A couple of interesting finds on my property.

[California]

We have a curio shelf inside the back door for 'treasures' the grandkids find in the orchard - including me, when I was the small grandkid 70 years ago.

Lots of ceramic shards. Grandma and prior owners burned trash in the burn chamber alongside the oven, in the ancient stove. (Propane fueled). And they clearly carried tin cans etc down to the ravine. But for some reason plate and teacup fragments continually appear near the house as the orchard gets disced.

Antlers. I found one of them in the crotch of a tree where it would have been simple to get free so it had to be intentional removal.

Bird nests.

Arrow heads.

Footpeg ripped off a motorcycle. I lost it in about 1962.

3-point hinge pin broken off from a tractor.

Half of a U-joint, not a type I have ever seen before.

Small brass medallion. Cleaned up, it is a county dog license for year 1947.

And here's the most bizarre find ever. I didn't put it on that shelf: A wrapped, buried collection of correspondence that turned up when I backhoed out the stump of a cherry tree next to the granny cabin. Obviously left by Dad's last caregiver, a 30ish nursing student. Letters from apparently her ex-husband, in prison, "Honey sorry I forgot when your birthday is, forgot to respond to your Christmas letters for a few years, I know we'll get back together if I ever get out of here." And lots more that made it clear why she chose to leave behind and bury that collection.

 

[GeneV]

A few yrs back when we had pigs, they rooted up some WW2 era brass cartridges, German and Portuguese. I'm thinking it's likely the owner back then came back from the war, bringing home some trophies, and was firing off the rounds.

 

[jjeff]

Best thing I found on my u.p. property was the cut off tongue in a brush covered scrap pile for a 50' dilapidated mouse and snake infested mobile home. So I welded it back on and moved it 10 miles on two tracks for a local who was happy as sheet to have a new hunting camp. So was I cause I got rid of that eyesore that was in the way of everything on my property before I built.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I bought an L4630 Kubota from a fellow down near Brooksville Fl and among the implements that came with the tractor was an AB Eagle box blade very similar to yours. It has been a solid and useful tool for me over the years.

 

[etpm]

If you do find Jimmy Hoffa be sure to give Gerald Rivera a call. I'm sure he would love to do a show about the discovery.

 

[Gypsyman]

So, the property just keeps on giving. Next to one of the parking areas I found the 3-point frame for a Woods 1130 post hole digger completely overgrown by weeds. Had I not clipped the corner with my front tire and popped it up a bit I never would have known it was there. Couldn't find the gearbox or auger.

This morning I was down watching the machines drop more trees and when the operator started to take the row closest to the clearing by the guest house something caught my eye. A flash of yellow in one of his tire tracks. As soon as he was clear I walked over to take a look and found the plastic cover for a PTO driveline. Just to the left of it I saw an auger just barely peeking up though the ground debris and weeds. After some pulling and grunting I came up with a complete Woods PHD.

The inner section of the PTO driveshaft is rusty from exposure but I should be able to clean it up and save it. Just need a new plastic cover for it. Gear box turns smooth as glass and the tips on the auger look like it's never been used. Other than exposure rust it still has all of it's original black paint intact.

With some serious elbow grease and a fresh coat of paint it should be a useful addition to the property.

 

[ning]

So, the property just keeps on giving. Next to one of the parking areas I found the 3-point frame for a Woods 1130 post hole digger completely overgrown by weeds. Had I not clipped the corner with my front tire and popped it up a bit I never would have known it was there. Couldn't find the gearbox or auger.

This morning I was down watching the machines drop more trees and when the operator started to take the row closest to the clearing by the guest house something caught my eye. A flash of yellow in one of his tire tracks. As soon as he was clear I walked over to take a look and found the plastic cover for a PTO driveline. Just to the left of it I saw an auger just barely peeking up though the ground debris and weeds. After some pulling and grunting I came up with a complete Woods PHD.

