Virginia Diggin'

I was recently back on the East Coast for a spell.  I really lucked out because the weather was very kind for most of my stay. The last day and a half got down to about 26 degrees before wind chill. This didn't stop an opportunity to look for bottles. I got to get out on two occasions for about 2 or 3 hours in the evenings.
My first attempt landed me at an old favorite spot, which I was surprised to see still standing. I had great luck in this old barn. I wrote about this Ashburn, Virginia spot in my first bottle story. I figured I'd give it a look-see again to check for changes.  More of the structure had collapsed since I was there last. There were also a couple more floorboards ripped up. I broke out my flashlight and started peering around the barn, and noticed some shards and cracked bottles that I'd left there from years ago. Someone had thrown them back into the area I took them out of. 
Upon a closer look I found an applied lip utility cylinder stuck neck first into the petrified horse poop up against one side of the foundation in the second horse stall area. I pulled it out and set it aside to take home, and figured I'd take a look up under the floorboards again. "Bang!" I noticed a small medicine about half way up one run. I pilfered around the barn and came up with a stick long enough to reach it. I began work on trying to get it out, and there it came "MEXICAN MUSTANG LINIMENT LYON MFG. CO. NEWYORK."  A second cylinder-shaped bottle??? It also finally registered with me that this medicine is probably for horses. I'd seen these bottles and read/heard the name, but never put it together that it was an animal medicine. Cool!
I poked around under the floorboards a little while longer and found nothing, so I headed on out into the cedar catacombs surrounding the barn. It only took a few minutes until the cedars became unpleasantly short and I was looking for a way out. I shredded along 'til I found a deer trail and followed it back out to a gravel road. I followed the road down to a creek that was my original intent.
I'd seen an abandoned house I'd never been in from the plane while landing at Dulles Airport a couple years back. I thought this creek would lead me near that area, but it was getting dark fast, so I headed for a patch of woods the other way. I do this in search of above ground piles, which produce milk bottles and lots of cobalt stuff.
Not long after walking into the woods I came upon a dump that was 50's-70's. No milks and only one broken cobalt Milk of Magnesia to be found.
The sun was down and I was rolling on pure twilight. It was beautiful out there. Deer were scampering all around me as I made my way out for home. The best part was a patch of 'tall, white pines that covered the woods floor with needles. This was excellently quiet and cool to walk over in the semi-dark. The area glowed enough to where I didn't have to use my flashlight at all to get back. NICE!!!!

Foundation "DIG"
I again started late afternoon and headed for Ashburn. There is insane construction out there, so I'm surprised anything old is left at all.
I'd seen another abandoned house on my way out the other night, so I was making for that. I came to a stop sign in a small intersection of country road and there stood two abandoned houses. I immediately  parked and went for the creepy one.
I'd seen this house years ago but it was occupied at the time. Now a couple windows had been carefully removed and the place was falling apart. I love it!! I went on in and it was the usual scene. Kitchen utensils, clothes, turned over furniture, magazines and straight garbage everywhere! I looked in every room then made my way outside. I scanned the stone foundation for openings and shined my flashlight under the wood porch and in the cellar, which was knee-high with icy cold water.
After finding nothing I pulled a few stones out of the foundation and poked my light in. Bing!! I could see an old gallon Mason jar and some bottle shards. Everything was out of reach, so my brain went into overdrive trying to figure a way to get at the stuff. I walked back through the house and came out with an old white/rusty curtain rod. The kind with the bent end. I got the jar out first, which had a hole in the bottom. Next was a "FOLEY'S HONEY TAR" which had a hole in it as well. Dang!
Due to the small size of my view hole I couldn't see anything to the right so I started to pull rocks from the foundation on the other end. I got through but that corner sat too low and gave me view straight up at an angle. Back and forth! I moved a couple feet down from my original hole, got through, and saw crazy bottles laying all around. It was really on then. I made another hole directly vertical to the main conglomeration of bottles, and with my rig, started pulling out bottles left and right. 

SCOTT'S EMULSION COD LIVER OIL WITH LIME AND SODA w/ embossed fisherman and fish on bottom in circle

E.S. LEADBEATER & SONS WHOLESALE DRUGGISTS ALEXANDRIA, VA
EST'D 1792    there were 4 of these

FOLEY & CO. CHICAGO ILL. Small embossed on shoulders

S.B.GOFF'S COUGH SYRUP CAMDEN N.J.

GILBERT BROS. & CO. BALTIMORE, MD. embossed on shoulders

2 rectangular unembossed flasks

Again, dark set in on me. I found a container and started to gather the bottles quickly with my gloves on. Of course one slipped through my fingers bounced off another and broke (LEADBEATER). Another lesson in bottle care. All bottles did survive the plane trip but still need a good cleaning.
I bet there might be more bottles on the other side of  the house, which I didn't get to check..
I hope I can get back there before they tear it down.
Take care and stay warm!

Patrick