Roadside Treasures

My husband had a hernia surgery last Wednesday, and was under doctor's orders to be moving around instead of planting himself in bed as conventional wisdom used to be back in the day.  Two days after his surgery, he decided he needed a walk.  We went out for a leisurely stroll along a lonely stretch of road right outside our neighborhood:

This road has a VERY deep ditch along its' side to control runoff from the rain (in Texas, when it rains, it pours). Anyways, we were strolling along, and found a big, fat tire in the ditch. I said to my husband that the tire looked like it was the same size as those we made raised beds with. I decided we could use more vegetable beds, so we should come back and get it 

As we continued on with our walk, we found not one, not two, but 4 more tires of the same size along the road, meaning we found 5 tires total.  On one level, that was fine by us. We could sure use them. But on another level, it really made us mad. For crying out loud, doesn't whoever threw away those tires know that we LIVE here? Why do they think it's OK to dump tires along the side of the road? REALLY?  Talk about lack of civility and common courtesy!  Not to even mention that they are trashing our planet!  Sheesh! (Breath in, breathe out. . . OK,  I think I'm done venting. . .)

We sent our sons off to retrieve those tires after we got back from our stroll.  They were not all that happy about it, especially after they got home.  They were complaining that the tires were HEAVY, and they could barely get them lifted into the truck bed.  My husband asked them if they stacked them up in the driveway. The answer was negative. When asked why, they said all they could do was roll them off the bed of the truck, and that if they had not done so, that I would never have been able to move them!

When I went out to check them out, I understood why. These tires were even larger and heavier than the tires from my son's truck. The three guessed they were probably dump truck tires. When I measured them, they were fully 42 inches across. They will make sizable beds, and all for FREE!

We also found a sizable patch of wild blackberries. We went out later to pick some. I think they will be in season for at least several more weeks.  I washed them quickly and put them on a sheet pan in a single layer to freeze in the freezer.  That way, I don't have to worry about them going bad. I will probably make blackberry cobbler and blackberry dumplings (my husband's favorite childhood dish). If I get a sizable stash, I may even give a go at making blackberry preserves.

We also went back later that afternoon to dig up some of the blackberry plants to replant them in our garden.  Don't know if they will take, but at least it's worth a try, and it was free. Can't beat THAT!  So all in all, it was a good day, even if I got really pissed off at the sight of those tires initially. . .