Desert Archeology

As you have all read, when we got this place there was about 40,000 pounds of trash on it.  We needed 8 large dumpsters to get most of the big stuff off the property and we still have a pile of tires and many broken TV sets, but the place does look better and you can for the first time get an actual view of the land.  But, once the big trash was gone that left the small trash.  Small broken piece of glass and plastic, decomposing books and catalogs, wires from old electronics and whatever else you can think of that can degrade into small pieces.  The property is a microcosm of the ocean.  Small pieces of plastic everywhere and when you try to grab them they break into even smaller pieces.

Anna loves this rehab process but I will admit this whole desert exercise stresses me out to no end. I do enjoy, however, just raking the sandy soil to try to clean up all the small stuff that is hiding there. It is a very zen-ish process for me.  I also feel I'm becoming some sort of historical scientist. Ted Meyer - Desert Archaeologist.  I start by raking the top layer of sand and then I go deeper, raking down a few more inches where I find an entirely different layer of remnants.  If I revisit the same patch of soil two weeks later, after the wind has blown, the exact place will present a totally new layer of artifacts.

Today I spent about four hours raking dirt.

Here is a selection of some of my favorite things that were hiding in plain sight.

  ~ Ted