Orange cat sits at my daughter's desk. He's staring at it with one ear twitched.

Wordless Wednesday: Today’s a writing day, right?

Look who showed up for work today. Related Links: More Wordless Wednesdays on Caterpickles Caterpickles consults the 12-Year-Old: “What is the Mothman?” (Caterpickles)

a purple bottle with silver polka dots lies on its side. a measuring tape is stretched across its length.

“How much did that plastic bottle shrink in the dishwasher?”

I got lazy this week so ran my daughter’s plastic (I know) reusable water bottle through the dishwater. It did not survive the experience. (I know.) But it did make for a fabulous opportunity to do a little science (and math — ssh!). Join my daughter and I as we figure out why our plastic water bottle melted in the dishwasher, and by how much.

closeup of a deep bell-shaped flower against a blue sky

Wordless Wednesday: One last May flower

Even though I suppose it’s really June now. Related Links: More Wordless Wednesdays on Caterpickles

line drawing of several large and small sauropods underwater.

Why does a book from 1999 still show a sauropod living in a swamp?

In the spring, a curiosity blogger’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of dinosaurs. Specifically, the sauropod tracks in Glen Rose, Texas, and whether this will be the summer I get to see them.

A small white daisy-like flower pokes up out of a patch of moss on a brick wall.

Wordless Wednesday: May flower

Look what my husband spotted poking up out of some bricks. Related Links: More Wordless Wednesdays on Caterpickles

There should be an app for that…

On hearing that Google had developed an AI that could detect lung cancer in CTs, the 12YO pointed out it would also be cool if you could take pictures of weird stuff on your skin and have your phone tell you if you needed to see a doctor for it. And then she started to imagine what it would be like to use it. Commence role play in 3.. 2.. 1..

An orange cat sleeps in a cat bed by a window. A white bandana bordered in blue is draped over him like a blanket.

Not-at-all Wordless Wednesday: Why doesn’t my cat hate his pet bandana more?

It’s Monopoly time at our local Safeway. I play every year and this year, in a Caterpickles Central first, I actually won something–brand new free-except-for-shipping @Shutterfly pet bandanas. I thought my cat would hate this more. How am I not bleeding right now? #cats #stuffoncats

50 States of Public Art: CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour in Mankato, Minnesota

It’s summertime, and therefore, peak public art touring season in the United States. In the current installment of our ongoing series, The 50 States of Public Art, we visit Mankato, Minnesota, which has launched its ninth annual CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour.

Sky above the tree -- perfectly dark blue at the top shading down to a pale baby blue just above the trees. There's clouds too. The fluffy cotton ball kind.

Wordless Wednesday: California sky

The sky here is just ridiculous. Seriously, that’s a lot of fabulous to spend on an average weekday afternoon. Related Links: More Wordless Wednesdays on Caterpickles

Photo from the Field Museum of the head of Maximo the titanosaur. A pterodactyl is hanging from the ceiling behind him.

Coffee with a dinosaur, Caterpickles Edition

Yesterday, the Field Museum launched its Máximo the titanosaur chatbot. I’m sure that you won’t be at all surprised to learn that I have spent hours interviewing him. For science. Here’s what I learned.