yesterday (sunday),
the sky at 11:20 am...
oOo
if you're not new here...and you've wandered the woods with me before...
then you know i collect bones, feathers, insect wings, rocks & stones.
you also know that months ago we found a dead Opossum and i buried him out back...
with plans to dig up the bones.
and i did.
but i was surprised to find that the skeleton was not in one piece.
the bones are scattered.
little by little i've unearthed some bones...
my latest find is one scapula...
 |
| views of the Opossum's left scapula |
i've learned from a 'bone expert' that it's not unusual for the bones to be scattered.
the shifting ground & insects tend to move them around.
 |
| raccoon prints all over the area i've been digging |
hmmmmm...it never occurred to me. i just assumed...bury the carcass...
and when i dig it up...VOILA! a opossum, minus the tissue, muscle, skin of course.
 |
| small red Azalea bush in bloom! |
this expert told me i have a better chance of keeping the bones together
if i bury the animal in a cardboard box with the top open.
so that's what i did with the little Mole i found.
while wandering....the trails out back...
i spotted snake skin...shedding.
then...i saw something fuzzy on the ground...not a foot away.
upon closer examination...i saw it was a little Mole!
dead. no bite marks. no obvious or visible cause of death.
it's unusual to see one. they live underground, making burrows & tunnels.
they're small...only about 4-6 inches in length.
they have no external eyes or ears.
 |
| underside of dead mole. mouth & nose to the left |
LOOK AT THOSE CLAWS!!
perfect for digging
(read more about this Eastern Mole here!)
so, needless to say, i buried him in an open top cardboard box...
and marked my calender on December 18th,
UNearth the MOLE!
what would a walk in the forest be without fungi!
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| a mushroom colony! |
and SCAT!
i always notice it. and if i happen to miss a pile...sam will bring it to my attention. ha!
just yesterday, while he was outside working on his truck...he made a special trip
into the house to tell me he saw a pile of shit poop. droppings. feces. scat.
aaaaaaah. now THAT's love. :)
first i snap a picture, then i look it up in one of my handy scat books...
i wonder if this was left as gift to milo? (her new friend, introduced in previous post.)
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| raccoon scat. blunt ends. brown to black. large seeds present. |
 |
| either Fox or Coyote. tapered ends. fur & seeds present. |
i tend to think Fox, only because we see the foxes more often.
 |
| flies feasting on (LOOSE!) scat of unknown origin. |
UGH!
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| Pileated Woodpecker |
i also came across ANOTHER Owl Pellet. left by our frequent night time visitor, the Barred Owl.
this pellet is the BIGGEST one i've seen yet!
bones. fur. claws. teeth. the undigested parts.
and finally...back out of the woods...
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| lizard on the house |
i did my first page in my "Art Journal"...over two days. nov 16th & 17th.
at the time i was feeling a little down, as it was nearing my brother's birthday (19 nov).
he passed away 3 years ago.
 |
| watercolor. real leaves.some glitter. |
(i'm aiming for once a month with my art journal entries.)
Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.
~Henry Ward Beecher
i leave you now, with a picture of the morning moon on the 19th of november.
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| 19 november 2011 at 6:55am |
have a good week. and if you celebrate, a happy thanksgiving!
gobble-gobble
be safe & stay cool.
laura
love your art journal pages! beautiful!
ReplyDeleteand enjoyed 'our' walk in the woods, scat and all! :)
i love the header too. quirky but beautiful - just like you!
Oh so much to say here, your posts are always like that. That's why I love them so! First, oh my greatness, just love your journal, the poem the art, you should check out that Whimsical Wednesday, that I do, it keeps you on your toes to get your art done! Scat is so cool in the animal kingdom, you don't even need C.S.I to tell you what they've been eating! The bury in a box just might work, never use plastic, I had to dig up a beloved dog once (land boundy line error) and she had been dead over a year, and her body seriously was completely in one piece! I discovered a strange small bone structure once that my daughter took to school for her science teacher to explore...we never got it back....so one must hang on to all our bones! Please do share your next bury the bones results...I'm betting you will...what a lovely (first photo) morning sky! Awesome fun filled post again, thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love our visits, Laura! If it were not for you I would never know about scat and that they even have a book on it or that bones move under the earth while the flesh decomposes. I would never have seen the spooky spiders and insects or the mysterious molds, fungus and mushrooms. I just adore following you about your forest...even if it occasionally gives me the willies, I am right behind you. ;)
ReplyDeleteLove your sky shots! And your journal page with real leaves is so you! Have a very happy Thanksgiving. Give Milo a kiss from me! :):)
Laura, first let me say that I love your journal entry! both photo an dpoem. So sorry to hear about your brother. I have 3 brothers myself and I love them dearly. I cannot even imagine losing one of them.
