Variations on one Photo, Coyote Skull

I'm a fan of bones.  I like finding skulls.  I'm also what is called a 'rock hound' ~ hunting cool rocks and bones is a great past time.

Last year I got a coyote skull that still was quite nasty as far as in the form of decay.
Other coyotes don't eat there own.

I placed the skull tied up with twine in a brush pile, hoping to let the summer bugs do most of the work.

I took the skull and placed it is soapy warm water and let it sit out in the sun for a few days.

Anything that was left on the skull I was able to remove easily.
Now I had the lower jaw in pieces and a bunch of loose teeth.  

I used some clear Elmers Glue to seal the bone.  Since the skull was not 'bug' cleaned it was a bit yellowed, but to me that looks more natural.
I glued the teeth back in place and after taking care of sealing the rest of the skull.

I then I used clear nail polish to 'shine' up the teeth.

Here is a photo of the complete skull after cleaning.

Photographed on a piece of black velvet on a folding chair.

The skull in this state is quite beautiful.  Since I haven't figured out how to attach the lower jaw properly, I have it just resting in place.

Next I adjusted the skull I wanted a black and white image with no yellowing of the skull.

I like this image on its own merits.  It is more like a museum display shot.

So I thought I'd try to do something different.

Wow.  I used Topaz Adjust and a preset I've never bothered with before. Polarize.
I didn't expect this as a result at all.

So I decided to go one step further and use Topaz Glow.
I didn't like the color streaks that it produced so I desaturated it.

Lastly I overlapped it with some grunge brushes and a photo of cracked mud.

I like all the versions but this last unexpected result is something I really like.