This is my journal of bones/oddities that I have found and legally kept/bought. I will include the pieces that I have not been able to legally keep and have had to turn in because they are still some neat pieces. If you think you have any help for c...
When I was younger, like most kids, I had a healthy respect or sometimes fear of dead things. When my parents got me Scooby-Doo fruit snacks and one was shaped like a pirate skull I had nightmares. My dads skull tattoo on his bicep scared me and the "mascots" of his favorite bands album covers freaked me out. It got more desensitized out of me when my dad used to bring fish home and would prepare them for food. Then even more so when he'd take us fishing and have to do the deed infront of us.
It's not a violent nature and I was never fond of eating the fish, never acquired the taste for it, so I felt bad wasting the fish. So usually my parents ate it or some family friends. Now when I go fishing I always catch and release or give to my dad. I appreciated their bones more then their meat and that's how it got started. Keeping smaller salmon and trout bones.
I never liked the idea of killing animals if a majority wasn't going to be used or appreciated so I found the way I appreciated theses animals in death was by keeping their remains. Something to admire them for after the meat no longer serves us.
I have NEVER purposely killed any animal for their fur/skeleton. Everything that I have, I have found organically on my own property, rivers, camp sites, or have bought legally.
I do not ever plan on purposely harming any animal for the sole purpose of their fur/skeleton. I only fish at the moment and keep the "leftovers". If I hunted I would do the same thing, give the meat and skin to others who will benefit from it more then I would while I keep the "useless" parts.
I want to keep any animal alive and help them if possible, and respect their remains if unlawful to own/posses by giving them to Fish and Wildlife. When I do find things that are alive I leave them alone or carefully relocate them if needed. I pick up Garter Snakes all the time out here and have unfortunately found one deceassed - stepped on by my horse who I tried to preserve in a jar but failed.
I will pick up almost any live animal that I know I can safely help it get up and out of the way except opossums, skunks, and spiders or something that could put me or the animal in any obvious danger.
I will never dig up my own or anyone else's pets for obvious respectable reasons. They were not wild and they belonged to someone's family they ARE/WERE family. Only thing pet related I'd try to preserve is maybe hair. So far I've only had thoughts about doing a horse tail bracelet or pendent in resin and that's it. Should I accidentally come across domestic animals remains, I will put them back exactly as found and make a marker for future reference. Usually a small cross of some kind.
Where do I stand on wet specimens? I personally am not against them but I don't really see myself keeping them as for the maintenance of keeping them, changing the alcohol, ect. I prefer bones and lesser perishables.
So before we get into some pictures that can AND will be gruesome so some people, let's look at some of the more light hearted things I've found and put back if alive/unable to keep shall we?
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