Can You Guess What We Found at the Lake?

1.     What did we find? Name the animal and its bones.
2.     Why could my husband see the remains when I couldn’t?
3.    Do you see details like my husband, or the big picture like me? ​Support your answer. Think about how you solve a puzzle, do a math problem, or read a book.       Answers are at the end of this post

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Do you see anything?

How about now?

No? That’s because there’s nothing there…now…but there was.
​My husband kicked something away before I could take a picture, but I took one anyway. Why? Because it tells you something about me.
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Here’s the story of what we found:

My husband called for me to come outside. He was mumbling something about Halloween and Tennessee. I scanned the path beside the house and wondered what he was talking about.
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He led me up the path to this spot, and told me to stop. Then he asked if I saw anything. I said no. I was still scanning the woods and seeing nothing. He said look down, and this is what lay, literally, between my feet. Another step and I would have landed on top of it.
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Can you believe it? I wouldn’t have, but there it was, right there between my feet. I looked down to find eye sockets staring up at me. Now that is Halloween spooky! 
​I cut and pasted these two pictures close together. It's pretty much what I saw, except, eye sockets aren't looking up at us. ​

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In all my years on the planet, I’ve never been this close to a skull. Ever! I'm a city girl. You don't find animal skeletons  in town. I’ve only seen them in  books and museums. And no, I didn’t get any closer, but I was fascinated enough to take pictures. ​​

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​But it gets better...Look at this picture. It’s what I saw when my husband told me to look at his feet. You see two skulls and  a spine, but originally, that top skull was between by my feet.

I’ve still can’t believe I was that close. I didn’t bend down, and I definitely didn’t touch it. ICK!!! 
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Do you know what animal these skulls once belonged to? I didn’t, but my husband knew right away. I looked at the bones slowly, carefully. Then I saw a clue. Do you see it? Look at the bottom skull. There’s something beside it that says “deer.” Can you find it?​

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​If not, look at this picture. Do you see a deer’s leg? I found the black hoof first. Look for the hoof, and you’ll find the leg. Above it, the leg actually had hair on it. It’s a creepy detail, but it made me wonder how long the poor deer was dead. Did it happen two weeks ago when we were still there? Before? After? We’ll never know.

We also wondered how they died. Was it natural causes, like sickness or disease? Was it a predator? Our house is in the Smokies where black bear and wildcats live. We’ve never seen them, but who knows? The skeletons do, but they wouldn’t talk.

My husband noticed teeth marks on the bones. I didn’t, but I wasn’t going any closer. They were probably made by animal scavengers. They come in later to feed on the body and clean up the mess. They eat whatever’s left, including the bones. That’s where they get their calcium. It’s sad, but it’s the circle of life.​

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​Do you see anything in the first picture, or in the close-up? I didn’t, but my husband did. He sees details in a scene. I see the big picture, but I have to get closer to see details.

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​I climbed up the hill to take this picture. I’m closer, but I still couldn’t see anything. Do you? In either the picture or the close-up?

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Now I finally see it. Do you? Look for the big brown leaf in both pictures. The second spine is beside it.
 
We wondered if both skeletons were here originally, and then part was dragged down to the path, either by an animal or by the rain.
 
We’ll never know, but maybe a scientist could look for clues and find the answer.

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​Do you recognize this shape? It’s a snakeskin. It was left behind when a snake molts off his old skin and leaves it behind. I didn’t take this picture. I found it on the internet. Would you believe we found a skin, something like this, hanging from our deck stairs? I wish I had taken a picture.

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My lakehouse is beautiful. It’s heaven, but it’s also part of a wild kingdom. I forget, till l see a deer watching me from the road, or a lizard run across my deck, or till I take pictures like the ones above. I’ll be back in 2 weeks. I wonder if my skeletons will be waiting for me. I’ll let you know in another update.
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Can You Guess What We Found at the Lake?
1.     What did we find? Name the animal and its bones.
The skull and spine of 2 deer
2.     Why could my husband see the remains when I couldn’t?
My husband can see details in a landscape, like the skeleton. I see the big picture and then go down to detail. I saw the woods. I probably wouldn’t have looked down to see the skull.
​3.     Do you see details like my husband, or the big picture like me? Support your answer.  Think about how you solve a puzzle, do a math problem, or read a book.
Possible answers: I see  details like your husband. When I’m working a puzzle, I can see the small parts of pictures, and I can put them together.
I see the big picture like you. When I do a puzzle, I have to look at the box. I go back and forth from the box to the pieces until I see parts of the picture.

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