Hump Day has not dawned yet, and I am already pining for the weekend. For many weeks now I have been eager to get away for just one day to have some fun with my metal detector (which has not gotten a test run yet -mostly thanks to Officer Jones ruining my day at Jones Beach some weeks ago - and to other obligations I have had that were carried out over recent weekends. I have also wanted to get away to do some amphibian watching/listening. Those little Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers should be at it by now, and I'd love to hear their springtime chorus as it fills the air under the canopy of a NY forest. There just has not been the time.
This weekend, I also have an obligation to start plastering a room in anticipation of painting it, but that can be done on either Saturday or Sunday. That means one of those days will be - or should be - free for me. So on one of em, I'll hop into the Corolla, take a spin, and hopefully arrive at a place where I can enjoy my two pursuits in the same trip. As a matter of fact, according to my brother-in-law, this time of year is good for the metal detector enthusiast here in the northeast. Why - well because the Daffodils are, or will soon be, in bloom. Much of New York state was populated in areas that I will go exploring with my metal detector. The key word in that last sentence is "was". You see those areas are no longer populated. Farms, homesteads, mines, factories, are all long gone in my target areas. Sure the areas around them are still populated, but not the specific places I want to search. So what about those Daffodils? Well, the Daffodil was apparently a quite popular flower in the early days of New York state. They were often planted around homes, and other areas where people congregated. So if I find Daffodils in the forest, it is likely that the area near the Daffodils had once had a house there. This greatly increases chances of my coming up with some long buried artifact, or so I would imagine. I guess every pursuit of the treasure hunting nature has its little secrets as to how to increase your chances of success. Finding Daffodils is just one of them; and having a knowledgeable brother-in-law is another.
Keep your fingers crossed for me that nothing pops up to ruin my plans, if for no other reason than because you will probably get a decent blog out of my weekend adventures.
All the best,
Glenn B
