HH's, little animals, and LTC's

This weekend was not a huge boxing weekend. I had to work on Saturday, and Sunday we did some other stuff with family. We were able to fit in one box however. This box was located in a city park and contained a store-bought stamp. Other than the hiding spot which was really spectacular, is was a pretty run-of-the-mill find.

The thing that really brightened the day up was a little HH I found inside. This little guy, from the SoHillHendersons, has been all over the country and the stamp, though small, is fairly intricate. This is what makes me really appreciate HH's, they can add to the enjoyment of a find. There is not just one logbook to enjoy, but two. There is not just one stamp to enjoy, but two. And the HH is sort of an adventurer with it's own little story. I love these little things, and I have a hostel ready to plant, I just have to find the right place.

Additionally, we found two more little dudes that day. For those of you that read my blogs, you may remember the baby groundhog. Well this weekend we also found:

and:

Box Turtles are pretty funny little guys, and they're named "box turtles" because they muggle letterboxes. This one I followed to his hidey-hole and found mounds of chewed up tupperware. It's the ink they like. :) I actually thought it would be neat to create a little hitchhiker, where the stamp is a piece of tupperware with four legs and a head. "the Box Turtle..." heh...

In other news, LTC's are "Letterboxer Trading Cards" which are based on Artist Trading cards. The idea is to have a central image on the front side of the card, using mixed media, but it must include a hand-carved stamp. On the back you have your trail name, your real name if you wish, the LTC name and the edition number (i.e. 1 of 20.) I thought this was a pretty great idea, and I spent the weekend making mine. I'm very happy with the way they turned out. When I came into work on Monday, I saw there was another tracker listed (thanks Batty Girl!) for trading these cards, with a limit of 20. I signed up in the nick of time, and am really excited for this to start.


Disclaimer: Yes, Old Scratch, the Devil, Satan, whatever you want to call him is included on my LTC. No, I am not a Satan Worshipper. In fact, if you are truly are ambivalent in regards to spirituality, you equally deny both the good side AND the opposition. Lucifer ("Lucy" to his friends) is included as a reference to Robert Johnson, one of the quintessential blues artists.

Ghost Town Trail

On Sunday we went boxin. And by "we" I mean my gf Longstockings, my son The Pirate, and myself. The first two boxes were on this great trail called "Ghost Town Trail." It's a very well kept and scenic rails to trails area in Indiana, PA. It doesn't, however, live up to it's name. I was expecting burnt out and ramshackle buildings that reek of dispair and regret. Instead I got a nice walk in the woods.

"Kevin, if ya caught fish erry time ya went fishin, it'd be called catchin."

This is one of my mottos in life. I learned this from Stan. Stan was the Rancid Crabtree (for those of you that remember "Last Laugh" in Outdoor Life) in my life. This dude was absolutely insane, smelled of chewing tobacco and whiskey, and always good for some fun.

I need to learn to apply this motto to Letterboxing. I hate it when I can't find the box. It's not even so much that I can't find the box, it's that it may be RIGHT UNDER MY FEET and I'm looking in the wrong place. I get crazy. Usually when I calm down and think about it, I can puzzle out the clues and look through the planter's eye and glean where the box is. But these clues were STRAIGHTFORWARD and the box simply was not there. So you start to question yourself: "It's probably been muggled, but what if it's behind THAT crooked tree instead of this one." I usually stalk around the woods in this mode for about a half-hour, annoying my gf and boring my son. (who is five years old, and once he defeats all the ninjas in a particluar portion of the woods with his sword (a stick) needs to move on to find other, more worthy opponents...)

So, eventually I see a baggie sticking out from under some leaves, 4 feet away from where the box should have been. I do a little recon and find another baggie. Both ripped, no box, nothing else. Was I upset? NO! I was relieved that I found the spot and figured out the clues. This is a sick mindset. I was unhappy that the box was gone, but happy knowing I wasn't just MISSING it.

All in All, it was a great day. 3 of 4 boxes, First Finders on two of them, and hiking in two places I had never visited before. I just need to wake up and see the trees behind the box sometimes. A day spent outdoors with the family is better than any dumb box.

One little side note. Beside one of the boxes was this little guy:

A tiny little baby groundhog that was nice enough to pose and let us take pictures of him from inches away. This was advantageous as I was able to explain to my son that even though an animal will LET us get close and looks so cuddly, we must never touch it. I got to explain to him about the oils on our skin and possible maladies that can come from the animal.

He is a darling little thing though, huh?