Got rolled up on by the Parkies this am..

[mudpuppy]

I go this this one large sports complex all the time, its close, old, and semi good for clad...so there I was, sweeping away, when a two parkies in their township truck rolled up...Young fellas. They were just checking me out, said they caught a guy this summer digging holes in the middle of the soccerfields with a spade, and leaving a hell of a mess. I had my screwdriver and showed them how I roll...we talked quite a while and they turned me on to another brand new soccer complex I was unaware it even existed. I asked them if they planned on tossing me out of this park, they said they thought about it and did not decide what to do until they talked to me...I asked them for how much longer will it take them to decide? The parks are now closed for the season, no more events, and these two guys are getting laid off next week for the winter, I told them I'll keep hunting the place and if I see anybody tearing it up, I'll take care of the problem for them..nice young men, all in all. Found a neat little silver ring yesterday, and just clad the entire weekend.
Mud

 

[Steve O]

You handle things nicely. Makes no sense digging with a spade in a field where a running game takes place.

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[triplehooked]

Yep, we need more out there like you (not more people in general ) to help our image. I've hunted Grand Rapids parks a little and had similar conversations with the park patrol. Sounds like there are some real winners out there trying to ruin the hobby for us.... GREAT JOB!

 

[chb177]

Yep, amazing what a screwdriver, a little common sense and curiosity will accomplish. Perfect job.

---

F5, E-Trac, Lesche

 

[jim tn]

Should have offered them a beer from the receipts of the cans you are relieving those parks of. Your smooth talk, though, kept them in line. HH jim tn

 

[knarfj]

No contest with Mud at the wheel!

 

[mudpuppy]

I guess i could have offered them a beer at 8 am, carbs are a good breakfast right? Done it myself a time or two....with only one week before layoff, they probably would have accepted. Come to think of it, maybe I can go over there tomorrow, ply them with some beer, and talk them into taking that 2 ton County truck with the big snowplow on it, drop that blade and make a hell of a drunken high speed pass right down the middle of the football field? Just to really stick it to the Man! What do they have to lose? They could always blame it on some vandal that got a hold of the keys, or maybe moles, heck, I'm a taxpayer dammit, thats MY field and MY truck, and I say fire 'er up and make a pass!....I might even split the silver I find with them? Hmmm, split the silver? No, that would be getting too carried away...
Mud

 

[jim tn]

Man, a Flat Tire is my breakfast when striper fishing......and various other activities. Yes, I like the truck idea. Let me know if it works and I may try it down here. I still get dollars taken away from me, too, in the guise of taxes. I'm more prone to call it robbery. O.k.,, back to detecting talk. Get em good tomorrow. Your turf days are numbered. HH jim tn

 

[Roland58]

I have a small spade made by Lesche that can cut a perfect plug. When lifted out over a piece of cloth or plastic, so that all the dirt can be put back in the hole, it would be real difficult to see where a dig has taken place. I'm not saying it is better that lifting a target out with a screwdriver or other suitable tool, but, if the target is deep, this little spade is the way to go!

 

[coondog]

I work 2nd shift and am in the parks from mid morning to early afternoon. In my area the parks are swarming with do nothing grounds workers waisting my hard earned tax dollars. I watched and photographed a guy who was pretending to paint for 4 hours. Seriously he had every thing set up for painting but never got any paint on his brush for 4 hours. Then packed it all backup
P in the van and went home.

There are 2 guys that all they do all day is drive around in a nice truck and change the trash liners in all the parks including Saturday and Sunday. Of coarse they can't walk to the cans they must drive on the grass leaving ruts and dead grass in there wake. Way more damage than necessary. They do this even in the very small parks. It's absolutely disgusting to watch these guys. Now they all get laid off during the winter so That eyes can drain the unemployment funds that I'll be working and contributing to all winter, so that when Someone really needs it the money is gone and we have to borrow it just to pay the benefit.

Anyway had to get that rant off my chest. Any of these guys ever even think of harassing me there will be he'll to pay with photographic evidence.

