Y 1790

Where the millstone was found.

Up behind the house is an old dump. In the dump is an old wringer washing machine, old tools, a plow that is one hundred years old, and a belt saw. Most of the things are half buried in the forest floor. I don't dig through there anymore because I thought after ten years, I had found everything I could see. I was wrong.

Seeing some incongruity in the ground, John began to dig in one area and found a very old millstone dated 1790. It is extremely heavy and in perfect condition. He also found the iron frame that used to hold it. In order to get it down the hill and back to the house, he had to attach chains to it and drag it with the tractor. I have had a suggestion that we can use it in a garden (if we can get it into a garden). What do you think we should do with it?

The area where this was found, the dump, wasn't just a dump. It became a dump after a barn there fell in — you can tell there used to be a barn there if you know what to look for: the young trees in the middle of this area and some big foundation stones.  Since that time long ago, newer trash was put there. Hence, the washing machine and newer fencing materials that you find there. There is another household dump down near the spring well. On the same day that he found the millstone, John pulled another antique bottle out of the second dump. We have quite the collection of antiques here!

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Sights Behind the Dump — Geography

We see so much on our hikes. There are too many photos to post. But I have chosen a selection of photographs that highlight what I learned on the hike, whether it be about the plants, animals or geography of the area we hiked in. You can click on any photo to see it full size in a new window. If you click on a text link you will be taken to my Flickr set for the photograph. All of my hike photos are in my Photowalks & Hikes Collection. I call this hike the Behind the Dump Hike because we walked to the dump and then left it behind as we entered the Mt. Kearsarge State Forest.

Above is a quartz flecked granite boulder on John's property. You can't see it well here but it is studded with garnets. The boulder is in an old abandoned garnet mine here. These small mines stud the country side in New England. Granite, quartz, mica, garnets, feldspar and other minerals were mined by local people.

The photos above and below are of the unnamed brook in the forest that we followed up the hill and back on this hike. There were beautiful falls such as these and quiet flats where the brook quietly burbled.


Above is a stone wall that we suddenly came across near the crest of the hill. There was an old pasture here a couple of hundred years ago. It amazes me how the old people withstood the hardships of life in the hills and mountains long ago. It must have been extremely difficult to pasture your dairy herd up here. Nowadays, these ancient walls create wonderful habitat for all sorts of plants and animals.

In the photo above, if you are familiar with deer roads, you may just see a deer trail going from the left side of the brook, across it to the right side, and then forward towards the camera on the right. This is a well-used trail the deer use for water and fording.

Above is another deer ford across the brook. Another watering spot for them.

Last we see above, the "idyllic" spot where the sad porcupine lives. The brook falls on the left. To the right of the brook you see a whitish boulder with a small pool in front of it. That boulder (white looking because of the sun) is where the porcupine lives. She has a large den underneath with several entrances all around it. In my Sad Porcupine post you will see the up-close photos of the quills, the pool, and of course, the sad porcupine.

Behind the Dump Hike

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Town Dump

Why photos of the town dump? Well, I'm pleased to have one. In Vermont dumps were closed years ago and you have to pay for trash removal. There are recycling centers in each town for plastic, glass and metal. But everything else has to be hauled out by private contractors. The dump here in New Hampshire (and each town seems to have its own dump) accepts everything. You still have to sort and deposit stuff in the proper dumpster. The town makes money by selling the trash to companies that recycle and process it.

Our dump is on the edge of the Mt. Kearsarge State Forest where we hike just by walking out the back door. The last time we walked through the dump we got a good bundt cake pan that we use frequently. The dump attendant pulls useful items out of the trash and displays them in a special area for people to look through. You can find good, free stuff at dumps.

Wilmot Town Dump Set

Behind the Dump Hike

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