The forums are so not....blue anymore [].......anywho Today I was working with my father installing windows in someones house when I looked next door and saw that they were prepping to tear this amazing old house down. There was a guy in an excavator ripping up stumps in the back yard and grading a ramp from the road behind the house in preparation for the dumpsters that are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow and the trucks that were set to rip down the 150 year old structure.
Now, I'm not usually one to ask for permission, I usually just walk the woods until I find a foundation and dig under the cover of foliage, but I couldn't miss out on this opportunity. So I manned up and asked the excavator operator if I could poke around after he left and to my surprise, he was totally cool with it.
So , I return with my old man and a van full of tools, ill prepared because this dig was so short notice. Would have been nice to have more than one flashlight, however I did run by home depot and grabbed a 5 ft piece of rod stock which ended up being invaluable. After poking around for 20 minutes with the rod I sunk it all the way in, about 2 feet off the side of the back walkway. JACKPOT! With only 40 minutes of light we dug frantically, coming back was not an option. I was told that the after the house was demolished, the new house would face the opposite way, putting the foundation directly where the privy was. This is where it gets weird. Just before dark, I look up to see 3 firetrucks pull to the rear of the property on the back road. CRAP! I'm getting shut down, or so I thought. I explained what I was doing and these guys were also VERY COOL. They were there to run a simulated fire in the house. Of course I told them that if we were in the way at all to tell us and we would fill the hole and leave, but they were willing to work right around me. So over the 4 hours that I spent digging about 8 ft to the bottom of the stone liner, I had about 30 firemen dragging hose, carrying ladders, and shouting commands. They were more than happy to turn the night into day for me, illuminating the entire back yard as they set smoke and cut holes in the roof with chainsaws. Many of the fighters were actually very interested and had tons of questions.
Although, the finds weren't too amazing I had a great dig and won't ever forget it.