Today

[LovelyLadyLux]

Was a lovely day today and since it was also a Pro-D day none of the Grandkids were in school. They came over in the morning and we went to Departure Bay Beach Park. They really love it there but most of the outside play equipment is getting way too small for them although they all still managed to climb all over it and play on it.



The Park was full of Canadian geese eating the grass and adding their own unique fertilizer too. I've never noticed this particular type of banding before where the bands are around the birds neck and quite large. I've only ever noticed bands about their legs so I have no idea why these ones are banded about their necks.





Throwing rocks into the water and NOT launching yourself into the chuck is always popular





As is discovering Jelly fish



And then the twins discovered what they're hoping is an ancient artifact. Is actually IS an old stake that held a log boom together now rusted from being in the salt water however they're hoping for something better. I caught them discussing it just after they found it the youngest twin obviously does not know what it is. They did insist on bringing it home so they can get a second opinion from their Mom and a third opinion from their dad and for all I know a fourth and fifth opinion from the other Grandparents about it too.



Didn't bother me in the least to allow them to bring it back to their home cause then they can fight with their parents about taking it to the local museum so they can donate it to a forever home.

From the weather report all this next week is supposed to be nice and sunny and warm so am looking forward to finally getting & enjoy a decent stretch of good weather

[Horus]

Seems you had a lovely day out with the grand kids, it just goes to show that kids do not need gadgets to enjoy themselves, simply being somewhere interesting is good enough.
I have to say I have never seen those type of ID rings before, maybe it makes them easier to identify at a distance if they are doing some sort of tracking programme?
As for that piece of metal, well I can say with some confidence that it definitely came from a Spanish treasure galleon that was sunk near that beach after being captured by pirates.

[Grandad]

I do so agree with Horus. Given the opportunity kids will explore and ask questions particularly around coastal areas. The grand kids are growing up fast LLL, glad they found things to get their imagination going and not 'another foot in a lumber boot'

[LovelyLadyLux]

The boys, am sure, have their imaginations going over that rusty spike they found. They want to donate it to the local Museum and will natter away at their parents about it until they probably do get to take it to the Museum (which is quite small and only has local items).

They also all discovered this which a somewhat fish shaped rock half buried in the stones



They were all hoping that the underside was a fossil of a fish and we spent a while digging it up to find it was nothing except a rock however excitement was high for a few minutes that it could have been a terrific fossil find.

As for the Geese and banding - I have never before seen bands that were that big and/or that went about their necks in such a big obvious manner. It didn't seem to be impeding them in any way but they were just so big and obvious. This particular flock of geese was about 50/50 banded and not too.

Canadian geese are something of a problem here in that they're not migrating, they are living here year round, seem to be able to ward off predators very well so they're taking over! There are so many allowed to live in and on the lakes that they're fouling (no pun intended) the water and nobody can swim anymore.

A couple of geese sedately swimming on a lake looks lovely but a few hundred look like a barnyard!

[Horus]

Shame they do not live here LLL, we have a band of fossil rich cliffs that run from the North East around the coast ending in the South of England and known as the Jurassic Coast. Here Ammonites and Belemnite fossils can be picked up on the beaches or even found inside mud nodules if you split them open. I was just reminded that I had some in a bag from my last visit to a place called Charmouth and Lyme Regis, you may remember the later from the film ‘The French Lieutenants Woman’ where the character played by Merril Streep walks along a breakwater in the start of this film trailer. This film is set in Lyme Regis and the breakwater is known as ‘The Cobb’ you can see it in this film trailer.

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Anyway I digress, those Ammonites and Belemnites were a type of ancient squid and some grew to enormous sizes and were the commonest creature in the Jurassic seas and preyed upon by plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs the main predators of the time. I took a couple of photos of my fossils and you can see the spiral shells of the Ammonites, the pointy one is a Belemnite and a bit unusual as you can detect the tail fin which is uncommon, I have enlarged that one for you to see better. Although different species they were both the outer shells for squid like creatures, but those soft parts rarely survive as fossils, but the spiral Ammonite and bullet like Belemnites shells do and can be easily found.
EDIT: on closer examination it seems that the fleshy parts have survived and it is not the tail fin as I first thought, but the head and if you look close you can make out the front tentacles in the broken part.

What they looked like when alive

[LovelyLadyLux]

WOW H - EXCELLENT collection! Those are really terrific and all the more precious since you found 'em (or do you discover fossils?) yourself. I'd LOVE to do that - find fossils.

Years ago the oldest daughter worked for the Courtenay Museum of a summer taking kids out on digs. We have a river where an Elasmosaurus was discovered by two local amateur dinosaur sleths. You need glasses and a special hammer but once you actually start to SEE the rocks to crack you could spend your life there breaking rocks apart (and they actually break apart fairly easily to show all manner of flora, fauna and past life forms). Was fascinating to do this. I should try and find the place again and spend a day.

The twins are fascinated with dinosaurs and they regularly love to sit and read & re-read the dinosaur books I have. Parents are taking them all this summer to Drumheller Alberta to the badlands there and the Royal Tyrrell Museum which is a paleontologists dream place. The twins can't wait to be "on holiday" and travelling there. Am sure it'll be an adventure of a life time for them. I kinda wish we had better Museums here locally.

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to show the boys next time they're over what you found am sure it'll be inspirational for them

[Horus]

I thought the boys may like to see them, I did have loads more but they seem to have gone missing.

[LovelyLadyLux]

The boys are interested and have always been interested in anything dinosaur from the day they first picked up a plastic dinosaur toy. The youngest twins most favourite of all time is Stegosaurus and the oldest twin just love any and all dinosaurs. They've learned about fossils and so are hoping to make some finds themselves.

They'll be over sooner or later and I'll show them what you found They'll love them.