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This cottage is drawing attention with an unusual lawn ornament—a whale skeleton

In a world full of unique and lavishly decorated cottages, it can be hard to stand out. However, a Nova Scotia man has found a way to make his cottage unique with the help of an unusual lawn decoration: a whale skeleton.

Robert Delorey found the skeleton on the beach this summer, and with the help of his nephew, he collected the pieces and set about putting them back together on the lawn of his cottage. Delorey told CTV News that initially, he didn’t know the skeleton’s head from its tail, but with the help of the internet, he and his nephew were able to piece the bones together to create a full, anatomically correct skeleton six metres long. To help keep track of the many pieces, the two wrote small numbers on the bones.

It’s believed that the bones belonged to a minke whale. A minke washed up onshore in Pomquet Harbour in the fall of 2015, and Delorey believes it’s the same whale whose skeleton now sits on his lawn.

The unusual ornament has drawn the interest of neighbours. Jennifer Morris, Delorey’s neighbour, told CTV news she was happy about the neighbourhood addition: “It’s definitely different, but this is really cool, so I’m glad that they got the whole pieces.”

Delorey plans to take the skeleton indoors over the winter so that he can display it again next spring.