a semi circle of flags against a pale blue sky

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! We’re going to take a few days off here at Caterpickles Central to enjoy the summer and maybe learn a few things about vintage cars. ‘Tis the season for vintage cars, after all.

View of the tussock moth caterpillar from the side.

Wordless Wednesday: Obligatory summer caterpillar post

It’s not summer if I don’t have at least one bug post. Google tells me this caterpillar will probably grow up to be a Western Tussock Moth.

book cover for What the Night Sings shows a stream of butterflies flying out of a concrete room toward the moon. Most of the image is sepia & cream, except for the one butterfly who has made it out of the room. That one butterfly is blue.

Book Review: What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper

One of the few books I’ve read that deals with what happens in a WWII concentration camp after liberation, Vesper Stamper’s beautifully illustrated book, What the Night Sings, is essential reading for our times.

Silk tree have feathery pink flowers on their tops.

Wordless Wednesday: Silk Tree

While touring the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose, CA, The Twelve-Year-Old and I spotted a tree with a smattering of feathery pink flowers.…

line drawing of several large and small sauropods underwater.

Shala reads books and starts counting OSHA violations: The Bones for Barnum Brown Edition

Regular readers know that I’ve been looking for a copy of Roland T. Bird’s 1944 essay, “Did Brontosaurus ever walk on land?” since 2011, when I had to rely on J.A. Wilson’s second-hand account of it while researching the answer to the pressing question: “Could sauropods swim?” A few weeks ago, I discovered that I could acquire Roland T. Bird’s memoir, Bones for Barnum Brown: Adventures of a Dinosaur Hunter, through the Northern California Interlibrary Loan Service. So of course I did.

A capybara stands under his wooden shelter. Capybara's are the world's largest rodent.

Wordless Wednesday: R.O.U.S.’s do exist

That R.O.U.S (rodent of unusual size) is a Capybara, the world’s largest rodent. We spotted him at the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose,…

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

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.