Gift Bones - Part 1

Much of my bone collection is found, prepped, and cleaned by myself. Some is bought, and the rest came as gifts from exceptionally understanding friends.

One of the single largest bones I own is this HUGE moose antler which was a gift from my parents. Which came originally from Canada or Alaska, from a male (bull) moose. It was on my wish list of odd items so I was very excited about this surprise gift!



It measures 41 inches across the back curve. And has a pretty good weight to it. Here is a self portrait with it to give you a better idea of how large it is.



Want to see something really fantastic? Check out The New Hampshire Locked Moose Antler Project. Which involved two moose carcasses found locked in eternal combat turned into a traveling educational taxidermy exhibit. Absolutely stunning. Such a fantastic way to honor these majestic beasts.

With the birth of this blog I started to get "hey do you want a...?." questions more and more often. And of course if it is bone related, I likely welcome what you have to offer. So I started to get some pretty interesting things showing up in my mailbox.

One night while I was out at a show in Gainesville I was located by my friend Will who had some fantastic gifts for me. I love the conversation he must have had with the door guy explaining that he had "something for someone inside".

"Can I just find my friend to give her something?"

"What is it?"

Will lifting the plastic bag with protruding bones.

"A horse skull and a shark jaw."

"Uhhhh sure."



This is one of those cases where I loved the way the horse skull was weathered and won't likely be cleaning it.



I especially love the cracking of the tooth enamel.





The shark jaw is 10 inches across so it wasn't a very big one. Anyone have any idea what it is from?




Thanks so much to my parents and Will for these uncommon gifts!

Stay tuned for more in this series of "gift bones" to come.

Found Bones - Part 1

I live way out in the country of Florida. There are so many different kinds of wild creatures to be seen in my yard alone. Deer, boar, turkey, rabbits, opossum, armadillo, snakes, frogs, mice, raccoons, owls, woodpeckers, lizards, skinks and on and on.


Juvenile Grey Rat Snake.


Wild Turkey chick saved from my cat and returned to mother.


Playing tag with a young Nine-banded Armadillo.

Much of the bones in my collection have been found over the years. But once I acquired part feral dogs, they seemed to just appear in my yard. I consider them gifts from my dogs. :)

I find bones fairly regularly in my yard because my dogs, Falcor and Artax, find the remains that hunters throw in the woods... or roadkill.

While I moved out here to be one with nature, much of the original residents here enjoy killing the animals I love to catch a glimpse of. I really don't like hunting but I have also come to realize that a lot of the people that live out in rural areas like this feed their families this way. I imagine there are even more people hunting now with the economy so bad.

From time to time the dogs drag a skull of a wild boar into the yard or I just find remains of the teeth or part of a jaw. This is the largest remains of a boar skull I've found yet. Looks like it has been in the woods for a long time. Wish I knew where my dogs were finding these!



Below is a found Wild Boar jaw that I wedged in between tree limbs. If you look carefully you can see where animals have been gnawing on it for calcium. I have deer antlers outside that they have nearly completely chewed up. This jaw has been here for so long now that the tree is actually growing into it. Amazing.



I'm hoping that my dogs didn't kill the dog this skull is from. They had been chewing on it in the yard and broke it. I plan on attempting to glue it back together.



One day I found this huge spine and ribcage in my back yard. It is either from a wild boar or deer.



But Falcor wasn't letting me near it for long.



By the next day all that remained was part of the spine. So I tossed it somewhere the dogs couldn't get to and it is cleaning up real nice all by itself.



Stay tuned for more in this series of found bones to come.

My Dad's Pickled Jar of Texas Creatures from 1950

I was at my parents' place in Tampa, FL. this past weekend. So I took advantage of being there and snapped off some high quality shots of my Dad's childhood jar of pickled reptiles, insects and spiders.

My brother and I have both looked at and lusted over this jar countless times growing up. We both want it, as well as my niece. My Dad has always joked that it will be in his will for my brother or I. Which wouldn't surprise me.

The story behind the jar:

Around 1950, when my Dad was about 10 years old he was visiting with his grandparents in Edina, MO. His second cousin, Alfred Kirn, was visiting from Texas where he taught Biology at a college there. Alfred had lots of cool things like stuffed armadillos and such. My Dad was fascinated and pleaded for "some preserved creatures from Texas". And Alfred said he would send him a package.

What my Dad got in the mail was this magnificent collection of creatures preserved in formaldehyde, along with a letter. It still blows my mind that this was mailed from Texas to Missouri in the early 1950s! All of the specimens are still very well in tact although somewhat muted in color.

They specimens are also all labeled with tags. But because most of them are flipped around I could only read two tags:

"Lubber Grasshopper, Somerset Texas, A J Kirn"

"Walking Stick, Somerset Texas, A J Kirn"

No scientific names but they can probably all be identified fairly easy.

I'm hoping my Dad locates the letter. It lists everything in the jar.

I meant to get a photo of the bottom on the jar. I think you can see the snake's head there as well as some other insects.

Also, check out my Dad's wonderful writing here:

guarkspacetravel.com

Photos are turning the jar counter clockwise:

Texas Horned Lizards, Giant Centipede, Lizard or Skink


The head of the unidentified lizard/skink can been seen between the two Horned Lizards.

Texas Horned Lizards, Giant Centipede, Lizard or Skink, Wood Boring Beetle (Possibly Click Beetle), Faded Coral Snake, Giant Male Eastern Dobsonfly



Texas Horned Lizard, Giant Centipede, Wood Boring Beetle (Possibly Click Beetle), Faded Coral Snake, Giant Male Eastern Dobsonfly, Other Insect/s



Faded Coral Snake, Giant Lubber Grasshopper, Giant Walking Stick, Scarab Beetle, Tarantula or Other Spider



Texas Horned Lizard, Giant Lubber Grasshopper, Giant Walking Stick, Giant Centipede



Jar Lid (would love to find more of these jars/lids!)