There are many dried and dead things. Once, I found the the parched body of a frog -- thin and light, wizened. Its folded legs flat, the tiny lobed finger-toes spread fragile and crisp, almost translucent. And today, the dehydrated body of a lizard, no longer than an inch and a half. I thought it was a tangle of dark thread, but it was the stiff wisp of scales and feet and the little curled fingers and tail.