12-11-05

     Let me start by saying we are still alive. The last three years of hard core digging has finally caught up. It is nice to have understanding wives to put up with the muddy boots, stacks of bottles, and the endless projects that have been waiting. So, we each have been catching up on stuff around the house in lieu of digging.

     But, we did manage to make time this weekend to get out. Remember the two pits we had left over from the last dig? We decided to open them up. Old man winter has been working overtime in these parts. The snow is really starting to pile up. One of the toughest parts about the snow is making the permission pitch knowing when you are done there will be a bunch of trampled and dirty snow. Keeping this in mind, we swept all the snow off of grass, laid out the tarps, and got to digging.

     The first pit felt post 1900. The first few bunch jars and pickles backed up this fact. Steve commented about still be able to get a couple hutches as they were used pretty late in these parts. This light sugaring did make the crap sandwich a little more palatable until I noticed a license plate at Steve's feet. "1928" he said as he grabbed his shovel and started backfilling. Definitely the newest pit we ever got into. LOL.

    As much of a kick to the bag this may be, we always do find the humor in it. I know I made the comment about how it couldn't get worse. Well it did. The next spot by the house was the old cistern. It took two 50/50 screw tops, 1 Funyon bag, and a bent push mower blade to make us realize this one was going nowhere either.

    Now we were in a conundrum. It was still early and we had no place to go and it was a little green to be knocking. Luckily, I had penciled down the phone number of the landlord next door, who lives out of town. For some reason I have the best luck calling and scoring permissions. This was no exception. The guy was cool and told me how he used to look for bottles along the river when he was a kid. A promise of restoration and some bottles and we were probing.

    This house was right next to the Geo. Bicknell Stomach Bitters and OP McCleans Toothache Specific pits.  I specifically remember digging those pits and longingly yearning to get into this yard knowing the same booty had to be there. I was smugly probing the back lot line knowing those pits had to be there. But, this would not be the case. There was one little shallow ashy spot that felt void even when probed a score of times. We choked up a bit and grid probed every square foot of that back half of the monster lot for an hour only to come up with nothing.

    I was whooped and had enough. I was headed for the truck when buddy Steve noticed a shallow bowl shaped depression in the snow, close to the side of the house, in an area no sane person would ever put a privy. Sure enough, there was one there. What in the heck were those people thinking?

   We didn't care, we were just happy at another shot at some bottles. This was the typical 1890s pit. Full of pottery shards, slick meds, labeled catsups, and bunk pickles jars. There were a couple close calls with some blobs, but they ended up being unembossed and broken. Probably the best things of the day were a couple of embossed bird feeds that had eagles and shields on them and an Old Manse Canadian Maple Syrup bottle.

   With the holidays and onset of winter, I am a little worried this will be it for a while. 2005 wasn't the most productive of a year for this bottle crew, but I know we are going to tear it up in '06. Stay tuned.............

Cold as it looks