Our house is old. There have been 150+ years of transformations. Unearthing old things can be pretty cool if you are into that sort of thing. What I wouldn't give to have seen this place when it was truly a farm! We have been told many stories about it; placement of the barns, animals that were kept, additions that were made and those torn down as well.
We have known these things; yet little of that history exists today other than the main house (excluding the additions). There are a few hints scattered about the back in the old pasture area:
I mow over several of these with fingers crossed that they never heave up and slaughter someone or something. :o) I've been know to have 'issues' with mowing. Hey, it's my zone time!
Since we have the new tractor, I've been (a-hem!) delicately suggesting to have my other garden area tilled up for corn and squash. We (as in) -he- got started scrapping and digging. At first it looked promising. Nice sod and black dirt that we could relocate to other areas for fill purposes.
Then the ground spoke and said otherwise...
The ole barn! Pig Pen ended up digging mass amounts of limestone, old concrete footings and post holes. Ya know, old stuff!
Here is LLL showing off an old saw blade and um...dunno.
They got alot of it dug out. Now we are down to clay and a big pile of crud that will go out back for other times. Pig Pen decided we will get a load of pulverized dirt instead of messing with cleaning it out right now.
Works for me cuz it means my corn will go in
soon!
It's like a treasure hunt when you dig at an old farm. I used to find all kinds of things at the farm.
ReplyDeleteI think that the load of dirt was a great idea!
I dug too far once and unearthed old gas tanks. Expensive mistake. Next time I'll just "re-cover" it. Eesh!
ReplyDeleteWe have found everything from arrow heads to old glass hypodermic needles. Who knows. Plus you never know when your going to hit a water or electric line that someone years ago didnt bury more than a few inches. The important thing is that it is getting done. Heehaw!
ReplyDeleteAh, the secrets of an ol' farmstead. Love it! Let us know when you find the mason jars filled with money! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's sounds like like so much fun- I know stupid from me but I am imagining un-earthing all kinds of treasures-that's how my world works day-dreaming- I can just imagine that old barn,maybe with a peek out window like in little house----- oh never mind me I'm off on an adventure again --in my head maybe I better get to work instead--LOL
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope you don't unearth Jimmy Hoffa!!!
ReplyDeleteRobin, yes it is exciting! We have found a few things we actually kept even!
ReplyDeleteSue, oh NO! That would be very bad! My fear was that I was going to fall into an old well or something.
Jane, yes indeed I believe it! We were told specifically where NOT to ever dig also. There is a spot that was used as a DUMP. Ugh, I don't even want to know!
MamaTea, if I found a mason jar of money I would come see you and help you move in! Unless it was all pennies. Then I'll send a card. :o}
Judy, day dreaming or adventures in your head are the best!!! Don't stop! Just don't do that while you are mowing...
Jan, can you imagine if something like that DID happen!?
When we bought this place it was an unbelievable dump! (That's how we could afford it.) It had been a crack house for a period so you can imagine some of the stuff we found. One of the more interesting things: A ways back in the woods, we found what looked like a grave. A mound of rocks piled in the shape of what might be a casket with an 8' cross at one end. Took us a while to get up the nerve to "check it out." We removed the cross, moved all the rocks and started to dig. Right under the surface we encountered big tree roots and more big rocks and very little soil so knew no one had dug there to bury . . . uh, anything. Was it a joke someone played? We'll never know.
ReplyDeleteMamaPea, I would say that is one time when I would be glad NOT to find something old! I would imagine it could be highly likely though!
ReplyDeleteI keep finding old (and I mean OLD) beer bottles, whiskey bottles and wine bottles in our livestock field. They've unearthed themselves for the last 17 years. Did I mention I come from a family of heavy drinkers? I keep hoping I'll find great-grandpa's stash of money, but that hasn't happened yet...
ReplyDeleteAint it fun livin in an old house?! The coolest part of my old beast is the wine press that is built into the basement walls... Kind of inspiring me to grow grapes...
ReplyDeleteHow cool! I can only imagine what we would have found at the farm I grew up in if we actually were to start digging, I never got past all the treasures left in the outbuildings, that place was built in about 1880 I believe.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool thing to be able to do! And right in your backyard! Hopefully it won't postpone your corn for too long. My hubby's family has property with old homesteads on it. We have fun finding all sorts of old things.
ReplyDelete~~Lori