ReplyDeleteAs for your forest walk, you sure do like to get into the bones and scat of life, don't you! You are a brave soul! I love your curiosity. It shall be interesting to see what you come up with for all those bones.
I bet the mole died of a heart attack after running into that snake shedding its skin!
ReplyDeleteLove the watercolor sky!
awwww wow and love the journal entry!
ReplyDeletedon't know how I missed this post ...great little mole they are such lovely creatures .....do you disect the owl pellets must find some interesting little bones in them ...love the journal page .....look forward to seeing the progress of it ..x
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images, but I like the lizard, it is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the walk. And the art! Is a month long enough for the mole to decompose? I mean, he's so ... fresh!
ReplyDeleteI took a walk through the arboretum this morning, and I saw a bunny skeleton and thought of you. ;-)
Like everyone else, I love your Art Journal page. What did you use on the leaves?
ReplyDeleteOh the poor wee mole!
Nice snakeskin.....cowboy (will anyone besides me get that Ted Nugent reference?).
Love your moon shot (of course) and your sky photo!
You have a good week too! I don't celebrate it, but I do enjoy getting the 2 days off work!
xx
Hi Laura...Awh thats what i like about you..your genuine real people lol!!
ReplyDeleteYou show it and tell it like it is...all part of nature not just the pretty parts ; }
I myself am quite taken by the deer, moose and rabbit dropping(oooh what a "polite word" droppings) lol
I have found quite a few dead moles on the surface, perhaps because they live mostly underground...when they die there relative just push them out..the poor fellars!!
Hope your new way of decaying process works better for you!!
Love~love this art page entry!!
Grace
Yes Laura...I am the delete person..lol..
ReplyDeleteBlogger comment has given me nothing but grief for two days now..so when I clicked on publish it just sat there so I did it again now my patient is getting thin lol...so again...well you get the picture suddenly I have all these comment ...oh brother sometimes!!hahaha
Wandering through your forest,
ReplyDeleteI wonder...
Nothing ever really dies
just recombines...
From insects on scat
to bones moved underground...
Like phases of the moon
to ripples on a snakeskin...
Like the single dead leaves on your journal art,
recombined to make a tree.
If only art could recombine minds,
but then I guess it really does.
Artists recombine their world for others.
Thanks. Love, Jean
Your art journal is beautiful! I really love it. Looking forward to seeing the next one.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I'm really drawn to those autumn leaves. Intrigued how you adhered them to the page. Your prose adds to the irony in a way, all those leaves glued to the page :)
ReplyDeleteremembering your brother, and the seasons we each must face in turn, has certainly provided inspiration for an amazing first journal entry
you go girl
unleash your creative spirit
Hello, laura
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your walk thru the woods. The mole is a neat find and I would love to find an owl pellet. Your sky photos are beautiful, love the moon shot. The lizard is cute and the Pileated is one of my favorite woodies. And wow, your Art Journal is just fantastic and the poem is wonderful. So sorry about your brother. As usual, another great post and photos. I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.
a quick HEY to everybody who stopped by!!
ReplyDeleteGrammie/Grace...i cleaned up all your deletes...ha! it's the OCD in me. google has been 'hanging' a lot for me lately...and i've been having trouble with some comment leaving too! OH, and i wonder if that's what they really do?? the moles. pushing the deceased ones to the surface?! that's the FIRST one i've seen above ground!!
Karen, you know i'll share the bones!!! i love your whimsical wednesday posts...but for me...i wish i had more hours in a day to do all i want to do...and i'm always behind in my blog reading...so although i've thought about doing that...or even the skywatch friday or some of the others...i just can't right now! but i really enjoy looking at everyone else's!
