Roadside Treasure and other Generous Gifts

I drove past the pile initially. 

I was on my way to the gym, and it was 7:30 in the morning and I wasn't up to slugging.  But I had perked up a bit by the time I was ready to head home and so decided to make the trek back to the "pile".

Someone must have trimmed their evergreen tree the day before and had left several mounds of branches at the side of the road.  Do you have any idea what a gold mine this is to someone who enjoys outdoor Christmas Decor??!!!!

FREE LIVE GREENS!!!! 

I must admit that there is something incredibly awkward about pulling into a stranger's driveway, opening up the back of my van, and dragging branches from their lawn to my vehicle... with a steady stream of traffic driving by to boot.  But regardless of my "discomfort" I could not pass up such a money saving opportunity! 

Ten minutes later, the back of the van was piled high to the roof and I was patting myself on the back for my extravagant find. 

Herein lies the other generous gift.

I had, as I mentioned stacked branches to the point where my rear window was blocked.  Ah yes...a not-so-wise-move, but gosh, what else could I do!!! 

I waited patiently for sufficient traffic to clear before I backed out on to the street with a fair amount of gas.  And just at the last second, I saw it.  A parked car just inches from my back bumper.  I slammed on the brake watching the boughs shift to clear a part of the window.

And with my heart pounding in my chest, I continued down the street extremely grateful for this very generous gift of avoiding one very expensive stop for FREE live greens.