Our Fourth Batchelder

After sitting unused for more than 18 months, I finally broke out the electric tiller I bought for Susan two christmases ago (because she wanted one, not because I’m the kind of oaf to get my beloved a yard machine!) and put it to work breaking up the patch of hardpacked earth at the northwest corner of the front yard where we used to stow the garbage cans.

It worked way better than expected and in the course of my tilling I dug up a whole buncha stuff: an old rain gutter downspout, a rusted door latch, a variety of bits of rebar, old nails, broken glass, and another Batchelder tile (bottom right) to add to our tiny collection.

I found the other three a couple years ago digging in the backyard. With yesterday’s discovery I’d bet beneath the surface of the northside garden there are others. But then I thought the same thing about the backyard and there’s been none others found since.

But the even greater mystery is what they were used for: a fireplace surround? A kitchen backsplash?

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Will

Will Campbell arrived in town via the maternity ward at Good Sam Hospital way back in OneNineSixFour and has never stopped calling Los Angeles home. Presently he lives in Silver Lake with his wife Susan, their cat Rocky, dogs Terra and Hazel, and a red-eared slider turtle named Mater. Blogging since 2001, Will's web endeavors extend back to 1995 with laonstage.com, a comprehensive theater site that was well received but ever-short on capital (or a business model). The pinnacle of his online success (which speaks volumes) arrived in 1997, when much to his surprise, a hobby site he'd built called VisuaL.A. was named "best website" in Los Angeles magazine's annual "Best of L.A." issue. He enjoys experiencing (and writing about) pretty much anything creative, explorational and/or adventurous, loves his ebike, is a better tennis player than he is horr golfer, and a lover of all creatures great and small -- emphasis on "all."