The Skull in the Backyard

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

02 Jun 2008 12:59 PM

We seem to find some pretty interesting things in and around our home. There was the 1960 metal yo-yo, for example, or the weird and really old bottle opener that was discovered only when we replaced the dishwasher. There were the numerous golf balls in the backyard, and the old flannel shirt stuck so long in the hollow of a tree that the tree had started to grow around it. This is the case with older homes. There are lots of things to discover. Of course, none of them compare to our latest find in the backyard, a bleached white skull.

Now, before you go calling CSI on me, understand that this is only an animal skull and not one of the human variety. Still, the finding of the skull both repelled and fascinated us.

It happened this past Friday. The kids were playing outside, and we were all catching up with friends we hadn't seen in a while. I noticed that the door leading from the house to the open garage was open. This is a sure sign that the cat had gotten out. Someone named "Not me" hadn't secured the door. Sure enough, a few moments later, there was a large amount of caterwauling and posturing coming from the brush pile in the backyard. Our cat was just in the process of scaring away some unknown cat from our yard. After I chased the other cat away and then temporarily gave up on coaxing our kitty out of the brush pile, my eye hit on the skull just sitting out in the open. It wasn't there before. I scooped it up with a stick and brought it over to everyone else.

While finding a skull isn't exactly my idea of fun, I could see that it would be a learning opportunity. The boys were especially fascinated with it. We all made guesses about the animal from which it came, based on the teeth and the shape of the head. Later, we were able to conduct some research to determine that animal. It looks like the skull belonged to a rabbit.

Have you ever found anything interesting in your backyard?

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don't miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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