Camera trap ikebana

[the ikebana cam, aimed at a coyote latrine 

on a mowed path in the coastal scrub]

I'm paranoid about losing cameras to outlaws but lazy about camouflaging them with vegetation. 

My rationalization is that few outlaws are willing to traipse through "no man's land" where I put the cams. 

I am also certain that Fred and I leave a gamey scent trail in our wake, and no amount of self-flagellation with switches of bay or stepping in cow flops can mask it.  

It's said that 2 weeks can pass and a dog can still detect a weak human fingerprint left on a glass slide.     

But if you want a full frame picture of a coyote it's still good practice to camouflage your camera trap. 

A combination of camouflaged camera, downwind movement of air, and a coyote's mental distraction can conspire to make a good candid shot, or perhaps one at the moment of detection. 

So I decorated my latest coyote set like an ikebana master.  

The trail was littered with coyote scat, but one latrine was close to a thicket of coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) and blackberry.

[the coyote latrine]

I snipped sprigs of coyote bush and pulled dead grass as the redhead critiqued their placement. 

When I finished, the cam wasn't completely hidden, but most of the outline was broken. 

The finishing touch was to baste a few turds with coyote lure. 

If a yodel dog sniffs them for just a few seconds, I might get a candid portrait.    

 

Camera trap pachouli

Recently I made some adjustable aluminum and wood camera mounts for free-standing posts.

I use these 5/8" square tube posts and the sliding mounts when trees are sparse or unsuitable for attaching the camera.



I'd been admiring my camo paint job for several days, but noticed they still smelled of paint.

This was unsatisfactory. They would be a beacon of foreign scent to critters in the woods, and I have to use them next week.

So I dried them next to the wood burning stove. That helped, but I could still smell the paint.

Well, I was shredding brush today when I got a briliant idea: I decided to make some "camera trap pachouli".

I cut a bay sapling and fed it to the shredder. Then I added the Christmas tree (Douglas fir).

I filled a couple of plastic bags with the resulting potent smelling "pachouli" and buried the oven-dried camera mounts inside.



They have 4 days to marinate; then I'll use them.

Will the pachouli mask the scent of the paint?

I don't know.

But I felt very clever doing it.