Thanks Ellen. :) That describes the location perfectly. The area has been protected by what appear to be a combination of dense poison ivy, mud, and neglect. Now itÂs like IÂve got a secret garden of alien life-forms all to myself! For lack of actual gardening to do, IÂve been doing research on the plants in my yard that I identify. It looks like the most recent information (gathered from my rather scatterbrained searches) on Indian pipe is that they get their nutrients from a particular fungus, which in tern lives in symbiosis with a few types of tree. There are fancy names for these relationships that I canÂt keep straight, but the relationship is described in some writings as symbiotic and in others as parasitic. The notion that these plants live off of decomposing leaf litter seems to be an old one. http://www.mykoweb.com/articles/Mycorrhizas_5.html "It has long been recognized that these plants must obtain their food from a source other than photosynthesis. In the early-1800s, microscopic examination of monotrope roots indicated that they were not connected to tree roots, but were closely associated with abundant fine threadlike structures. However, the nature of this mycorrhizal association and even the fact that the threads were fungus hyphae was initially not appreciated. "Eventually the fact that fungi were always closely associated with these roots became well established, although widely ignored. Botanists assumed that these plants obtained their food by decomposing leaf litter, and references to these "saprophytic" plants continue to appear in many college biology and botany textbooks. However, there is no evidence that these plants have any decomposer ability and it takes only one look at their short stubby roots to see that they are not designed for efficient decomposition and nutrient capture (Figure 4)." This article goes on to talk about experiments with a relative of the Indian pipe, called pinesap, that investigate whether the plants in this family are parasites or symbiants: ". . . . Later studies repeatedly have confirmed Björkman's finding that achlorophyllous plants receive their food from the ectomycorrhizal fungi with which they form mycorrhizas. With respect to the carbon-rich photosynthates, the ultimate source is the trees." It looks like these types of plants may also be giving something back to the fungus, but this has yet to be confirmed; and the relationship may change during parts of the plantÂs life-cycle. ItÂs fascinating stuff! Here is a link that might be useful: MykoWeb article

Not sure what brand, but it does look like pex, those are definitely crimps. At least 1" in size, haven't seen pex that large before in person. Almost looks like pvc for DWV its so large. Removing crimps isnt hard, but the pex remembers the compression and getting the pex off of the nibs it compresses on doesnt happen unless you cut the pex off also with the removal tool.

It's a Gentleman's Dresser. You don't often see them intact these days. They usually are long parted out. In our family, we have the chest and the mirror, but the ornate mirror surround and two smaller side cabinets are long gone to who knows where. Candles were often placed on top of the side cabinet to illuminate the user in the mirror. It looks to me that all the hardware is original and, as you can see, the drawers are beautifully made. Some have only one of the smaller side cabinets placed off to the side. Some also have "Eastlake" style spoon carving on the drawer fronts and top of the mirror surround. In the case of our pieces, my Grandmother followed the trend of the 1930's and painted that beautiful oak pink followed later on with white. I had it stripped and refinished back to the original "golden oak" in the early 1990's. If I had to guess, this piece was original offered through the Sears catalog. You may be able to determine if that's true with a little research. Here's a start: https://www.bing.com/search?q=antique+gentleman%27s+dresser&qs=OS&pq=antique+gentlemen&sc=3-17&sp=1&cvid=B775C880805B44E8BABA4B6B16B777A2&FORM=QBRE

Yes, almost certainly a gas line, perhaps for a furnace or other appliance that's no longer there. Next time you have a plumber in the house, have them check it for leaks around the fittings and to make sure it's all capped off properly.