You know, in the many years I've been detecting I've noted a real trend in myself to be a "serious detectorist."
If I don't find old relics, mint-busting masses of silver coins or jewels which rival those of the crowned heads, I feel I've not done well.
I beat myself up and wrack my brain for new leads. I buy the newest gear, hoping to buy a difference in my outcomes. I end up convinced that there is nothing left to find anymore and this just isn't fun.
But, I first got into this hobby as a hobby - something I thoroughly and utterly enjoyed as a pastime. I was new at it back then, I had a mid-level detector which was a miracle to me, and I was happy. I had a hard time getting used to all the trash I found, but it was always stimulating and I looked forward to each outing
So, this season I am determined to get some of that back. I intend to enjoy each moment I can detect for just what it is - time I spend happily chasing a coil. If it's relic hunting the lowlands for Confederate relics or penny poppin' the local park, dammit, I'm gonna be happy and enjoy it all!
Well, yesterday we banged away at a cleared lot across the river and many great and old relics of the past were uncovered, some by me... some by my detecting compatriots. So today I wanted a different sort of break, the kind of hunting that I first enjoyed... close to home penny popping in the parkway!
Over the last two days, our seasonal craft fair was in town. This annual extravaganza is held in our downtown parkways right on the grass. These are played out all over the country this time of year, to much local fanfare, and most of you probably have one near you, too. You know the deal: thousands of people crammed into a park or other venue, to spend money on hand painted "kitchen geese," home made soap or "unique" macrame purses. Kids run amok with painted faces, lemonade is spilled on overprice funnel cakes and everyone complains about how hot it still is, for September.
For a detectorist, these tight crowds spell the chance at lost coins and perhaps some jewelry... along with a pouch full of trash.
This is the stuff that fills each issue of the treasure magazines with "how-to" articles on hunting such festivals, or the great finds people make after reading these same articles. These are the very same articles I devoured years ago, when I first started detecting.
So, today's little hunt was a natural offshoot of my renewed excitement for detecting. It was gonna be like old times.
Well, you know what? It was like old times and I also had a really good time!
It was quiet, with no one else around. Yesterday the crowd filled this area to capacity, and today, I was alone. It was surreal, really.
[attachment 139212 Image003.JPG]
Festival goers, shoehorned into a grass island.
In the still morning quiet, I looked around at the trampled grass and set my detector for a mid level SENS, with DISC around foil. I didn't need high powered depth here, as I was looking mostly for yesterdays drops. But I could see where the people had walked by the worn-down grass, and I didn't want to miss the small earrings and other jewelry I might find. So it was low discrimination for me.
I found a pocket full of cents and dimes, one quarter, a 7MM (.284") bullet and the usual other 'stuff and fluff' one finds in a park. And you know what else? I didn't find any jewelry... and while I really don't mind, I regret that I found no jewelry to bring home to my wife - she loves that part!
[attachment 139214 DSCF0123.JPG]
Oh, I almost forgot - I also found plenty of trash, as you can see. But, I now understand that this is part of the detecting experience, whereas in the past I would get discouraged by the stuff. SO perhaps the intervening years have taught me something useful, after all.
If I don't find old relics, mint-busting masses of silver coins or jewels which rival those of the crowned heads, I feel I've not done well.
I beat myself up and wrack my brain for new leads. I buy the newest gear, hoping to buy a difference in my outcomes. I end up convinced that there is nothing left to find anymore and this just isn't fun.
But, I first got into this hobby as a hobby - something I thoroughly and utterly enjoyed as a pastime. I was new at it back then, I had a mid-level detector which was a miracle to me, and I was happy. I had a hard time getting used to all the trash I found, but it was always stimulating and I looked forward to each outing
So, this season I am determined to get some of that back. I intend to enjoy each moment I can detect for just what it is - time I spend happily chasing a coil. If it's relic hunting the lowlands for Confederate relics or penny poppin' the local park, dammit, I'm gonna be happy and enjoy it all!
Well, yesterday we banged away at a cleared lot across the river and many great and old relics of the past were uncovered, some by me... some by my detecting compatriots. So today I wanted a different sort of break, the kind of hunting that I first enjoyed... close to home penny popping in the parkway!
Over the last two days, our seasonal craft fair was in town. This annual extravaganza is held in our downtown parkways right on the grass. These are played out all over the country this time of year, to much local fanfare, and most of you probably have one near you, too. You know the deal: thousands of people crammed into a park or other venue, to spend money on hand painted "kitchen geese," home made soap or "unique" macrame purses. Kids run amok with painted faces, lemonade is spilled on overprice funnel cakes and everyone complains about how hot it still is, for September.
[attachment 139210 Image001.JPG]
Park and kiosks crammed with eager arts and crafts enthusiasts.For a detectorist, these tight crowds spell the chance at lost coins and perhaps some jewelry... along with a pouch full of trash.
This is the stuff that fills each issue of the treasure magazines with "how-to" articles on hunting such festivals, or the great finds people make after reading these same articles. These are the very same articles I devoured years ago, when I first started detecting.
So, today's little hunt was a natural offshoot of my renewed excitement for detecting. It was gonna be like old times.
Well, you know what? It was like old times and I also had a really good time!
It was quiet, with no one else around. Yesterday the crowd filled this area to capacity, and today, I was alone. It was surreal, really.
[attachment 139212 Image003.JPG]
Festival goers, shoehorned into a grass island.
In the still morning quiet, I looked around at the trampled grass and set my detector for a mid level SENS, with DISC around foil. I didn't need high powered depth here, as I was looking mostly for yesterdays drops. But I could see where the people had walked by the worn-down grass, and I didn't want to miss the small earrings and other jewelry I might find. So it was low discrimination for me.
I found a pocket full of cents and dimes, one quarter, a 7MM (.284") bullet and the usual other 'stuff and fluff' one finds in a park. And you know what else? I didn't find any jewelry... and while I really don't mind, I regret that I found no jewelry to bring home to my wife - she loves that part!
[attachment 139214 DSCF0123.JPG]
Oh, I almost forgot - I also found plenty of trash, as you can see. But, I now understand that this is part of the detecting experience, whereas in the past I would get discouraged by the stuff. SO perhaps the intervening years have taught me something useful, after all.
.
.