Bones

A few months back on a drizzly day, a little before the sun went down, Blue and I were out walking down behind the blackberry hedge when I found some bones. It looked like pieces of a small animal skull and some ribs and vertebrae. We dug around until it got too dark, then brought our wet selves back to the shed to wash our finds. After they dried we tried to piece them together and found that we did have about 3/4 of the skull.

Occassionally we would pass this site on our walks and once or twice we'd spy another bone. It was kind of like an archeological dig. It was interesting to see the small bones work their way to the surface and to see what colors they were. And it was amazing to actually find anything.

So late yesterday afternoon I decided I better go down there and really excavate, or I'll regret not having all the bones that belong together. I took my little shovel and, while Blue patiently sniffed around the area, I turned over the soil and found a few more bones. I think any that I don't have now have disentigrated or been carried away by critters. When I get to my new home, I'll glue them together.

While I was down there I picked up a few interesting rocks, too. I think that's a family trait - saving rocks that call to us. One of the rocks was wavy like the edge of a sea shell. I washed it off and I think I've found an ancient artifact. It looks like a piece of pottery formed by a child's fingers. The ripples look sort of like fluted pie crust and the form of fingers is there. The material is red clay, like the soil in which we were digging. And it is "painted" black. The contrast of the Paint and the clay remind me of the petroglyphs in Nevada.

Another treasure to add to my collection.