could do so with writing down their locations. But maybe I had better start taking GPS readings.
Send your address to me at chindwin@sbcglobal.net --I'll send you something that helps.
About 25 years ago I left work at the usual time and in the parking lot I found one of our older taxonomists standing there with a perplexed look on his face. I asked if there was anything wrong and he said "Either I took the bus to work or my car's been stolen!" He went in and phoned his wife and she related that the car was, in fact, in the garage. I waited, and drove him home.
I have told that story several times and had fun with the fellow about the incident.
But now at age 68, I don't see the humour in it anymore. Shopping centres offer the greatest challenge. Now where was the car?
DR
Ahem, some of us are better *women* for it!
There was a Seinfeld episode about getting lost in an underground garage. And they weren't even old folks.
It's 4PM, and I've spent the entire day tracking down one of my cameras. Showed up at an otter latrine this morning expecting to change batteries and memory cards for two cameras. Only one was waiting for me. Figured I'd moved the other one to another hot site. One mile later, only one camera there, too. Stomped around for another hour retracing my steps from a month ago. No luck. Finally came home and sorted through my pocket camera images, looking for a photo of the setup that might tell me where I left the cam. No luck. After several hours of trying to account for camera movements, I remembered finding a new latrine site, which I promptly forgot about when I stumbled across a fresh kill site on the way back. Sure enough, my camera was waiting to take my picture when I walked up to the latrine.
Never again - I'm writing everything down from now on.
Dan, I know the feeling..."Am I losing my mind?" I started out working from memory, then started taking a few notes as reminders. When that occasionally failed I started using the GPS, and even that failed me once, but only for an hour as I crawled around in a maze of coastal scrub. Now I use my own notebook and GPS, and they serve me well. Seasonal change in vegetation can really throw you off, esp if you don't know the area well.
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