A Mystery

Ah, Spring......renewal of life. The birds have put on their new frocks and we are treated to goldfinches flitting to and fro like airborne daffodils when they were a shabby brown only last week. Birdsong fills the house when we wake each morning.

As we rake out several years' worth of leaves from beneath the lilacs and other bushes around the house, each new finding brings exclamations of surprise and delight. I'm no expert but I believe we have uncovered tulips, daffodils, and irises peeping through the soil.


Our most recent discovery, however, has left me somewhat puzzled. Two days ago, on a trek through the wooded area that borders the back of our property, Dwayne and Anna-Rose unearthed this grisly relic.

We believe it to be bovine in nature. It has become the Terrorist Baby's new best friend. She calls it a dinosaur. I have explicit instructions to keep her out of the woods lest she excavate the entire skeleton.

So, a mystery. A corpse without a clue. Whose remains?

***Mystery solved!***

I've added more photos to show the top and bottom of our mystery skull. After much research online and closer examination of the skull we now are convinced that it is that of a domestic pig. Although the molars have level chewing surfaces, you can see the holes in the front where the other pointy teeth would have been. It is the only skull that has the type of steep angular slope to the forehead rather than a gradual flat slope.

While the identity of our "corpse" has been revealed, it makes us even more curious. We knew that there had been sheep on this property in the past, but hadn't heard about pigs. Perhaps even further back in history a farmer was sustaining his family with the food he grew and raised here. After all this house has been around for almost 200 years so it wouldn't be unlikely. More research to do!