Wonders in the Woods

Grab a coffee, tea or “other” beverage and take a load off – have I got a story for you.

It was a cold day but for some reason I decided to put my tuque on yesterday [along with thick garden gloves] and grab a shovel. My mission was to clear out all the glass and garbage along the side of the river on my property. The photo to the left depicts my small yet thrilling area of focus yesterday.

Now this house I live in has some history to it and the more and more I dig, the more I uncover about what may of happened here over a hundred years ago. I have only just [at this moment] started to read a small paper that was written about the town I live in and I am fascinated to read more.

I will start off with telling you, I had uncovered two trailer loads full of scrap metal from just this area and the adjacent spot alone. Old stove parts and many unrecognizable items. After much effort exerted my shovel final struck something hard. My dog and I started to dig by hand and paw when we started to see an iron headboard appearing before our eyes. I must of spent an hour trying to get it out.

This scroll headboard is strong and is truly priceless to me. Iron bed frames were all the rage prior to World War I (1914) when the use of iron drifted over to making weapons. Before this time in the late 1800’s iron bed artisans suggested that not only was iron durable and elegant but it provided a more sanitary place in which to sleep. The value of iron headboards [or frames] will never go down, as in my mind they will always be an alternative for those that aren’t into a heavy wood.

What I found next was slightly creepy and not a stroll through the Sunday park…bones, bones and more bones. The occasional fella [boyfriend or neighbour] would walk over a say that’s an animal bone, I said I sure hope so.

Onto the next creepy thing…half faced dolly. Between the doll and the girly bed related object, I was starting to picture in my mind the little girl that once inhabited this land.

Wooden dolls were quite popular in the years leading up and into the mid 1800’s. Wax dolls then started to rise on the horizon along with Porcelain dolls. Between the 1800-1900’s doll makers also used composite [basicly sawdust and glue] to make the bodies and heads of dolls. These were on the scene primarily from the 1920’s-40’s.

It was not until after World War II [which finished in 1945] that doll makers began to work with plastics. Other materials such as vinyl and rubber were used in later years.

There are a few ways to distinguish a hard plastic newer doll from composition. I will be testing out these waters tomorrow night.

Now back to the dig. It was getting dangerous for a while as I was pulling out sideways shards of glass from the dirt. It seemed to be never ending. I pulled out enough glass to fill two full garbage cans, if you can believe it. Then…out came the true to form bicycle seat along with a few other circular metal things.

The history of the first bicycle dates back to 1817 however it appears there was talk [or think] of something like the bicycle earlier than that through a sketch. Wouldn’t it be funny if I pulled out the rest if the bicycle?

I was riding high on my days finds when I remembered how a few weekends ago I came across something rather cool that had made it to my lawn scrap metal pile. I pulled it from the pack and really took an intense look at it. What is it?

It has a hook on the top of it [or bottom] and a really ornate pattern. I was thinking it may of been part of a light but I am rather unsure. If anyone has a clue or any indication please shoot me a message.

Wandering through the woods is one of my favourite things to do, it passes the hours and opens my mind to think about how things came to be.

Come back soon for more on my discoveries in town and around.