The inner section of the PTO driveshaft is rusty from exposure but I should be able to clean it up and save it. Just need a new plastic cover for it. Gear box turns smooth as glass and the tips on the auger look like it's never been used. Other than exposure rust it still has all of it's original black paint intact.

With some serious elbow grease and a fresh coat of paint it should be a useful addition to the property.

Definitely check that area with a metal detector, maybe there's more there buried!

 

[Gypsyman]

I need to go over all of the areas around both houses with a fine tooth comb. Hitting that with a Bush Hog could have been catastrophic.

 

[diesel85]

Only thing I've found in my land has been arrow heads, trash, and my golf balls.

I found that golf balls versus flail mowers gets interesting.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Definitely check that area with a metal detector, maybe there's more there buried!

In Florida I'm thinking maybe stuff got buried by a flood/hurricane? Yes I'd be using a magnet and metal detector! So far you've found some good things!

 

[Thomas]

Nice find.

 

[Gypsyman]

In Florida I'm thinking maybe stuff got buried by a flood/hurricane? Yes I'd be using a magnet and metal detector! So far you've found some good things!

As near as I can tell everything is just buried in 20+ years of undergrowth and the tree litter that rains down around here every time a cloud farts. The loggers are taking care of that by clear cutting the pine to make pastures and feed plots while leaving all of the native hardwoods.

 

[Gypsyman]

One last update. Drug the boom pole out of the ditch once they removed the downed trees. It's a Leinbach Line brand and appear to be in perfect condition. Should come in handy.

We found a helicopter chassis out in the heaviest area of the property. I don't know much about helicopters but it sure looks like an old Huey from Vietnam. After some digging and talking to the neighbor I found an old picture of it along with the new photo that I took. Had the loggers clear out around it to protect it for now. Also found the remnants of a crumpled up Cessna.

Last but not least.

There is an old metal shed on the property that was locked and none of the keys worked. Finally got around to cutting the lock off. When I opened the door right in the middle of a bunch of junk piles sat a 2006 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO on 4 completely rotted off tires. I drug it down to the house and started checking it over. Hooked a battery to it and the speedometer powered up. Shows just 238 hours on the clock. After a bit of tinkering I determined that the started solenoid was bad and the rubber intake manifold had a split in it along with a missing bolt that I found wedged on top of the transmission.

Long story short, $100 in eBay parts, along with 4 new tires and a new battery, and I have a perfect running 4 wheeler to get around the property. Silly thing starts and runs like a new machine. The plastic body work is rough but I'll find a parts machine to swap out the panels and fenders from.

That's all for now...

 

[jjeff]

Does that helo still have the turbine in it? Regardless very cool stuff on your property.

 

[Gypsyman]

No idea on the turbine. The entire crew was waiting on me to grab a quick picture so they could get back to work. I’ll look more closely when I go back up there.

 

[dodge man]

There might be some salvage value in that stuff. We recently took a long trip, mostly we spent time in Montana and Idaho. There was a museum in Polson Montana that I can only describe as kind of a large eclectic collection. For example the front half of an F4 Phantom. How do you even end up with that? They also had a Huey and in the background an old MASH era helicopter.

 

[GT3 Mike]

Super cool property ! That HELO sitting out there is awesome.

 

[Aquamoose]

Dude, you’re part of the Bermuda Triangle!

 

[Gypsyman]

I feels like it sometimes.

I also found an abandoned well right off the corner of the garage that was covered up with brush. While the well company was out here inspecting the other two wells I popped the cap off and had them drop a camera down in it. Appears to be in exceptionally good shape and clean. I don’t know if they abandon it because it was too close to the house and they didn’t want to look at the pressure tank or maybe it had a slow recovery rate. If it’s just a slow recovery rate it’s a perfect candidate for a deep well hand pump for emergencies.

The next adventure will be to throw on some waders and walk both of the creeks. It would be pretty cool to find an arrowhead or megalodon tooth. =)

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

What an exciting place you bought!
I have a creek and a nice spring. I'd love to find 3 clean wells like that!