Hidden Maine Treasures: What My Wife Found in a Roadside Dumpster

It was a crisp fall late afternoon when my wife Nelly, our pup Moondog, and I decided to take a walk down the road. We noticed something new, our neighbors were selling their house, and a big dumpster sat out front, loaded with discarded treasures.

They had just held an estate sale, and Nelly had her eye on something. Days before, she had asked to buy their garden hose, but they wanted to keep it.

As we walked by, Nelly's eyes laser-focused on the dumpster. "The hose!" she said. Without missing a beat, she marched over, and jumped right into that dumpster.

I stood there with Moondog, watching in semi disbelief because we've been together for 16 years.

“The hose Elizabeth, the hose is in here! And other tools!” she shouted like she won the lottery.

Not wanting to be part of this makeshift garage sale, I walked away with Moondog and continued on our walk.

A few minutes later, Nelly caught up with us, a grin on her face. As she walked, I heard a loud metallic clink clink coming from her pockets.

"What do you have in there?" I asked. "Oh, just some stuff" she said nonchalantly. They were tool files that I know she will never or very rarely use.

After our walk, she decided to go back for the hose, her original treasure.

She dragged it home, only to discover it didn’t work. The thing was practically frozen solid. But in classic Nelly fashion, she shrugged and said, “I can fix it.”

By this point, I couldn't help but laugh.

We would’ve saved way more time just buying a new hose and tool files from the store, but that’s not how Nelly operates.

In the end, the real treasure wasn’t the busted hose or the rusty tools in that dumpster. It was her.