Treasures in our little Patch of Ground

Don't worry once I get on the Vessel this week I will get to some microscopy!! For now, we are still in captivity. I took the advice of my old sage of a teacher and began hunting for discoveries and the stories they might tell in our small grassy yard we can go out and spend time in three times a day.  Tracking the ground led to the discovery of a pair of dogs that patrol early each morning. One appeared to be larger about 45 lbs(20.4Kg)  and the other about 25 lbs(11.3 Kg) with much daintier feet. There are also a lot of small bird prints which soon became obvious when a flock of pigeons landed that evening.  There are some small mice and shrew-like rodents that also roam around and must be a bit overpopulated as there are these small brown raptors called a Chilean Hawk. How appropriate. They are all over the place here sitting on the fences and poles watching for the smallest movements in the grasses. Here is a link to read more about them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_hawk

From the living mysteries on our plot, I went looking at the ground for nonliving treasures... See what I found over a couple of days of combing the ground. ( I can only imagine what the other guests must have thought of me kneeling on the ground sifting through the ground - maybe I lost my ring?)  My cohorts were well informed of why I was performing this odd behavior and they were supportive in bringing me some cool finds as well. 

The Feathers I found are from a Pink Flamingo. Yes, there is a type of pink Flamingo here in Chile. If you really want to go on an interesting quest for knowledge google this " Why are pink flamingo feathers pink?" I won't spoil the surprise.

I am going to take my rock collection to a geologist I know on this trip and see if she can help me know what they are and how they formed. Some of the perfectly round ones seem pretty common here- many rocks are smooth and rounded, suggesting glacial wear on the rocks. It is Patagonia and there are loads of glaciers here so the rocks being worn smooth then run down streams to make them smoother and rounder makes sense.

Also in the finds were some old bones All but the bottom one I believe to be a duck for Obvious reasons.  They were spread out of a small area and probably a kill from a small dog or fox as the bones had some marks on from larger carnivore-like teeth.

Next to a Calafate bush, I found what looked like the leftovers of a place a bird of prey liked to bring up meals from the beach. There were parts of small crabs and even a dried-out pipefish which I think was the coolest find. It is odd there is no damage to it. I guess the raptor must have been scared off before it got to have a taste of its unusual meal.