Backyard Archaeology-The Winter Finds

I really thought my backyard archaeology wouldn't result in any significant finds until the Spring. But a few days in December, January, and February, I spent time in my yard pulling weeds and trimming trees and bushes. After three years I truly thought I had found most of what was in the yard to find. I was wrong. This winter I found more objects than during the Fall. I'm starting to wonder if my yard possess a vortex to another dimension that sends objects through to this realm. That, or my yard is producing items as if it were a 3-D printer.

This winter yielded a baseball, nice bread knife, marble, screw driver, ink pen with ink still inside, blue ball, glue gun stick, spade, metal butterfly, swimming goggles, a toy spaceship, metal stacks and wire, and a few other random items.

Backyard Archaelolgy: Last Finds of Year Three

As we are already in November, all major yard work is now complete for this season. Thus, the last bits of treasures for this year have been unearthed from my backyard. Though as abundant as the discarded objects have been, I wonder how much or how little this winter's rains will uncover for my discover next Spring.

These last items were found in two batches. The first batch found two months ago included a small toy car, a marble, and other parts to something.

The last relics found this past month are as follows: Part of a spatula, a spoon, part of a snorkel, a folding toy person/robot, a golf ball, a screw/bolt, and a metal tie down in the shape of a plus.

PS Ignore the date on the photo as I was too lazy to set it in the camera before taking this photo. That's the age of the camera.

Backyard Archaeology: A Never Ending Saga

After three years I figured I would have unearthed all that could be found in my yard. After all, the whole property is only .3 of an acre. There's room for items to be hidden and buried, but at this point I started wondering if my home had been built on a garbage dump. Thankfully, it wasn't. The land was actually an orchard before the house was placed on it.

Meanwhile, I am still uncovering new items. Here are some of the newest treasures.

The second lot to be found this spring and in early summer included a spoon, golf club head, vial, tube and a piece of what I learned was a smoking pipe.

Then in mid-summer I found a squirt gun, piece of china, domino, golf bag plastic toy, head to the top of razor, and some yellow thing I think is for tying something down.

What else can possibly be out there?

Back Yard Archaeology continues in 2018

Amazingly enough, even after two previous years or gardening, I am still unearthing a random assortment of items left behind by others. They are mostly in the backyard, but some items like the Alaska pin, I found in the front flower bed.

This Spring's batch thus far has included the following: a toy tank, a fork, a spark plug, an Alaska pin, a Station 76 golf ball, and a bouncy ball.

Who knows what next weeks weeding will uncover.

Backyard Archaeology: Under the Deck!

With the swampy pond finally cleaned out, I was able to climb under the deck (Well, actually I wedged myself partly under, as far as I could crawl and then used a grabber stick). I knew a few items were under there, but I had no idea what I was in store for when I started dragging stuff out. Besides the obvious trash and aluminum cans, as well as a bottle of leaking weed killer, I found a surprising number of shoes.

Seven Shoes

Seven shoes emerged, one for each of the Seven Dwarfs. The eighth one is possibly still under there, hiding in some corner.

Shoes weren't the only interesting items to see the light of day from beneath the deck. Amongst the items retrieved were an assortment of gardening items, three balls, a brush, a motorcycle toy, part of a bike helmet, a pen, cup, scrub brush, mixing bowl, and a Pringle's chips snack container.

Gardening items found beneath the deck

The Three Balls

Other random deck relics

Though I tried there was one item wedged under the deck I just couldn't manage to dislodge enough to pull out. I figure it will have to remain there until the deck is replaced in the future. That is unless Santa Claus decides to get out the green Christmas tree stand for me!

Backyard Archaeology: More from the Swampy Pond

The Swampy Pond has now been drained! All the treasures within have been revealed, and there were more! Unfortunately no magical unicorns were found, but on the positive side neither were any bodies.

The Swampy Pond has been drained!

The amount of stuff to be pulled out was amazing. After photographing the finds they were either cleaned or tossed. The statues from the first archeological venture will make a nice addition in the garden, as well as a bird house that was found. After cleaning what appeared to be a cage from the first finds it turned out to be a candle holder. A lovely little wind chime was found this second time around, but Boomer sneaked off with it and turned it into a chew toy, so only the chimes themselves survive.

More finds: Bird Feeder and Squirrel Number 2

Boomer's Wind Chime chew toy and Carving Knife Blade

To go with the spatula found last time, a fry pan and spoon were unearthed, as well as the blade to an electric carving knife.

Fry Pan and Spoon to go with earlier found Spatula

Once the pond was empty enough we were able to get under the deck, which proved to be its own archaeological despository.

Junk from under the Deck

Most of the items from under the deck were trash or recyclables. Apparently there is more to be dug out from under the planks, but what was found was a welcome mat, shoe, glasses, aluminum cans, and some strange screened object with a whole in it.

Happy Digs!

 

Backyard Archaeology II: The Swampy Pond

When we bought this property it came with three very old human-made ponds. Two were dry and are scheduled to be filled in with dirt and turned into giant planters. One will be kept as a pond, but first it must be drained in cleaned as it looks like a swamp.

Pond in process of being mucked out

As the draining and cleaning began many things were pulled out of this pond. Besides candy wrappers, aluminum cans and the metal part to what we assume was a stove the following items were dredged up: a girl statue, a spatula, several plant pots, a broken bird feeder, an intact cage of some sort, a turtle statue, a squirrel statue, and a light still plugged in to a timer. The mucking of the pond is continuing, as it is so deep cinder blocks have even been pulled out. I am waiting eagerly for the magical unicorn to be found.

Girl Statue and Cinder block from pond

Pond yields up Spatula, Pot, Cage, Squirrel, and a Turtle

Light with timer still attached.

As pond dredging is continuing today, I wonder what new discoveries will be found.

Backyard Archaeology

Spring has arrived and so has the time to pull weeds and garden. I have discovered as I do so, I find many usual things in my yard, clearly left behind from earlier settlers of my current home. Some of the items are small and some rather large. Most I know what I have unearthed, but a few I really have no clue what they are.

Each year the rains seem to produce a new batch of discovers. Here are a few of the items I have uncovered in this past two years.

This next batch I found just three days ago.

I am still trying to figure out what the little blue rubbery square with what looks like a moon in the corner actually is. It isn't an eraser.

This week I will be out in the garden again. Who knows what else I will find.