Oregon Newt

Some more photos from our camping trip. Jake & Ollie found an Oregon Newt in a pond near our campsite. Of course he wanted to bring it home. Being as the newt was so cute and frankly who wouldn't want to have it as a pet, I struck a deal to avoid a meltdown on Ollie's part when I said no. Show me you can take care of it, you know what to feed it and a place for it to live and then you can have one. I told him they had books about newts at the library and that's where we would gain our information. He agreed and I was sure it was something he would forgot about over the next couple of days. When we arrived home he went straight to the plastic container drawer in the kitchen. "Why?" I asked. "For the newt" he replied. The next day we went to the library and what are the odds our small branch of the Portland Library system would have a How to Care for Newts book? They did and we've been reading it almost every night before bedtime.

And here's my advice for other mommas who strike deals they are sure they'll win - newts eat chopped up worms, newt have toxins in their skin (this is only harmful if you decide you want to eat one), they need a cool environment so your refrigerator would be an ideal place to keep one and little boys never forget when it comes to small animals or bugs.