Crap Pits

In the early days of Chez StanMinn, there was much activity on the grounds trying to get it up to speed not only aesthetically, but to minimum safety standards, as well.

CAM thought this archaeological dig set-up a clever funny

This has been a fool's errand because it never ends.
It would seem this mess goes beyond the most recent Previous Occupants (we've met these POS before); it's been a culture of Rednecks around here for generations, based on carbon testing old garbage.
Apparently for these assholes, driving >.5 miles up the road to the dump was too bourgeois, let alone contracting an actual professional pick up.
So what to do?
Why, just throw it out back, of course.
It's a good thing my tetanus was up to date, because this yard is a landmine of danger.
There were the piles of what we could see- mystery rusted parts, broken glass EVERYWHERE (had they practiced skeet shooting with soda bottles?), mounds of concrete, cinder blocks and bricks and towers of tires next to rocks covered in motor oil.

Remember opening cans this way?

And then what we came to call the infamous 'Crap Pits.'
As we cleared away that which was visible, invariably the junk continued down below the dirt, much like a trash iceberg (trashbergs.)
There were also true holes in the ground filled with all manner of now mostly unrecognizable detritus.
In fact, as far as we know, the entire yard could be one huge landfill, but we're only up to excavating small plots at a time.

My favorite is out the kitchen window- a large, grass-less patch I thought would be perfect for a bed of wild flowers for a year or so until we could better purpose it with fruit trees, perhaps. I began by attempting to rake it level, but in doing so would constantly upend yet another piece of junk, until before I realized it, had dug down a few feet (above photo.)
I would have kept going, but when I hit a layer of what appeared to be chunks of asphalt, like out of some apocalyptic movie, CAM pleaded for me to stop: worried no doubt about the state of his back when I'd require his assistance to remove it. Instead, it remains buried to this day, as our only recourse was to cover it all back up.
(It's rumored the remains of a house fire could be there, though we screwed up an opportunity to find out stories about the place from one who grew up here.) 
Thus begun the crazed obsession to eliminate every tainted, unnatural material where there should only be sweet, nurturing Earth.
But this thankless task isn't limited to just Terra Firma. Goddang if the creek doesn't serve fit as a great place to toss your shit, either.
That's why I implore all of our adventurous explorers to wear sturdy footwear while wading since you know lurking below is a trip to the ER in the form of sutures.
In fact, it goes for everywhere around here; as much as I'd love to run around like a barefoot Hippie, there's just too much you can step in that'll really ruin your day.
Add poop to the list.

If I had to pick the Crap Pile which most infuriates me, it'd be this- ancient appliance relics heaved off the side of the neighbor's property into our precious creek. During the summer, vines, leaves and blackberries grow over and obscure it, but I know it's still there; and will fall on us to ultimately remove it.
I've just not yet figured out the best plan to do so.

There is a good sized ROOT growing through this broken bottle neck on the bank, which means it's been there awhile

Rhoda & Large Marge cluck their disgust with those who litter

Finally a Crap Pit yields something of use- tire planter! (j/k brick)

Finds from Crap Pit # 5 (? I've lost count, but we're almost to double digits.)

Much better; this corner of the yard hid a 3.5' treasure trove of building materials under a dangerous network of brier

Hard to make out, but this cage-y wire-y thing Obrahma's sniffing came from the creek where it'd been catching years of stream crap

These boulders (plus about as many in the Tacky Garden up front) were unEarthed from several Crap Pits

Making a nice place for the bee hive led to these fine discoveries

Most recent find by the new hen pen where we've been clearing away an area of ivy and  bramble for them to forage (because retrieving it for further play was just too much.)

If the POS can't be bothered to do the right thing, WE certainly will!