Science with Landrover bits has been happening this week. Paul thought his old radiator thermostat had broken so we tested it in a pan of boiling water ... it worked! The value gradually opens when the water heats up and then closes again when it cools down.
In closed position as it hits the hot water, but it gradually opens ...
Ben and I dissected a Barn Owl pellet collected from the farm where Katie rides. The owl lives in the barn there so there's a constant supply of pellets should we decide to do it again. I'm sure many of you have done this already, but we hadn't had the luxury of coming across one before. Absolutely amazing, all those minute bones from three or four rodents neatly packaged into one pellet! We found a virtual dissection on the internet first, but it certainly wasn't a patch on pulling apart the real thing. We also found a chart to follow when finding the various bones. The ribs looked so delicate but survived a pair of tweezers no problem.
Katie is still thoroughly enjoying her mornings of horse riding, especially when the weather is so glorious as it has been these last few days. Ben had a small ride again this morning, and then both helped put fresh bedding down in the stable.
After lunch today we took the opportunity to take a walk to our local bird hide. One of the sections on our RSPB Awards program is to watch, note take and draw birds from the garden or elsewhere, so this seemed like the perfect place. Remembered the binoculars this time, and Katie took her sketch book and paints too. We spotted lots of Shelducks which we haven't come across before, as well as a number of Coots, Moorhens, Greylags, Black-headed Gulls and Kittiwakes.
Ben has got back into playing Fantastic Contraption and has also discovered IncrediBots.
2 comments:
Oh, I still remember the smell from when we did an owl pellet - and that was a heat treated one!
Don't think this one smelt, but it certainly was full of dust and fluff!
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