So I haven’t been posting for a while because of ongoing issues with my Word Press theme. The main issue being that I couldn’t post new posts. The support I pay for couldn’t fix the issue, neither could the theme developer (nor did he seem to care), but I really liked the way my site looked and was too stubborn to change it. I was hoping some plug in update would come along and magically fix it, because, well, that happens sometimes.
Tag: detecting diva
The Metal Detecting Sticker Phenomenon
Stickers, stickers, stickers—Who doesn’t love stickers??? I love stickers, I’ve always loved stickers. They’re just so darn stickery and cool.
For about a decade I saved all my metal detecting stickers, waiting until I had enough to start decorating my “Woman Cave”. This not so feminine “Cave” consists of my detecting work bench and gear storage area of the unfinished basement. It’s also where I sit to drink wine or coffee while I’m writing blog posts or cleaning my finds.
It’s quiet here. No one bothers me, and I’m surrounded by all things metal detecting—including my “in progress” sticker wall.
Getting Back into the Swing
I’m back, but where did I go? Not far. I’ve been out of the detecting loop for months, but not of my own choosing. This hobby is great awesome, but at times the obsession comes with limitations. I knew that at some point the mild pain in my elbow and forearm after a long day swinging a heavy machine might become a problem. It was the reason I experimented with new, lightweight machines like the Deus and the simplex. I tried each for a while with much success, but no matter how hard I tried, in the end, I always went back to my old faithful E-trac.
The Awesome Detectorist
There are two different types of Awesome Detectorist’s, the truly awesome ones, and the ones who think they’re truly awesome.
If you’re thinking, hey I want to read about awesome Detectorists, then you’re probably one of them, but if you’re thinking, I know she wrote this post about me, well, do the math…
If you’re familiar with my somewhat “barbed” (as the Brits say), sense of humor, and ability to mix reality with a dash or two of sarcasm, you may enjoy this post. Mind you, I don’t place myself in either category. Being an empath, I’m more of an observer. Being hyper-sensitive to sensing other people’s motivations can be overwhelming, and somewhat frustrating, especially when it takes others months or even years to see through a facade it took me only minutes, or a few hunts with someone to realize.
How to Make a Detectorist Happy on Christmas
So if you’re stumped as to what to buy your metal detecting family member, friend or significant other for Christmas, or any other holiday, check out this post.
They’re a hard bunch to buy for, but luckily I have the inside scoop on what they like (or need), for their endless wanderings in search of that elusive “Pot O’ Gold”.
From stocking stuffers, to the humorous, to gifts with the “YES!” factor, I’ve included a wide variety, and surely you can find something to please them. There are also certain things they can never have enough of, or would like to have more of, so don’t worry about them already having one. Having two or three of some of these items will just make their arsenal all the more awesome.
I’ve included helpful links for you, or you can just search the products online.
The Dishonest Detectorist
Have you ever been at a hunt where no one has found anything of any consequence, and suddenly someone comes walking up, all smiles, with a pouch full of sensational finds? It’s usually someone new, or someone you don’t know very well, but occasionally it’s a person who’s been in the hobby a while. You’re happy for them, even though your mind is trying to rationalize a slight suspicion of disbelief, because 50 other people, with the majority being experienced, hard core hunters all just got skunked.
Sites that Make you go “Ewww”
Disclosure: I have to start out with this, because whenever I write something negative or controversial, I get the “My feelings are hurt” emails and texts. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this article should not reflect on the hunt itself. The organizers did a fantastic job. Getting sites to hunt these days is not an easy task, and I do appreciate the efforts. This is my personal feeling about a hunt site, it doesn’t mean it was a bad site. There were many who enjoyed it and found good stuff. Would I go to one of their hunts again…absolutely. It just was what it was that day. In other words, “It’s not you, it’s me”.
So get off my back. I write what I feel and experience, and not every Hunt is “the best hunt ever”. And if I wrote that every hunt I attended was “the best hunt ever”, well, you wouldn’t want to read that crap.
Confessions of an Expert Oxen Shoe Finder:
Technically the title should be Confessions of an expert ox shoe finder. Ox is singular, oxen is plural. I know that, but I like the way oxen shoe sounds over ox shoe, so if you’ve got a problem with that already, don’t continue, but if you can deal, then read on…
Hunt Free or Hunt Fee’s?
