Spoons and Buttons From Cellar Excavation

steelheadwill · Jun 23, 2011

Hi All,
No real goodies from the old site, surprising because I see ash layers and pottery shards 4 feet down on the sides of the hole.
figured I'd at least get a pine tree shilling :laughing7:

The most interesting is the copper spoon, paper thin fiddlehead with brazed connection, and what appears to be a casting line on the back. (how you could cast a piece this thin is a mystery to me) I include a photo of another copper spoon I have for comparison.
Also, 2 flat buttons, 'Warranted Orange' and 'Extra Colour Gilt'
A copper box label, 'Gillette No 10 Stropping'
The site is less than 500 feet from the sea, and the finds show much deterioration.
May have another chance to search here before the new foundation is poured.
I've gone out three times looking for the little chimney puffing smoke far off the road on an 1870 'Birdseye' map, I found it today
I had passed within 100 feet of it both other times.. 2 wells located nearby.
The cellar is on a hillside and the deepest I've seen, has brick front wall.
The blackflies were draining me dry, I didn't give the site any searching yet.
hoping this will be my first productive foundation.
Came across a well constructed LeanTo on my forest journey
Arrived home to find another snapping turtle nesting in my yard, she's a Cutie!
HH to you all :thumbsup:

creskol · Jun 23, 2011

That sure looks like a promising spot!
Nice batch of goodies, too! Wonder what the story is on the wickieup?
Great photos of the turtle .. I have a few on my place, too.

Curious as to how your parasol handle turned out?

steelheadwill · Jun 23, 2011

creskol said:
That sure looks like a promising spot!
Nice batch of goodies, too! Wonder what the story is on the wickieup?
Great photos of the turtle .. I have a few on my place, too.

Curious as to how your parasol handle turned out?

Thanks Creskol,
Appreciate your reply!
We get a few snappers in the yard every year from thr stream out back.
I have 3 wooden Items working, when they are finished I will bump the parasol post back up top with the pix, and send you a PM :wink:

Best to You, HH :thumbsup:

HH

ModernMiner · Jun 23, 2011

Herbie,
You Sir are a detecting machine! Congrats on the old spoons and buttons. Are those black flies about the size of gnats?
First Colonial turtle I've ever seen posted.
-Dug-

Woodland Detectors · Jun 23, 2011

Great Pics Herbie!

That snapper is huge! Congrats on the finds my friend

allen · Jun 23, 2011

good going on those relics !
That is bigfoots leanto, be careful.

Wallhangers · Jun 23, 2011

At least you didn't get skunked. Sounds like your attention to detail on the birdseye map might pan out well for you. Looks like you will have a place to stay when you hunt that site (last picture) :laughing7:

Snapping turtles are on the move here as well. Had to stop for one on the road just yesterday as he was crossing. Good luck on that new site, can't wait to see what you pull out there.

Steve in PA · Jun 23, 2011

There are surely some goodies buried around that old house site. Hopefuly your next spoon will be solid silver :thumbsup:

CMDiamonddawg · Jun 23, 2011

Great old spoons

hand made by a smith . That snapper is laying her eggs 8) 8) dawg

steelheadwill · Jun 23, 2011

Thanks all!
Doug, we got those little nasty biting gnats too,
these flies that started yesterday are large with a bar across the wings.
They are quite painful, but slow and easy to swat, leaving a quarter size blood splat.
The problem is they can get so numerous that you can't swat them all and they are too painful to ignore.
Having had no ticks in the last week or so I had gone out without repellant.
I figured these flies wouldn't show till July.
they are like the 'Greenheads' well known in MA where I grew up.
Allen, Bigfoot :laughing9:

Shouldn't laugh, I saw one when I was a youngster...
But I also saw a lot of other things after some friends convinced me to suck the juice from a Jimson weed pod, they told me it tastes like watermelon, and the seeds looked just like watermelon seeds. it did a little more than quench my thirst that day.
I only learned about the plant and its effects many years after the incident.
a common plant found growing near the edges of culivated fields, you have probably seen these 'Thorn Apples'.
http://jimsonweed.org/datura-stramonium
Some British soldiers sent to quell Bacons rebellion
in 1676 made a salad with it :laughing7:

" The James-Town Weed (which resembles the Thorny Apple of Peru, and I take to be the plant so call'd) is supposed to be one of the greatest coolers in the world. This being an early plant, was gather'd very young for a boil'd salad, by some of the soldiers sent thither to quell the rebellion of Bacon (1676); and some of them ate plentifully of it, the effect of which was a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury; and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning and making mows [grimaces] at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.

