My brave companion. Did you see what happened to my crops? The corn, the pumpkins and even the dragon nip have been ruined! The strong winds and heavy rains tore them apart along with part of my lovely wooden fence. Usually, I'd check with Bucket to see if a storm was on its way but he's been out fishing.
We need a better system to predict when a storm is coming but let's deal with one problem at a time. All the farm needs is some love and care to set it right again. Can you pick up the spoiled crops so I can start replanting?
1- Pick up the 3 Spoiled Crops
Phlegma
That's so much better.
Thank Odin that Hiccup and Toothless are here to help. An extra pair of hands and dragon claws will make this a whole lot easier. We need some kindling to get rid of those old crops and what's left of my fence.
Kindling is any material that catches fire easily or can be used to start a fire. Pine cones are an excellent example since they burn very well. You see all these pine cones scattered around my farm?
Hiccup
That's a good idea. Gather 3 piles of pine cones, [your Viking's name] and I'll do the same with Toothless.
2- Gather 3 Piles of Pine Cones
Hiccup
You and [your dragon's name] work really well together.
Wait, it looks like there's one more pile of pine cones stuck in that tree. If we get those out we'll have enough to make up our kindling. have your dragon shoot them out of the tree.
3- Shoot the Pine Cones in the tree
Hiccup
You got them! Nice shot.
Alright, now bring me the pine cones from the tree.
4- Bring Hiccup the Open Pine Cones
Hiccup
Hmm. These pine cones have their scales opened up but I don't remember them looking like that while they were in the tree. They must have somehow responded to [your dragon's name]'s hot breath. Maybe we could put these pine cones to better use.
A hygrometer is a tool we can use to measure moisture in the air (also called humidity). The scales of the pine cones were closed earlier because of the rains but when they became hot, they opened up. The change in scales shows us the difference in humidity; so, we can use the pine cone as a natural hygrometer.
Phlegma could use the pine cones to predict when the next storm is coming without having to stake out Bucket's house. What do you think, Phlegma?
Phlegma
Wow, that's a great idea! I couldn't bring myself to waste the wood from my broken fence so I built a little something that we could use for our new weather station.
When organisms evolve characteristics to give them a better chance of survival it's called adaptation. These pine cones open their scales when it's dry so they can disperse their seeds and it's worked out well for the tree. These traits have been passed on to the next generation so now we have all these pine cones that demonstrate the exact same behavior.
The next storm could strike at a drop of mjolnir so we should get this weather station up and running as soon as possible. First, click on that spot to drive in the wooden stand.
5- Click/Tap on a good spot for the wooden stand
Phlegma
Good job! Click on the wooden stand to hang up the pine cones.
6- Click/Tap on the Wooden Stand to hang up the Pine Cones.
Phlegma
Excellent work, [your Viking's name]! Now, all we have to do is look at the pine cones. If their scales are closed, it means the weather is humid and it will probably rain. But if they're open, it means it's dry and rain is less likely. nature has a remarkable ways of keeping us safe. Don't you think?