Cindy, i've been told that with the weather we have...and the size of the little critter...it should only take about a month! i was surprised too because i left the 'possum buried for about 6 months! so, we'll see...if i dig it up and it's not 'ready'...then i'll re-bury it!
let's see...who else asked a question...
oh, Kel...i use 'mod podge' on the leaves. i use mod podge for A LOT of my art/crafts. i use it on the window art...for pressed flowers & butterfly wings!
Calling Ravens/meggs! i get it!! ha!! snakesskin cowboy! ted nugent & his GUITAR AND HAIR!!
Trucking Tumbleweed...i thought that too at first...that the mole came above ground and saw that snake shedding & just keeled over!
and so, to EVERYBODY else...and to ALL who stopped by...THANKS for all your support & kind words...comments...thoughts...suggestions...
have a great day. cheers! laura
The Groundhog by Richard Eberhart
ReplyDeleteIn June, amid the golden fields,
I saw a groundhog lying dead.
Dead lay he; my senses shook,
And mind outshot our naked frailty.
There lowly in the vigorous summer
His form began its senseless change,
And made my senses waver dim
Seeing nature ferocious in him.
Inspecting close his maggots might
And seething cauldron of his being,
Half with loathing, half with a strange love,
I poked him with an angry stick.
The fever arose, became a flame
And Vigour circumscribed the skies
Immense energy in the sun,
And through my frame a senseless trembling.
My stick had done nor good nor harm.
Then stood I silent in the day
Watching the object, as before;
And kept my reverence for knowledge
Trying for control, to be still,
To quell the passion of the blood;
Until I had bent down on my knees
Praying for joy in the sight of decay.
And so I left; and I returned
In Autumn strict of eye, to see
The sap gone out of the groundhog.
But the bony sodden hulk remained.
But the year had lost its meaning.
And in intellectual chains
I lost both love and loathing,
Mured up in the wall of wisdom.
Another summer took the fields again
Massive and burning, full of life,
But when I chanced upon the spot
There was only a little hair left,
And bones bleaching in the sunlight
Beautiful as architecture;
I watched them like a geometer,
And cut a walking stick from a birch.
It has been three years, now.
There is no sign of the groundhog.
I stood there in the whirling summer,
My hand capped a withered heart,
And I thought of China and Greece,
Of Alexander in his tent;
Of Montaigne in his tower,
Of Saint Theresa in her wild lament.
Well I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw the title of this post! What a pretty mole...sorry he is dead, but hopefully you will be able to do something creative with the bones. Love the first photo of the sunrays coming through the clouds!
ReplyDeleteYou are so weird! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful fungi. Good idea on the bones.
Your journal is really great...I love the watercolor tree-it glistens! That was the best idea Laura, and will be treasured by your family. Your first photo of the morning sky is beautiful. Great photographer you are...steady hand. I need a tripod for shots like that...can't hold my arms up very high anymore! haha. Your environment is everchanging isn't it? You find new stuff all the time, and I JUST CAN'T believe the mushrooms!!! You have your own colony of them. This was cool! And, a cute mole-I've never seen one, but brutal looking claws.
ReplyDeleteHas Milo's friend come back? Oh, you think he left a gift behind? I bet he left it for you as dowry?
You and Sam, Milo and friends have a great Thanksgiving my friend! See you soon.
The mole is dead. Long live the mole!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful find. I mean, poor mole and all that, but what a great thing to encounter. I'm looking forward to the exhumation to see what's left of the 'little gentleman in velvet' (as the rather suspect Jacobite toast described it).
I cannot help chuckling at your fascination with animal scat. I really could not examine it as you do and, yet, I know that without people who make a study of such things, we'd be missing out on a chunk of scientific knowledge. You truly are completely in touch with and at ease with nature at the grass roots level, Laura. A naturalist at soul! What a wonder and blessing you are, even though you make me look at pictures of scat on your blog :) I do so love the quote on artists and the super image you've created in your journal. Another thoroughly captivating (apart from that scat!) post, thank you! I love coming to spend time here :)
ReplyDelete