 

[dbax]

Good friendly interaction Mud, good for you. This does bring up a subject -- when you and others say "Spade" you mean "shovel" right, or one of those downsized crowbar-shovel? I have a small hand spade I made and it makes a really nice neat cut. I have seen areas where others have hunted and made a real mess, apparently the machines they use cannot pinpoint so well. Terrible, but we are all going to be blamed for the careless treatment by other and soon the City counsel will be passing ordinances and putting up signs, "NO DIGGING -- MEAL DETECTING Prohibited. I have had several exchanges with Park tenders and rangers with good results. When they walk up and you have a nice clean hole restored and brushed out there is no problem just some good conversation about the type of Machine and what is found. I tell them that while they pick up the trash on the surface I clean up the trash a little deeper, for a much cleaner park. Then I usually show them some of the junk in my pickup bag. Peace, Dan

 

[Roland58]

Regarding my mention of "spade", you are correct in calling it a shovel. What I have is the Lesche Sampson: http://www.seriousdetecting.com/product/lesche-sampson-pro-series-shovel-t-handle/?gclid=CNSuxY6oqbsCFSRk7AodfCUA9w
I also have the Lesche "digger", which is more like a trowel with a convex blade and serrations for root cutting on one side. Both of these are quality tools and, with proper use, are capable of making a very neat job out of extracting a target. Even the best machine can be fooled when it comes to pinpointing, but, granted, some of the really cheap detectors leave something to be desired in that respect. When I hunt a park, I usually carry a plastic bag for picking up trash along the way.......this goes a long way when talking to park mtce. people.

You say you "made" your hand spade? It seem remarkably like the Dalyn Enterprises of Bradshaw, NE. tools..(http://www.dalynenterprises.com/trowels-diggers/).....even has their name engraved on the blade. Maybe you just modified the point a bit with a file or grinder? In any case, it looks like a dandy tool and I am sure it would do a nice job. Where I am, I need something more heavy duty with a point, especially in the summer dealing with red clay that hardens into concrete when dry and sticks like glue when wet.

I sympathize with the local city councils denying metal detecting because of a few butt heads that don't know the green side of the plug goes up!

Stay safe,

Good friendly interaction Mud, good for you. This does bring up a subject -- when you and others say "Spade" you mean "shovel" right, or one of those downsized crowbar-shovel? I have a small hand spade I made and it makes a really nice neat cut. I have seen areas where others have hunted and made a real mess, apparently the machines they use cannot pinpoint so well. Terrible, but we are all going to be blamed for the careless treatment by other and soon the City counsel will be passing ordinances and putting up signs, "NO DIGGING -- MEAL DETECTING Prohibited. I have had several exchanges with Park tenders and rangers with good results. When they walk up and you have a nice clean hole restored and brushed out there is no problem just some good conversation about the type of Machine and what is found. I tell them that while they pick up the trash on the surface I clean up the trash a little deeper, for a much cleaner park. Then I usually show them some of the junk in my pickup bag. Peace, Dan

 

[dbax]

Yeah, Roland, a poor choice of words on my part. It is a Dalyn Enterprises of Bradshaw, NE, tool that I "modified" ( a better word). I hammered the square back out nearly flat, rounding it out, the used a grinder to round off the tip and put a knife edge on it. So, I stand corrected, I did not make but I modified -- Hey, I can edit my post, so thanks, I will go back and do that. Also, it is more on the trowel side of things but then a trowel could also be something to smooth cement, and a spade could be anything from a shovel to, well, a hand held trowel. This little tool is only about 2.5 " wide but it scoops out the bottom of the hole nicely, so I guess I could call it a modified trowel which is now a scoop -- Now I will go back and "modify" the post, thanks for the correction. P.S Don't seem to be able to edit the earlier post so this will have to do. Peace, Dan

 

[Roland58]

No biggie, dbax..........it's still a great mod and looks like it would work great for getting the loose soil out of the bottom of the hole......something the pointed trowels don't do well.

 

[dbax]

Roland, you made me laugh, "...don't know the green side goes up.." Good one. You mentioned the serrated blade on the Lesche tool. I found the serrated side more of an annoyance than useful. The blade kept getting tangled up in the tough rooting complex of that famous weed/lawn grass called California Bermuda, not the small tight stuff they use on golf courses but the creepy type that is relentless and very difficult to kill, so, no one tries they just mow it and keep weeding it out of the flower beds. Anyway, I finally ground (modified) the serrated side, rounding each of the teeth off, now it goes in like butter and the round serrates I sharpened and it is much or effective in cutting through those mean tangle of roots. Peace, Dan

 

[Roland58]

I did something similar to mine, sharpening the serrations on a grinder and finishing up with a file and stone. It now makes quick work of tough roots. That Lesche spade (shovel) is one tough root cutter! It takes little effort to chop through even larger roots......I love that thing!