The first group hunt I attended which came with an expensive price tag was DIV, and that was quite a few years ago now. At the time I had thought the fee of $250 was over the top, but it was DIV. I wasn’t sure when I’d get the chance to go again, so I made the sacrifice, and dished out the cash. The $250, however, was just the hunt fee. There was also the cost of gas, hotel room, meals, and extra money for whatever else might come up. In the end, it came out to about $1200.
Since then, I’ve noticed a trend, and that trend is that the cost for some of these hunts has reached the price tag of ridiculous! Some of the club hunts that used to be free, or a max of $10, have easily gone up to $20 or $30, and sometimes even more than that. A one or two day organized non-club hunt can cost from $50 to $150 nowadays. It’s gotten so expensive, so quickly, that if someone offered me the opportunity to hunt a farm field all day for $50, I would probably consider it a bargain.
A Recap of Blackthorne Resort’s Lost Treasure Weekend – 2018
The Annual “Lost Treasure Weekend” hunt, at The Blackthorne Resort in the Catskills was held June 15th through 17th, 2018. Last year my review of this event wasn’t too positive, however, this year’s review is much more favorable because this year I had a better idea of what to expect, and I also felt the event had actually improved.
I procrastinated a bit over whether or not I was going to attend due to my previous experience. In the end though, I decided to go because 1.) They allow dogs, and 2.) I knew so many people who were attending that, regardless how I feel about seeded hunts, I knew I would have a good time.
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The Wolfman of Roxbury, CT
I took my friend JoJo to Roxbury, CT to hunt what I’ve dubbed the button site. So named because I had dug 14 buttons there, along with a CT Copper, pewter spoon and other colonial miscellany the week before.
It’s a really cool site, and I had only hit a small part of it. There are acres of old farmland, now wooded, with rock walls everywhere, and after hitting this spot, I was anxious to explore more of the area, either then or at a later date.
Metal Detecting Miscellany: Volume 1
Bears Bears Bears!!!
After a decade of trapsing around in the woods of New England, I finally saw my first Bear(s). I was hunting a spot up in Kent, CT with my friend Kevin D. Kevin went to go hunt down in the meadow, and I decided not to because it was too sunny. When he came back to the top of the meadow, we were talking, and he suddenly says “Hey, whats that? Is that a bear?” I looked down into the meadow, and sure enough it was a bear, not only that, but about 5 seconds later, another bear climbed down from a small tree right next to it. Kevin had just been detecting the area minutes before that. I don’t know that they would have bothered him, but still a little scary to see a bear (or two) at any time. They weren’t cubs, but they were young.
We decided it was best to move on, but Kevin was so nice to point out that he did not have to run faster than the bears, just faster than me–thanks Kev.
A Detectorist’s Dilemma
If you don’t subscribe to American Digger Magazine, then you missed the article I wrote titled “A Detectorist’s Dilemma” which was published in the Nov/Dec 2017 issue. So now that my ethical obligations to the magazine have been met, and the issue has run its course–well mostly, because we all know that American Digger NEVER…
My New Machine: A Hard Decision with a Happy Ending
I was going to post this last Thursday before I went to Blackthorne Resorts Lost Treasure Weekend, but I had internet issues, so it didn’t get posted. I was disappointed, but it turned out to be a good thing in the end, because something happened that I never could have predicted, which makes the ending to this post so much better.
So I got this package delivered a few weeks back, and it said Made in France on the box. A friend said that perhaps there was a little French man inside, so I checked. Nope, no French dude, but there was a new XP Deus–WooHoo!!!
I’ve been wanting to get this machine for a while, but I’ve always been in love with my E-trac. Seriously, I love my E-trac. I think it’s an awesome machine, but my age is starting to catch up with me. After a few hours swinging, my arm starts to hurt (a lot). Against my better judgment, I just keep on swinging anyway. I tell myself lies like “You’re building muscle”, and “It’s still early in the season, you’re just not used to it yet”, but the reality is they are just lies I’m telling myself.
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Treasure Hunting with Oma plus Hunts and Events Updates
It’s been a cold winter, and I don’t think I need to rehash my feelings about cold weather, but for a while, I was pretty miserable waiting for the thaw. I know a lot of you feel the same way, and then there are those of you that have that the weather ain’t gonna keep me from hunting attitude, and the only response I can offer you is “No, the frostbite didn’t disfigure you at all, you look fantastic—that Barber dime you found was definitely worth it”.
