The Zeiger Family Homestead Blog

Our circumstances require that we park our car on the roadside about a mile and a half from the cabin. We park on the shoulder along with our neighbors. We come and go from this parking area with varying loads of gear; often we depart hastily, rushing to cross the bay ahead of the rising tide (see Attuning to the Natural Rhythms: Livin’ By the Moon and Tide). In such situations, items get dropped or forgotten and left behind.

The road provides a popular route to walk pets or ride bikes, which means that roadside neighbors pass by the parking area often. They sometimes lose items as well.

These lost items get picked up by the next passerby. These people try to return the item to the owner, or at least get the thing off the road. They’ll set them off the shoulder, perhaps hang them in the bushes lining the road, or put them on or in a car—set it on the hood, hang it on a door handle, place it in the bed of a truck, or, if a vehicle is unlocked, inside.

Ironically, the majority of these found objects seem to end up on or in our car. I guess it’s because our car tends to be alone on the shoulder more often than the others, but it’s still puzzling. Continue reading →