Oh, sure. The pessimist might say that people cast off their old junk for us to deal with. Garbage bags full of trash, piles of limbs from tree-trimming, old refrigerators, oodles of cute puppies and kittens, and the occasional portable meth lab. Oh. And that headless body in a septic tank.
But Val, the eternal optimist, that Backroads Pollyanna, always seeing the silver lining, prefers to think of such cast-offs as unburied treasure. Okay. It's really Hick who sees other people's trash as his unclaimed treasure. And for that reason, when The Pony and I saw what lay on a flat rock in the shallow creek Thursday, we told Hick. He took off on his Gator to snag it before anybody else could claim it.
I must admit that I felt a little bit guilty. Not about taking a dip net out of the creek. Laws no! M-O-O-N. That spells out here in Backroads it's finders keepers, nobody is going to drive to town with a dip net and turn it in to the police and ask to keep it if nobody claims it in 30 days. No. I felt a little bit guilty because I feared I might have sent Hick to his demise. Or embarrassment. Or a slight head cold after getting his feet wet wading a creek for a dip net.
The more I thought about it, the more I grew concerned. I couldn't call Hick to warn him of my fears. Phones don't work down by the creek. You might as well be swirling down a sinkhole for all the reception you can get. I wondered if the dip net was a cruel trick. If somebody was behind a tree waiting to plug Hick like Elmer Fudd after a wascally wabbit. Or if this was a slightly humorous prank where one might have a hank of fishing line tied to that dip net, and whisk it away from Hick when he bent over to pick it up.
As you can see, it was a simple case of an abandoned dip net. Which now belongs to Hick.
Lesson? The land of Backroads is flowing with abandoned dip nets, free for the taking.
Surely it is worth it's weight in diet cokes.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a good find! Score one for Hick.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks back I was out for a walk and noticed a blue recycling bin in the roaring bank of our overflowing river. It was just on the edge down a muddy embankment stuck in some bramble and I knew if I held tight to a tree branch I could fish it out. If I wiggled down I could reach it.
And then it came to me that it was not one of my more clever ideas and left it alone.
I think Hick should do something nice for you, since you alerted him to that treasure.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what that wonderful favor would be...
If Hick has an inkling of trouble maker in him, I'd beware of that net. You might find it someplace you don't want, and filled with something...
ReplyDeleteCatching up on your blog. Your mom has PET lady bugs yet she tried to OFF Juno?!
joeh,
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it is. If I run out of cash, I could probably barter for 88 oz.
*****
Birdie,
Whew! The whole time reading that, I was muttering, "Don't do it! Don't do it! You'll slip!"
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Sioux,
The best favor ever that Hick could do for me would be,,,just leave me alone. Not lecture me about what's good for me, what I should be doing, how my dog is eating eggs, how my under-desk heater sucks up electricity (even though we pay $79 a month to heat an empty BARn so his treasures won't get a chill).
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Linda,
The worst I can think of is that the net would be filled with ME. That Hick would use it as a giant shepherd's crook to immobilize me while I pet my sweet, sweet Juno, and then drag me into the kitchen so I can warm up some food in the oven, or heat it in the microwave.
It looks to be in good shape. I wonder why someone left it there. What kind of fish are available in this creek?
ReplyDeleteStephen,
ReplyDeleteI don't know why they left it. The creek at that spot was barely an inch deep. When it's higher we see people dipping minnows to take elsewhere and fish. But not with a giant net like that. There has not been a recent flood to assume that it washed down from above. Anyway, the creek is smaller up above, and I've never seen anyone fishing there.
Down below, on the second low water bridge, I've see a guy pull out a foot-long fish, a bass by the looks of it. I guess they swim up from the river about a half mile away.
I am the recipient of such gifts myself! A camper will buy a box of worms, use one and abandon the box by the pond. I will retrieve it and turn over a rock to find a couple of worms to add to it and sell it again. I have no shame! Kids will buy pool toys, like dive sticks. They leave them and when I clean the pool area ........ well, you know the rest. They will leave full bottles of shampoo and conditioner and body wash. To the absolute horror of my daughters, I will use it, if it passes the sniff test. I am not an animal, I draw the line at deodorant. I would have sent He Who to retrieve that net, too.
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteI don't know why she is horrified by your toiletry scavenging. It's not like people put stuff in their shampoo and body wash. It's a Kampground, by cracky! Not a prison where contraband needs smuggling.