Where do you live? And where do you dig?

[Matt in NH]

Born and raised in NH. I am just outside of Manchester...I am a bit new to digging bottles, but I have been metal detecting for 9 years....BOTTLE DIGGING RULES! I just need more experience digging privies...they can be a pain to find in rural areas.


Matty

 

[IRISH]

Hey Oldtimer, it's not that bad, most things only want to sting/bite you in a painfull but non-lethel way [] . We do get some very large and interesting spiders in soft dirt but as long as we take a bit of care they are ok, same for snakes as long as you see them they are fine. Crocs are a different story and there is no way you would ever get me in a creek where they live, I keep inviteing Oz-riley to go creek digging up north while I sit on the bank with a big rifle to protect him but he won't go [] . The crocs territory starts a few thousand kilometers north so we are safe from them here.

 

[new2diggin]

Hello,

I live in Maryland. We moved to an old farm house in late March. There is a section of woods that divides our property and an abandoned farm. Farm land is all around except to the one side newer homes have been built. My husband walked through the little bit of woods that we have to find the property markers and came across 'our' dump(s). I just started digging this past month..it has been way too hot for me. I am now addicted and would dig every day if I were able. I/we have found so many bottles it is crazy. Now, we just need to find out if they are worth anything. I know we will get some money out of the milk bottles, I have already sold some. my brother helped me and in 1 day we found 22 small milk bottles and 3 larger ones. This past week I went and found 7 big bottles and a few small ones. Today I only found 2 small and some clear glass jar lid covers. Also, there are a TON of the ceramic jar lids. It is really fun to see what you can come up with next. Very disappointing though when you find something that you know is worth a lot and it is broken...which is alot of the stuff in the dump.

Take Care,
Lisa

 

[pvg_320]

Amblypygi - sounds like you have an interesting job. I had an opportunity to get into a 'Systematics and Ecology' grad program at one point, but went off in a totally different direction and am now in the health care IT world. I will return to biology someday!

I've been a bit of a reptile fanatic since I was a kid. I always flip boards and rocks when I'm out looking for old homesteads. I don't think I'd do as much of that in Australia though, I agree with Oldtimer. The most venomous things around here are the Timber rattlers, but they're so laid back it's not really an issue unless you step on one.

Haven't been able to get out lately, cabin fever is setting in. Lots of possible dump sites to explore...

 

[Gunsmoke47]

Hi Lisa and welcome to the forum![] Sounds like you have a great opportunity ahead of you and the bottle bug has claimed another victum! You will find the people here not only have a plethera of information but are super nice and ready to help. If you find some bottles that you are unsure of, post some pics if you can and chances are somebody will be able to help you. Happy Diggin, Kelley

 

[kumtow]

Hi Guys,
I now live in Northern Queensland, right in the middle of crocodile and Taipan (very very bad snake) territory. One gets into the habit of turning over every piece of tin, rock or wood with a long stick especially if one wishes to maintain ones health [:-]. A friend and I are considering a creek dive where we think there are lots of bottles but the snappin' handbags are putting us off. Considering building a cage of sorts.
20 years ago I lived and dug in Geraldton Western Australia. Biggest problem digging there was collapsing sand dunes. I've been burried up to my chest twice. No Taipans or crocs over there though.
I have often wondered why we don't have bears, lions or wolves here but we do have just about every nasty, crawly, venomous, bitey thing there is. What did we Australians do in our past lives to deserve this??
I have spent a lot of time in the bush (20 years in the Army) and one of the funniest things I have ever seen is watching Kiwi (New Zealand) and American soldiers patrolling through the Australian bush. You will never see a more nervous bunch of blokes.

 

[deepwoods]

Alan - Greetings from Western N.Y! Have methods of treatment/medicinal approaches etc improved - refined for snake bites,stings over there? Anti-venom and such. The ones that freak me out the most are those jelly and stone fish - probobly because they always use the word"excrutiating"when describing the effects. Cheers.

 

[kumtow]

Hi Deepwoods,
Yes mate, treatment and medicinal approaches are state of the art. Aussies are generally well educated on what to do for venomous bites and we all have a healthy respect for the bitey critters here. One just doesn't take stupid chances.
Where I live we also have the Box and Irukanji jelly fish. Jellyfish strings can be excruciating, or so I've heard, I don't intend to find out personally. There has been a couple of Irukanji deaths in the past 18 months and not a lot of research has been done on the little buggers. Jelly fish are seasonal so we don't swim in the sea for the hottest 5 months of the year. We also have large stinger net enclosures so that people who cannot control their sudden urges to swim can do so with relative safety. Funnily enough, something as thin as a stocking will stop jellyfish stings so stinger suits ( like a body stocking) are available. Townsville's university has a large Marine Biology department and Irukanji research is a top priority.
One important thing that you have to consider is that even with all the snakes, crocs, sharks, spiders, cone shells, jellyfish and stone fish, one has a greater chance of being run over by a bus. I've spent many years surfing and stomping around in the bush and I have never had any problems. Well... except for an argument with a stingray, he won, and I spent half a day in hospital[].

 

[ronvae]

Hi,
I just joined, couldn't stand it anymore. I'm a coldwater diver in Minnesota, and I started muck divin' just because it was another kind of diving to do. Late last summer I found my first old bottle, now I've got about a dozen bottles, maybe four pre-1900, and the bug has bit. Yesterday I was diving with a friend who found FOUR keepers & 2 were patent medicines. I average maybe 1 keeper bottle every 15 muck dives. I would never want to sell them, the thing I get a charge out of is the hunt and the thought that I'm the first person to touch a bottle in a hundred years. I've hit zillions of websites in the past few months & was really impressed with this forum.

 

[CanadianBoy]

As my name surgests,I dig in Ontario,Canada.
I'm digging a dump I 've not seen in 30 years,when I saw it last it was open field & swamp,it is now almost all trees.Also a house,the dump is about 4 acres.
It probably started as a dump in the 1860's,and closed down in 1920.
So far we've dug Ginger Beers,Soda's,Perfumes,Crocks,lots of Flasks,Whiskey's,Gins and Medicines,and with it Old Model T's,assorted appliances,tools,lots of old rusty cans,a couple of nice Snakes,a family of Moles,assorted Frogs and Toads etc,etc,etc.
I think we've also dug the complete stock of AMBER Welcome Chemical druggist bottles
There are also more Olive Jars than I want to think about!!!!
My wife is not too happy about it,so I have to keep it down to 3 days a week.

So many bottles,so little time