Great day at the park! Just my random babble, really...

[Betta132]

Went to the Old Settler's park today, in Round Rock. I was walking along the bank, and lo and behold, there's a dead fish. With the aid of a friend who likes gross stuff, and a pair of latex gloves, I got the lower jaw of the fish. The skull was wrecked, but it's probably a catfish of some kind.
Next someone else found a large turtle shell in the lake, and since I was the one who waded in to get it, I got the skull! Yay! It's missing the lower jaw, but still cool.
Then I saw a huge snake in some weeds, and promptly found myself a long stick. I lightly prodded him with the end of a 5' stick, and he poked his head up, stared at me, and slid into the water. Guess what. It was a 4' water moccasin.
A few minutes later, I found a turtle egg on the bank. It had been washed out of its nest, apparently, and since I didn't know where it was supposed to be, I wrapped it in some paper towels and brought it back. It's now in a container of wet sand.
After about 20 minutes, we found a big turtle, who had only his head out of the shell. Oddly, he didn't dive, even when we grabbed him, and we found out why after a minute. Poor thing had a bunch of big leeches on him!
Fortunately, I had some tweezers and packets of salt in my backpack, and we were able to get most of the leeches off. A few were out of reach, but I smothered them in salt, and they shriveled up and died.
45 minutes later, I smelled something pretty bad, and after poking around, found myself a small dead duck. I put that in a plastic bag, using latex gloves of course, and put it in my backpack.
While I was fishing it out of the lake (it really stinks!) my brother found about a quarter of a small turtle shell, with the leg, hip, and vertebrae still attached. The leg is mummified, but I should be able to clean it.
Later, I randomly decided to ask someone if they could guess what was in my backpack. When I told them, two other girls walked over, and one asked to see the duck. In the process of getting the duck out to show them, I attracted several others, and when I took the other things out to show them, the rest of them turned up! Apparently it was a high school soccer ball team or something. I ended up showing something like 15 girls my collected dead things!
Well, that's one way to draw a crowd.

[driftwoodhunter]

Well, that's one way to draw a crowd.

...and get a creepy reputation

When I was growing up, we lived in a beach side home (really a tiny cottage) on Long Island Sound. I used to find HUGE whole dead Horseshoe crabs on the beach, especially after breeding season. Now I wish I kept some. They cost a fortune on auction sites and I'd love one - but one of the giants liked I used to find...

[Betta132]

The older teens think I'm crazy... Not that I'm discouraging that impression.
Ooh, cool! Horseshoe crabs are really neat! I'd love one... Too bad they're expensive. I see pet ones for sale, but they get so big they aren't good for smaller tanks.
Today I found out that dead ducks, even when wrapped in two plastic bags, will make your backpack stink to the sky. My backpack is now practically marinating in Febreze.

[wendyjo]

Why did you want a smelly dead duck?

[DarkCobra]

Snakes, leeches, and corpses. Sounds like fun!

The high school soccer team is the only disturbing part of this.

[Betta132]

@wendyjo, I collect skeletons. I don't usually find clean bones, so I bring home any small dead animals I find, bury them, and later dig up the bones.
@DarkCobra, it's my idea of fun! Well, not the leeches. They're gross. But snakes are cool! And I'm happy I found a decent-sized bird, I've been wanting one for a while.
I am never putting something that smelly in my backpack again. Thank goodness for Febreze! It got rid of most of the smell.

[rbarn]

You have a strange fascination with all things dead.

[Betta132]

So I've been told. Really, skeletons are interesting! You can learn a whole lot about the animals from just the bones. I might be a tad obsessed though...

[Nubster]

[Betta132]

@Nubster, you wouldn't believe how many times I've gotten that look!
Just FYI, you people need not worry, I never kill anything for the bones, nor will I ever ask for something to be killed for me. I'm a softie when it comes to animals.

[Axelrodi202]

Originally Posted by Betta132

Later, I randomly decided to ask someone if they could guess what was in my backpack. When I told them, two other girls walked over, and one asked to see the duck. In the process of getting the duck out to show them, I attracted several others, and when I took the other things out to show them, the rest of them turned up! Apparently it was a high school soccer ball team or something. I ended up showing something like 15 girls my collected dead things!
Well, that's one way to draw a crowd.

So that's how you do it.
(It's okay; I'm in high school myself )

[ValMM]

Did you put your backpack through the washer first? That might have helped with some of the smell.

[wendyjo]

Originally Posted by Nubster

^ This!

[Betta132]

No, unfortunately it's not machine washable. I sprayed a load of Febreze cloth-freshener into the backpack, then zippered it shut. Now it smells like pondwater and Febreze. Better than dead duck smell.

[driftwoodhunter]

I don't know what the weather's like where you are, but you could take it outside & hose it down, too. Even at a car wash if you don't have a garden hose. I wouldn't put it in a washing machine even if it could be laundered - the smell might linger in the machine. Is it no washable at all? A long soak in a tub outdoors would work too.