Saturday Stories. #25-05 Exploring.

Greetings and Happy March to everyone! Time seems to be flying by, and that is okay as it means that winter is soon coming to an end. I am looking forward to spring and not just for the warmer weather but also for the new life that begins to show that time of the year. Actually, meteorologically speaking, today is the first day of spring, although for us, spring arrives when those temperatures go above freezing and stay there each day.

That is when the birds begin to really come back from the south and their spring songs fill the air once again. And seeing those tiny green leaves appear on the trees and shrubs makes the whole landscape come alive. Speaking of spring. It was also the time I used to like getting out and begin exploring the area again.

I would get in my car and start driving down the many country roads looking for old abandoned buildings to explore. It was always a lot of fun. Now, when I say country roads, many of them were more like trails barely visible among the trees. But, a road is a road. If people used to drive on it before, then I can now. At least that was my theory.

And it usually worked fairly well. Anyway, this one time I was driving down a country road and spotted something. So I stopped and backed up. Sure enough, there was the remains of some kind of road. There was no ditch along that section so I could just drive across an open area to the “road”. Okay, it was a trail. At one time anyway.

It did seem like there were two ruts along which some kind of vehicles traveled at one time. I drove among the many bushes and around trees until I came to a clearing with a couple of broken down buildings. I was by myself, which was normal, since no one I knew at the time had this same desire for adventure as me. Another way to put it, “I was crazy, my friends were not”.

That’s the way they said it anyway. I carried a walking stick with me, sideways, just in case I discovered an old, unmarked well. Something that happened on occasion. This time I didn’t have any problems with a well. The old house was fallen apart so badly that I decided not to go inside. However, there was an outside entrance leading to the cellar.

Now we’re getting somewhere, I thought to myself. The stairs seemed sturdy enough and I had a flashlight with me, so, down I went. The floor above was sagging terribly in the center, but I decided not to pay attention to that, it might scare me. The cellar was small, which was quite typical in these old places.

There was a couple wood boxes in one spot, an old table in very well used condition, a couple old metal tubs and some wood shelves which likely held preserves at one time. There were some broken glass jars on the floor, which was just dirt. The walls were made from stone and something that was curious. There was a door on one wall.

I decided to check it out but I couldn’t get it open, even though it didn’t appear to be locked. I’m a curious type, so back to the car to get some tools. Back at the car I noticed that one tire was flat, completely. Hmm, not good. However, I did have a spare tire with me. But, I was missing something important, a jack for lifting the car so I could change the tire.

It’s a handy little item. I remembered that my brother had borrowed it a couple days before. Sigh. This will make things a tiny bit difficult. Anyway, before this gets any longer, I will stop and finish it next time. Have a great weekend everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2025 Steve McLeod.