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1798 Large Cent Found in the Connecticut Alps
I haven’t posted much lately because I had an article published in the NOV/DEC issue of American Digger Magazine, and I figured that pretty much covered me in the writing department for most of the winter.
Another reason, is because its winter. I hate winter. I hate being cold, and I don’t like to detect in the cold, so there’s not much to write about while I’m avoiding the cold. But…
Girls Topless Metal Detecting
So I’m thinking what to write about for my next post, and annoyed because I had a list of topics in my head, but forgot them. I do this a lot, and a friend told me a few days ago that I should write it all down. “Yeah, I will” was my response… and I didn’t. So… this post will be about my cool Miniature Schnauzer, “Abby”.
Abby is sleeping right now, she does that a lot, in between being lovable and adorable. She gets very excited when she sees me get my detector out, because sometimes I take her with me. I like to pretend she likes detecting, but deep down I know she just really likes to be outside.
Okay, kidding aside, on to the real stuff, and it’s not that Abby isn’t worth a post, she’s the best, but she just doesn’t share my passion for the hobby. Sorry Abby.
Two Sites, One Great Day…
Wow—I’ve heard said before that “you can’t top your best times”, but that really doesn’t make a lot of sense, because there are always more “best times” that come along, so I guess in essence that statement is really kind of silly.
Yesterday was one of those new “best times”—I attended the hunt at The Norton Farm in Cheshire, CT, hosted by Nor’easters Metal Detecting club. The weather was superb, the people were awesome, and the attitude all day long was one of fun and the kind of excitement that only a fellow detectorist can really comprehend.
Love that Sterling…
My free time has been pretty limited this past month, so I don’t have any great hunt stories to tell at the moment, but I did manage to get out a few times to unearth a few keepers.
On my first outing, I found a sterling silver spoon. I haven’t had time to investigate its age or hallmarks, but as far as I’m concerned that’s not too important, because any sterling spoon, (or knife or fork) wins as one of the better finds of the season.
Social Media, Tank Tops & Unicorns:
I’ve been approached by many people complimenting me on my blog, and what I hear most often is “more hunt stories please, more hunt stories“. I’m always surprised and flattered by this, because if you log onto social media these days, you’d likely be convinced that all people care about is seeing photos of finds or links to YouTube videos.
But I have my niche. Despite all the hoopla on social media, the constant barrage of videos, and “lookie what I found” posts, there are still some folks out there who remember what the hobby was before Facebook & YouTube… in the days before reading became passé.
Thimble Nirvana
My buddy Jo Jo and I took a drive out to an old cellar hole site last weekend. I had hunted the site a few years back, and even though I knew it had probably been hit by all the cellar hole junkies a few times since, I still wanted to check it out again.
We spent a few hours there, and except for Jo Jo starting off with an old spoon, we really had to work for our finds. The iron and junk infestation was epic, and if not for my mad detecting skills, I would not have been able to locate every bottle cap, shot gun shell, and pull tab in the area 🙂
Blackthorne Resort’s Lost Treasure Weekend 2017
Detectorists from all over the east coast descended on the Catskills, June 16th to 18th to attend Blackthorne Resorts Lost Treasure Weekend, in East Durham, NY. This hunt has been an annual event in the metal detecting community for years—how many years, I’m not sure, but I’ve been hearing about it and wanting to attend since I started this hobby, and this year I finally got the chance.
My pre-event impression was a cautious one. Since I knew a lot of people who had been to this event in the past, I asked around about it a bit, and was warned about the resorts food, and lack of guest communication skills.
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A Warm Welcome in Halcottsville
This past weekend was the Nor’easters Metal Detecting Club “Halcottsville Relic Quest” hunt, sponsored by the Historical Society of the town of Middletown, NY, and the Halcottsville Fire Dept., and held in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of Halcottsville, NY.
The event was held to raise money for the Middletown Historical Society, and to help restore the Halcottsville Fire Departments 1916 Hose House. $2000.00 was raised to help them in their endeavor, and everyone had a great time along the way.
Advice for Detecting Widows? Guys, your wives may like this.
Are you a Detecting Widow? Does your man disappear for hours only to return with a sack full of pull tabs, bottle caps, dirty coins, rusty thingies, or perhaps lead bullets, silver or gold? After barely saying hello, does he race to clean his treasures, tag & bag his finds, or photograph them for sharing…
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