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There's nothing that makes you think of noses more than smashing your own. Take it from me.

About a week ago, I crashed into a closed sliding glass door and I've been thinking of noses ever since. I’ve even done some scientific research on trauma to the nose. Did you know that psychiatrists have identified 5 distinct phases you go through once you smash your nose into a door? They include, in this order:

1. Shock and Awe - actually spelled AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

2. Examining the Damage. Is blood gushing out? Is my nose now crooked? Is there swelling?

3. Denial. I can’t be stupid enough to walk into a closed door.

4. Acceptance. Yes, I am stupid enough to walk into a closed door.

5. Finding the silver lining. For example: the topic for my blog this month is....

(drum role here)

ANIMAL NOSES!

Before I specifically address noses, a little background information on me might help you understand this month’s topic.

I loved all kinds of critters as a little girl. I even hunted for lizards, frogs, toads, bugs and turtles with the boys. And I was thrilled when a boy in my 4th grade class gave me a baby snapping turtle. He was so cute (the boy AND the turtle)! 

Once I deposited the captured reptiles and amphibians into appropriate terrariums, I could sketch them at my convenience. I particularly admired the professionally drawn and painted images in the Reptiles and Amphibians paperback book by Herbert S. Zim and tried to copy its detailed renderings throughout. 

I even attempted to capture birds, because my father told me all I’d have to do is sprinkle salt on their tails and they wouldn’t be able to fly away. It took me a year or so and lots of wasted table salt to get the joke.

Now I know I don’t have to catch birds to paint them. In fact, I just completed a commission to paint a Tricolored Heron that I can’t imagine confining in a cage! 

And who among us would sentence this Wild Canary I painted to life in a gilded jail?

When I was about 11, I started sketching larger animals after reading The Jungle Book. I remember working on lions, tigers, elephants and zebras to add to my required book report. My grades on book reports definitely improved when I added the art, so there was another incentive to keep me sketching and painting. 

But back to animal NOSES. Have you ever noticed the different shapes noses take in nature? 

Even dogs have noses unique to their breeds. 

So here’s a little test of your nose knowledge. Can you identify the animals that sport the noses I sketched below? After you come up with your answers, check your accuracy in the numbered list below. NO CHEATING! Try your best before looking at the answers. But you are allowed to grade your own test!

1. Rabbit. 2. Pug. 3. Soft Shelled Turtle. 4. Horse. 5. Elephant Seal. 6. Box Turtle. 7. Mouse. 8. Lizard. 9. Eagle. 10. King Charles Cavalier (Yes! Their noses actually are heart-shaped!) 11. Sea Nose Fish

Let me know how you did on my quiz in the comments section below. And contact me at [email protected] if you’d like me to sketch your pet’s nose — and face too — for a portrait!