2.16.2009

Little Surprises

One last note from Friday's paddle...

Along the shore line, nestled in cypress needles, was the empty shell of a musk turtle. Bones have a quiet beauty all their own. Whenever I find a bit of some creature's skeleton I often pause to ponder how it came to be there. Did the creature die a natural death or did a predator help it along its way? Is this the spot it died or did some other animal carry the bones to this spot? And in the case of turtle shells, is there anything still inside?

This time I got a little surprise - a shell within a shell.

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5 comments:

jozien said...

Beautiful! What a treasure.

Anonymous said...

I used to find some cat and dog skulls and a turtle shell in the forest last summer. Each thing made me think about the creature that used have this skull or a shell and I asked the same questions as you did.

Anonymous said...

I find quite a few turtle shells and other animal bones when I ramble about my forest. I confess to having similar thoughts about their lives and their fates.

Ellen Rathbone said...

There's something almost poetic about that second photo! Very nice.

swamp4me said...

jozien,
Just the sort of treasure that helps make life rich.

aluajala,
Funny how finding bones makes us ponder.

pablo,
There is something almost reassuring about finding bits and pieces. It helps to put life into a more natural perspective.

NatureGirl,
I just love snail shells. There's something about that spiral...