In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves — though it was observed that all their actions were full of innocence and good nature. Indeed, they were not very cleanly; for they would have wallowed in their own excrements, if they had not been prevented. A thousand such simple tricks they played, and after eleven days returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passed. – The History and Present State of Virginia, 1705"

ANTIQUARIAN · Jun 23, 2011

I love those early spoons you always seem to be able to find Herbie! :notworthy:

Don't forget to drink lots of liquids after your hunts and that includes beer! :thumbsup:

You need to regenerate more blood for you're next hunt in the woods! :laughing7:

Dave

steelheadwill · Jun 23, 2011

Antiquarian said:
I love those early spoons you always seem to be able to find Herbie!

Don't forget to drink lots of liquids after your hunts and that includes beer!

You need to regenerate more blood for you're next hunt in the woods!

Dave

Thanks Dave!
This selection is also on tonights menu

ANTIQUARIAN · Jun 23, 2011

steelheadwill said:
Antiquarian said:

I love those early spoons you always seem to be able to find Herbie!

Don't forget to drink lots of liquids after your hunts and that includes beer!

You need to regenerate more blood for you're next hunt in the woods!

Dave

Click to expand...

Thanks Dave!
This selection is also on tonights menu

Sounds great buddy! :occasion14:

This is my choice for tonight! :icon_thumright:

High Plains Digger · Jun 23, 2011

I have a good recipe for turtle soup. Not cajun, but pretty good anyway. We call those alligator snappers out here, but then, we haven't any others, so we could call them T-Rex snappers and everyone would know what you are talking about. People say that there is one that has dragged a VW bug into the bushes to.......ah..........well, I just don't want to think about that right now.

wwwtimmcp · Jun 23, 2011

turtle soup,turtle soup,turtle soup,turtle soup. ummm nummy.

CrazySlasher · Jun 23, 2011

Quality stuff as usual Herbie! :icon_thumleft:

Looks like a friend I found the other day in the field. Your turtle seems to be a bit more happy though

steelheadwill · Jun 24, 2011

Ahh the poor turtle,
when I saw this one, I first thought the grass blade on it's shell was a large crack.
I've seen some that have really big shell fractures that have healed.
I cleaned and cooked a snapper when I lived in FL,
Brought it home after seeing it get run over, (yes fresh roadkill, and not my first.
The Oregon deer were great!)
Sorry to say I couldn't even bring myself to taste it, the smell from cooking was too strong in itself.
Maybe it needs to have the water changed after the first cooking.
Who has a turtle cooking method to share?

CrazySlasher · Jun 24, 2011

steelheadwill said:
Ahh the poor turtle,
when I saw this one, I first thought the grass blade on it's shell was a large crack.
I've seen some that have really big shell fractures that have healed.
I cleaned and cooked a snapper when I lived in FL,
Brought it home after seeing it get run over, (yes fresh roadkill, and not my first.
The Oregon deer were great!)
Sorry to say I couldn't even bring myself to taste it, the smell from cooking was too strong in itself.
Maybe it needs to have the water changed after the first cooking.
Who has a turtle cooking method to share?

I have had snapping turtle soup. It wasn't very good and the broth was very funky and thick, almost like gravy.

steelheadwill · Jun 24, 2011

CrazySlasher said:
steelheadwill said:

Ahh the poor turtle,
when I saw this one, I first thought the grass blade on it's shell was a large crack.
I've seen some that have really big shell fractures that have healed.
I cleaned and cooked a snapper when I lived in FL,
Brought it home after seeing it get run over, (yes fresh roadkill, and not my first.
The Oregon deer were great!)
Sorry to say I couldn't even bring myself to taste it, the smell from cooking was too strong in itself.
Maybe it needs to have the water changed after the first cooking.
Who has a turtle cooking method to share?

Click to expand...

I have had snapping turtle soup. It wasn't very good and the broth was very funky and thick, almost like gravy.