One Man's Trash...

 I've blogged several times about the wonderful field that is just east of our house. It's only a matter of time before that field becomes first streets, then foundations, then homes and yards. People need places to live and I hope many can find out what an amazing place it is where we live and join us on the gently slopping hill.

But, I haven't blogged much about what's north--at least, not for a while. North of us the hill continues. I'm sure, in time, that will also be filled with homes and yards, RV pads, and backyard barbecues. The more the merrier. Before they developed our subdivision, the hill was farther from civilization and there's evidence that the hill was used as a landfill for some. There's old window frames, a lot of old barrels, and other items strewn across the land, some new, some not. I doubt there's anything of value semi-buried near the sagebrush and wild grasses, but I stopped and looked anyway on my last hike. I wanted to see what it was that people threw away.

That's when I came across an old bottle. It was covered inside by a film so I couldn't tell how old it was. I'm no expert in dating objects, but it was small and portable so I decided to take it home and clean it up. 

I did, and after washing it up a bit, I'm still convinced it's not worth any money, not that the value was the only reason I picked it up. As I walked down the mountain I thought about something. Years ago someone hiked--but most likely drove--up the hill and dumped their trash. That bottle might have stayed on that hill for years, maybe even decades if I hadn't picked it up. One man's trash becomes another man's object of interest. 

There's a good chance it will end up in the trash again, only this time it will be placed in a municipal container and driven away to another landfill, a proper landfill, a legal landfill. 

Who knows--maybe one day someone years from now will take a hike near their home and come across the bottle, depending of course it remains in one piece. It will be older then. Will that person pick it up, take it home, and try and clean it up? My guess is if I throw it away, it will become something no human will ever again see.