Topic: It's amazing what you'll find in a Cocorahs rain gauge.

[ggsteve]

I dutifully check my Cocorahs rain gauge every morning and submit my data before leaving for school.  You never know what you're going to find in there.  Rain, snow, pine needles, pollen, spiders, etc.  Today I found some very small "cones" that had fallen from nearby trees and a fully spun tiny little moth cocoon with pupae.  So, whats the strangest thing you've found in your Cocorahs gauge?

[Farmtalk]

A preying mantis once. He was alive! I left the lid of it off overnight and through the next morning, as I was cleaning it up and just doing a little minor scrubbing to the lid (My gauge has been through it all, including surviving a hit by an 18" diameter apple tree!) just to be doing something, and when I went to put it back on the rest of the gauge, there he was inside just enjoying himself 

[Cutty Sark Sailor]

One of the interesting things to look for:  Dust, ash, etc.  Once in awhile, forest fires, volcanoes, etc can deposit ash etc along with Precip... sometimes it floats on the top, sometimes sinks to bottom,  if you observe that, might enter description, color, etc, in the observation comments. That info is also used!
Another thing to think about... meteorite dust... ever try a small magnet when you empty your tube?     Might have a surprise once in awhile!  A lot of that dust in your domicile's gutter is magnetic,... from space,... 

[Farmtalk]

I may take a magnet to it soon! That would be really cool! I recently had to really do some DIY fixing on my gauge. I thought it was bomb-proof, as it easily survived a hit by an 18" diameter apple tree branch back in 2012 when the big derecho hit through my area. It turns out that the gauge was left outside while I was at school, and ice formed at the bottom of it. Ice is powerful stuff....