NOTHING IS WASTED

This one would have been another installment of my "Fun with Roadkill" series if it wasn't for a few things...

First off, I don't think that this is actually roadkill, although it is the remains of an animal that I found on the side of the side of the road. Moreover, in my Fun with Roadkill series, I like to include a video. While most of us can agree that roadkill is not actually "fun," I use this term because I try to make the best of everything and use whatever we can, rather than letting things go to waste.

LET'S PICK UP SKELETONS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!

Now that's an exciting title for this next section! Who else is ready to go? While not everyone will jump at the opportunity, please allow me to explain why I did.

Unfortunately, many people in the world are very wasteful. In these photos you can see not only the remains of a deer carcass, but also a glass beer bottle. These were found on the side of a backwoods dirt road, where unfortunately many people have been known to use as a dumping ground. Old tires, garbage bags, beer bottles, and even animal carcasses have been seen discarded here. This is part of why I don't believe this animal was roadkill.

Most likely a hunter removed the head of a buck whitetail deer and kept the meat, but dumped the carcass along the road. I'm not sure about others, but there are some uses that I have for bones, even if they've been sitting roadside for some time. Hence, I picked the rib cage and spine up and strapped them to my vehicle.

Back at home I got to work with the backhoe again. No, I'm not just making sure that this animal gets a "proper burial," I've got a plan.

LISTEN, LEARN, & APPLY!

Recently, when I was swapping some plants with Hive account@shalomacres, he mentioned that he had came across an article from the late 1800s about people growing grapes in the Ozarks. Among the other tips and tricks was a bit about how grapes that had bones buried beneath them produced better than those without. Well, not everyone has extra bones lying around, but, if you are creative, you might be able to get some. Since I'm hard at work planting grapes right now, *including some that I received from Hive account@shalomacres, I grabbed that roadside skeleton and got to work!

After the deep hole was dug, it was ready for the bones. Grapes can grow deep roots, so I "planted" the carcass a few feet deep. This way it was also deep enough to avoid trouble with dogs and other scavengers.

We will see how the grapes eventually produce, but for now I got to do some road cleanup and "recycling," and the grapes may have a better opportunity to grow and fruit. Whenever possible, I like to make sure that nothing is wasted, and this is just one example. What do you think?