I Did Not Kill The Cow!

                   (No, my dogs do not normally sit in the front seat, especially the driver's seat, but I thought it would look cute for a blog photo!)

     I have a perfectly normal (if a bit dirty) silver car.  I has four tires, a steering wheel, a big dog or two in the back, and a driver (ME).  All of these things are rather mundane and attract no more attention to me than any other car on the road.

     What makes people stare at me is the multiple skulls I have in my rear window.  No one notices them until they are directly behind me.  It is particularly entertaining for me if I was stopped beside them at a red light just seconds before and smiled and waved in a friendly manner, and they then end up behind me as we move forward.  I keep one eye on my rear view mirror just to watch the point and stare.  Tail-gaters tend to back off once they are close enough to glimpse the collection of ivory bones.

                                                                         
    Students of mine who are bold enough to mention my "unique" or "interesting" decorations are always a bit hesitant to ask about them.  I do not mind.  I know it is unusual.  I simply have a fascination with bones (not to be confused with death, which everyone always wants to jump straight to assuming).  My Fiance has a particularly keen eye for spotting bones when we are walking in the woods.  One may be surprised to learn how many neighborhoods are built on old cow pastures. 

     It amazes me how beautifully simple, and marvelously complex the bone structures we have found are.  The skulls are the easiest to transport, thus, they end up in my car (like everything else I touch seems to end up). 

     The question that I am asked the most frequently is: "Did you kill all those things?" followed in a close second by "What animals are those?"  (Most people are too timid to blatantly ask "Why???")  So here's the skinny!
     1.  No, I did not kill these animals, I do not know what did. I only found, or was given their bones.
     2.  The largest is/was a cow, there is a large turtle skull (it looks almost avian!), a turtle shell, a small buck, and either a large cat, or small fox of some sort?  (We shall have to call the last one my mystery skull.)
     3.  There really is no reason why.  They are great conversation starters (or enders in some cases), that's for sure!