Bone Collectors

Since our home is surrounded by the woods, we have an abundance of wildlife existing near us. 

White tailed deer. 

Raccoons. 

Oppossum. 

Mink. 

Fox. 

Coyotes. 

Brown squirrels. 

And with each mammal that traverses through our woodland backyard, death comes. 

And my kids always seem to find the remains. 

Well, sometimes my husband and I find them and yell out "Oh my gosh, I just found an awesome skull!"

And the kids coming running to collect the find. 

We have quite a stockpile. 

Most of the bones are kept outside. 

But a few small ones are in the house. 

Some rodent-like skull resides in my dining room next to a humongous deer antler. 

And something's hips. 

So weird. 

The garage has a wire basket full of bones. 

My friend from high school, Julie, has two boys who are just as in love with bones as my two girls are. 

We have given them specimens from our collection in the past. 

You would have thought we had given them a new iPad from the excitement that came from them when they took their skulls home. 

We have teeth...

The random tibia and femur. 

This one kind of looks human. 

Let's hope it ain't. 

I tell you though, I'll take bones any day over a rotting carcass. 

We had to endure the stench of a dead deer a few years ago. 

It was in the woods to the right of our driveway and we had to pass the smell everyday when we went to get the mail. 

And then the damn dogs decided to bring the rotting head to us one HOT summer day when we were splashing in the pool. 

The stink and the screams are embedded into my senses and brain for an eternity. 

Thanks dogs.