Hurricanes work a number on the shorelines and marshes down here. If the storm surge hits and lasts for any length of time, erosion is a big problem. While the winds and higher surges wreak havoc on the homes and trees, even tropical storm waters can demolish the marshes and shorelines. Those same waters can uncover "treasures" that have lain hidden for decades. Such was the case with Hurricane Zeta. Even after all of these months after the storm, I am still finding unusual items that are now exposed.
Just the other day, I was traipsing probably just a little too close to the marsh. With the warm weather, moccasins are out and about. I should have more sense but figure that I would smell a snake if it was in the vicinity. That said, thankfully, I did not find one on that hike. I did, however, find a treasure. The storm waters had uncovered and floated in a half-gallon milk bottle. It is unusual to find one that is not chipped or cracked but this one was in pristine condition! Darling Daughter is now the proud owner of this treasure!
Over the years, I have found many such glass milk bottles. Just down the shoreline to the west, my grandfather owned and ran a dairy. Pop and his brothers and sister grew up on that dairy farm. Pop used to tell me that when he and his brothers would work the fields or go hunting, they often grabbed a bottle of milk to drink. Jars were often forgotten in the fields or woods. Of course, those tidal surges probably took a lot of bottles out into the Bay only to be washed up again in the marshes. The one I found was filled with mud so I figure it has been in that marsh for nigh on seventy years! What a treasure to find!
Somehow..somewhere..there are always secrets. Secrets of a past that have not been brought to light or have been long forgotten. The Bayou is no different. There are secrets. I have lived here seemingly forever and still have not learned much of the past of the Bayou. It holds its secrets well. Lately though, it has been revealing them..one at a time. Secrets. Mementos of long ago..of someone's life..perhaps a relative..perhaps not. Several days ago, I was near the marsh edge when a glimmer caught my eye. Something glass was being washed clean by the tide. A bottle! I grabbed the boat hook and fished the treasure from the mud. Ahh...a milk jar! A half pint milk jar to be exact! This did not really surprise me as I have pulled several from the mud in the past few months. My grandparents owned a dairy near this the Bayou years ago. Perhaps this was one of their bottles. It stands to reason that with six sons, one of them most likely went fishing or hunting and toted along a jar of milk. So the milk jars, though exciting to find, probably can be explained. I wash each one and proudly display them on the shelf. My collection is now nearing twenty assorted milk jars
ranging from half pints to half gallons..and the collection is still growing! Two of these milk jars have words molded on them..one says "Bordon Weiland" and the other says (and this is my favorite!) "A Bottle of Milk is a Bottle of Health". Something I do find rather strange is that although there are several different types of milk jars, most of them have the date of 1/11/14 molded on the bottom rim. I will keep trying to discover the history behind the milk jars!
