Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Bones

A couple of months ago, Napoleon found a bone in our backyard. I wrested it out of his mouth and got a nip on the hand for my efforts–he really wanted to keep it and I was adamant about not letting him have it. I left it out on the patio to show Jason when he got home, but when I took him outside, the bone was gone. Whatever picked it up and moved it was not the dog, as he had been shooed indoors immediately after the bone incident and had not been out of my sight since. Whatever took the bone moved pretty fast, too–this whole scene took place over the course of no more than half an hour, from appearance to bite to banishment to disappearing act.

A few weeks later, Napoleon found another similar bone in the backyard. This time, I bribed out of his mouth with a treat, picked it up, and threw it away.

This afternoon, a different, larger bone appeared on the patio. Where are these bones coming from? What is moving them around? And what in the hell is buried in my backyard?

10 Comments Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious Bones

  1. Chris October 6, 2011 at 2:38 am

    My guess would be racoons or crows. They both will carry treats around and do like crunchy bits like smaller bones.

    1. Mellzah October 6, 2011 at 2:50 am

      Good call, we don’t have any shortage of crows around here. With the fences, it might be a *little* harder for raccoons to navigate their way through our yard (and totally not worth the effort because we don’t keep anything out there that would be yummy for them).

      One thing’s for sure–if a femur shows up on the patio, I’m calling the cops.

  2. Tonya R. October 6, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    It’s definitely a result of paranormal activity. Which is a sign indicating we should let Emily mix drinks and then see how much Paranormal Activity 3 we can sit through.

    1. Mellzah October 6, 2011 at 5:31 pm

      hahahaha! ONLY if we watch it at home, I’m over the whole “vomiting in public” thing.

    2. Hutchy October 6, 2011 at 11:29 pm

      Ugh. My stomach turned a little bit at the mere mention of Paranormal Activity. Margaritas, anyone?

  3. Hutchy October 6, 2011 at 11:34 pm

    I swear that if anyone was to discover that their home was really built on an Indian burial ground, it would be you.

    1. Mellzah October 10, 2011 at 5:09 am

      Another bone just showed up in the front yard. Either I’ve got a neighbor who REALLY likes BBQ or something sinister is happening.

  4. epiphannie October 12, 2011 at 11:43 pm

    What the hell is buried in your back yard? The remains of all the previous tenants who wore “fuck you and your fucking feelings” undies in front of “The Landlady.”

  5. Julie October 14, 2011 at 2:10 am

    We had a case of mystery bones at my parents’ house in Sequim. When my dad died, my mom moved out and got the property ready for renters. Next to the house was an oooooold log cabin (over 100 years old) that my brother and I were instructed to never, ever go in, on pain of death.

    Turns out, the log cabin was an unsafe structure, so my mom opted to tear it down for the future tenants safety. When they tore it down, amongst the rubble were human remains- a skull and a few other bones.

    No clue who they belonged to. The police department conducted an investigation, but nothing turned up. I can’t help but wonder what kind of information my father took to his grave regarding this person.

    1. Mellzah October 24, 2011 at 7:15 pm

      Spooky!

      …did you get to keep the skull?

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