more of the bone collection

    Some of the bones are no longer about. The ostrich skull in the middle got eaten by my dog, much to my chagrin.

    Comments and faves

    1. ★

      Kathryn Yu, thiscafe, _william, Pergamon, and 19 other people added this photo to their favorites.

    2. wastedpapiers [deleted] (78 months ago | reply)

      Blimey! What sort of dog is it? The Hound of the Baskevilles?!!?

    3. william schaff (78 months ago | reply)

      No..she is a german shepherd...
      Corinna
      But i met three Irish Wolf hounds the other day, and they made me think of the Hound of the baskervilles. They were huge! I have lost several skulls to Corinna and her friends. Not as many as you might think, but more than I would have hoped.

    4. Something To See (76 months ago | reply)

      I love it, where do you come across such lovely items?

    5. william schaff (76 months ago | reply)

      all sorts of different places. Mostly they are animals I find on the side of the road, bring home and clean. i use to be much more diligent about it -- keeping bags and tools in my car. I have slowed down over the years, although I currently have the head of a brant (a type of goose) in the bakc of my truck. I found a dead one on a beach my dog and I were walking (I guess i should say my dog found it). I keep meaning to get around to cleaning it, but I have yet to do so.

    6. Something To See (76 months ago | reply)

      Well, I have been showing off your collection to my friends. I love the duck heads. I really don't walk around much in the wilderness, but maybe I should take it up. Thank you for sharing about the butchers (?), not butchers, but I am losing the word for the place. Of course it is the cleaning them that seems daunting. I knew someone that buried died animals. Aren't their little bugs that the museum uses to pick down to the bones? ') Thanks for sharing your ideas on this. Kim

    7. william schaff (76 months ago | reply)

      that's neat! thanks. yes, walks in the widlerness are very nice (and I don;t even do it as much as friends of mine..very seldom, actually). The cleaning really isn;t that daunting. i don't know if you eat meat, but it is kind of the same, just smellier, and yes, a litlle messier. Not to sound gross, but it is the brains that are really the only pain in the neck. It is such a small hole to clean them from, that I usually end up boiling (the smaller skulls anyway0 to loosen them up and kind of have them come out with the water. otherwise it is scooping and pouring boiling water into the whole where the nervous system runs into the head. Let me tell you, boiled brains smell rather....pungent. There are little bugs you can buy, that museums use (I believe they are a type of beetle), but the only problem with that is..one, you have to keep feeding them to keep them alive, and the stink from there isn't any better.you do need to keep them indoors, after all. After cutting away as much as you can, burying is a much nicer process, although much slower and then the skull takes on whatever color your soil is. If you live in the south west or an area like that, nature does an amazing job cleaning it, if you leave it outdoor for the animals and the elements. the only thing then is, you have to figure out a way to keep your dead animal from being dragged away by whatever animal, bird or mammel, that is cleaning it for you.

    8. justjmpit (75 months ago | reply)

      hey I collect bones too, mostly skulls, love your display. I too have lost some to my dogs!

    9. Something To See (60 months ago | reply)

      YES! I knew I recognized that goodness on My Desk ;) I was just talking about your collection at a party the other night with some friends and we were talking about how to clean those skulls here in the PNW, in a neat little neighborhood ... oh to live in West Texas Again ;)

    10. Feltbug (32 months ago | reply)

      Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Cabinet of Curiosity, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

      A lovely collection.

    11. artpropelled (32 months ago | reply)

      Great collection!

    12. Avant-Gardenist (31 months ago | reply)

      i love you just the way you are, please come h ♥ m e
      .

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