You might remember that I had a trail camera stolen a couple of months ago. I thought it was gone without a trace, until a couple of friends found some pieces. After their discovery, I went back to the site, and I sifted carefully through the leaves and other debris on the ground. I discovered small pieces of the camera, including tiny LED lights. Based on what I found, I think that the camera was probably destroyed.
It was a trail camera that had brought me lots of joy over the years - because it was pointed at a spot where so many animals visit. Like this bear who was marking a tree during mating season...
And this mother mountain lion seemingly scolding her kitten...
I was super sad to lose that trail camera... but, believe it or not, I lost yet another camera there early this summer. It was a small pocket camera that I dropped. I searched extensively for days on end, and I didn't find it. Then, about a week ago, lo and behold, there it was lying in the trail.
Obviously, it had been through a big ordeal - it's covered in new scratches and scrapes. It had been pelted with rain, hail, and snow over its 3 months lying in the forest. Plus, animals had obviously played with it. Those are tooth marks, likely from a curious bear, on the far left of the camera. Squirrels gnawed off a few plastic parts of the case. I was glad that I had a UV filter on the lens so it was protected from being scratched.
I brought it home, and I recharged the battery - with almost zero expectation that the camera would work. I put the battery in, and believe it or not, the camera works!!!!!!!!!! I was astounded. It's not even touted as a weather-proof camera. It's a Fujifilm x20 (currently replaced by a new model, the x30).
So, although I now feel certain that I'll never see the stolen trail camera again, I did have the good luck to find my compact camera! This was one of the bears who passed both the lost compact camera and the trail camera. In this photo, he was about to give the trail camera a serious once-over - sniffing, licking, and rubbing against it. Fortunately, I always put my trail cameras in protective metal cases to save them from curious bears. I wonder if he was the one who left the tooth marks on my compact camera?
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Have as much fun as sweet Shyla with her red ring toy!
