It’s not quite, “I see dead people,” but I have adopted a somewhat morbid interest since moving to the country. You see, I collect dead things.
I haven’t progressed to full on taxidermy yet. However, during Baxter’s and my walks, I often come across things on the side of the road and end up bringing them home. So far it’s been mostly feathers, a couple of moths, some butterflies and one baby turtle.
I managed to restrain myself when I came across a baby garter snake and a perfectly intact cardinal.
I think it’s a bit of a fascination with the natural form and being able to examine these creatures up close. The wings of the moths are so magnificently intricate. And the turtle with his tiny claws and incredibly fragile shell is something that I don’t usually get to see.
Of course, I wish they weren’t all dead.
Level with me, people. How weird is my new fascination?
Home on 129 Acres 
When I moved into this place I found a plastic tub filled with the skeletal remains of all sorts of small animals e.g. skulls of mice, a spine of a squirrels. It had obviously been the previous owners private collection. I was delighted.
Yay, I’m not the only weirdo! Skeletal remains are even more morbid than my collection, I think.
Marvelling at the incredible beauty of nature is easier to do with things that don’t squirm anymore!
Very true.
The turtle is a little much for me (Stinky?) but I have a fake fern that I put all my intact butterfly and moths in. So not weird in my book! 🙂
He wasn’t stinky, but he may have got that way if I kept him for any length of time. (I did give him a halfway decent burial).
Dead things are definitely interesting, if sad. I once found a dead hummingbird in our yard. He (I presume from the colours) was so incredibly tiny and iridescent and amazing, so I picked him up with the trowel and put him on the deck rail for the kids to go out and look too. You don’t usually get to see hummingbirds in detail as they move so fast. I’m afraid of touching things though, because I’ve heard too much about diseases, so I look at them in situ, as it were.
And p.s, those feathers are so pretty! They look like they should be in a cabinet of curiosities. 🙂
It’s always sad to see beautiful things that are dead. However, it’s often the only time you can really examine them. Seeing a hummingbird up close would be pretty special.