Always believe in your soul

Have I mentioned that for ages I've wanted to get rid of the ponds in our garden? Although they were originally nice I'd got fed up with providing the local herons with a well-stocked larder, and having to get covered in filthy sticking sludge when I cleaned them each year. So when the heron had made a final visit I'd periodically start baling out, but no sooner would I nearly empty one than it'd pour with rain and fill it up again. Anyway, this went on all last year and I abandoned all attempts until the warmer weather arrived. As it duly did. The water was bucketed out and the sludge taken across the field to a natural pond so that any wildlife would have a new home.

This left me with two large holes - one in the lawn, one in the patio.The largest, deepest hole was given a basic infilling with any broken bricks and other rubble lying around in the garden. Then I took sacks down the road to collect subsoil from where the ditches had been cleared (first checking for Civil War relics because it's the site of the battle of Edgehill in 1642). That left holes only a foot deep - perfect for topsoil.

Being careful with cash, I didn't want to actually buy soil, oh dear me no! I've been going out with my spade and barrow, clearing the neighbours' fields of molehills (the most beautiful topsoil you can imagine, all finely riddled and weed-free), but also getting some soil and turf from a house in the village who were getting rid of their front lawn and were only too delighted for me to take some of it away. I think that was the source of my buried treasure:



I felt a real thrill of excitement when I picked this little brooch off the surface of my new lawn! I took it indoors and carefully washed the mud off it; quite pretty! I know how Life works; I know that only other people find really valuable things at random like that - it's probably just cheap costume jewellery, not worth tuppence. But ... you can never be quite certain, so I took it to a jeweller for a professional check, and guess what?!!
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I was right.