Where the Heck did 2015 Go?

Wow, 2015 flew by fast!

It started off slow and über cold, as I spent most of January & February hibernating on the couch under a blanket engrossed in season after season of Vampire Diaries.

It was difficult for me because I’m not a TV person.  I wish I could revive my body’s former ability to withstand the cold, so I could do constructive things (like metal detect), when the thermometer is reading  “WTF is going on outside” degrees, but even the lure of treasure and vision’s of beach gold does not help overcome my reluctance. Defeated I am.

The thaw finally arrived, and the couch was bare as I once again took to wandering the backyards and country sides of the state of Connecticut. I had plans on attending the annual BONE (Best of the Northeast) hunt in New Hampshire, but those plans were nixed by a co-workers vacation and a company seminar for management, leaving just one person–ME–to represent the department in their absence. Ah, such is life, but maybe I’ll get there this year.

I also planned on attending the DINE (Digging in New England) hunt, and was looking forward to meeting some of the folks from Facebook who I often communicate with but have never met in person. But once again, the universe had other plans for me. I got into the car packed full of high hopes and gear, turned the key and got nothing…nada… It would not start. I learned that day that it is perfectly okay for a grown woman to sit in the driveway in her car and cry. I was very disappointed, but after some thought, realized that It was better the car didn’t start at all, than to have made it to New Hampshire and been stuck all the way up there with a dead vehicle.

I moved in 2015, from the western part of the state to the central part of the state, just far enough to make it feel like I relocated to New Zealand. Nothing was familiar, and I felt a bit displaced for a while, but now that I’m settled I just love it here.

I joined the local metal detecting club, and met a great bunch of folks who’s company I truly enjoy, and who are just as excited about digging in the dirt as I am. I’ve also learned the area has a ton of new detecting sites and cellar holes to investigate, so that’s a huge bonus.

The move gave me a push, and I took a renewed interest in my NEL Sharpshooter coil.  I decided to use the heck out of it re-hunting the yard. I’ve detected the yard at least a hundred times. I’ve found coppers, silver, Indians, jewelry, sash buckles, flat buttons, etc, etc… in what I like to call my own personal “detecting wonderland“. It sits on three acres in the historic district, so I never know what I’ll find, but as with all sites, the pickings got slim after a while.

Because there are some pretty trashy areas, especially around the barn, I thought the small coil would aid me in some good recoveries.  The Sharpshooter coil did not let me down as you can see from this video.  Please excuse the quality, it’s a bit shaky–Thankfully, after some whining (yes I do that), Santa got me a new GoPro.

With the help of the smaller coil and its ability to read between the trash, I found a few more keepers, and the NEL proved great at detecting silver amongst the junk. This led me to my best find of 2015, not in monetary value, but in the value of returning a lost item to its owner–what I think is one of the best rewards of the hobby, as you can see here.

Toward the end of summer and into the Fall, since I now live in an area where woods and forests are plenty, I decided cellar hole hunting would be my new focus. I roamed around from dawn to dusk exploring some great sites and finding lots of goodies. Even the sites that had obviously been hit hard by others were still giving up the loot.

I spent some time hunting & nighthawking with my cellar hole junkie pal Scott, who is just as obsessed as myself, and came out of the Fall season with a few good stories to tell, along with a bunch of cool stuff.

After much reluctance, 2015 became the year I finally succumbed and started a YouTube channel.  My intent on YouTube is not to bore you with 20 minutes of coil swinging, digging holes and annoying pinpointer noise. Yes, I find stuff, and it’s cool, but I want my videos to be interesting and fun, so I try to keep them to under 3 minutes (my own attention span), while exploiting the little bit of humor there is in this hobby. You may also, occasionally find personal videos posted there too. Watch or don’t watch, that’s up to you.

I had high hopes of updating my website during the year, and experimented a bit with different themes. The results were not as I had hoped. Some of the options I had with the previous version of my theme were now only available with the paid version. This frustrated me, and I will be looking around for some alternatives in the new year.

If tumblr. and Pinterest are your thing, I’ve invaded those social networks as well.  Instagram is next on the list, and be sure to look for me on any other wackadoo social sharing sites that emerge in the future…

2015 became the “Year of the Trime”.  A seldom found coin, that is suddenly being found everywhere. In the past, folks hardly knew what a Trime was, and you rarely saw one posted on Facebook or even knew someone who had found one. In 2015 though, it seemed every other week one was found and posted online. Not found by me though, as evidenced by this video.

The Task Force for Metal Detecting Rights also took some heat over the year. Some of you may know that I’m the Vice President of the Task Force. I am very passionate about protecting our rights in the hobby and have been actively involved with it for many years. I take great efforts to keep the Task Force and Detecting Diva as separate entities. I do this because I want my blog to remain as it began, fun & friendly. I will not discuss Task Force issues here, however, I do post Task Force calls to action and updates. Anything I express which is controversial, is by default, usually expressed on Dick Stout’s blog (–written in jest Dick, but seemingly true).

The end of the year also brought tragedy to Dick Stout, who lost his home in Texas to a Tornado right after Christmas. This hit home on a very personal level for me, and a lot of people in the detecting community who are his friends. I cannot begin to imagine the sense of loss he and his wife may be feeling. The aftermath, without question, must be devastating for them.

The outpouring of generosity from the detecting community when folks learned of his loss has been overwhelming. We are a caring bunch, and as evidenced by the amount of money collected in such a short time to help our fellow detectorist, well that just makes me feel extremely proud to be a part of this community.  A special thank you goes out here to Dave Wise for starting the Gofundme campaign.

We love you Dick, and hope you will be back to your “pissing & moaning” again soon!

And, as 2015 ended, I once again received my annual “Year in Review” report of site stats from Word Press, the company that hosts my blog.

I am very happy to report that readership and subscribes are up–my stats are booming, with readers from 111 different countries.  The US, UK & Canada, coming in on top and in that order.  It’s nice to know that my passion for the hobby is not wasted, and that folks are reading what I put out there.

I was not surprised, but I was a little disappointed that my top (most viewed) post for 2015 was the same as 2014, with “Detecting and Opportunists–Beware the Taker” coming in at number one again.  I find it sad that this is still such an issue in the hobby.

The remainder of top posts which got the most attention were product reviews and humorous posts. This made me happy because I always give an honest opinion to my readers. Detecting gear isn’t cheap, so if a product isn’t right for your needs, or doesn’t perform as advertised, why waste your time and money on it?  The humorous posts coming in on top is pretty much self explanatory–people like to laugh.

I’ve currently got a few products I’m in process of testing out now, and am hoping to post reviews on them before Spring (weather permitting).  The Hunts & Events section is also being updated, so keep your eye out for that to be posted soon.

So, that up sums it up for 2015.

I want to thank all of you who have helped to make Detecting Diva the success it is today. Without you, there would be no reason to continue. Your support and encouragement has helped me to mold my vision into reality. I will continue to write from my experience and passion for the hobby, and as always, try to bring you relevant and useful information, or entertain you with tales of the hunt, which hopefully bring a smile to your face, or maybe a chuckle or two to your day.

Happy New Year & Happy Hunting!