So got out early this morning for metal detecting, a nice weekend day before the heat broke and I found a nice spot in a local park with plenty of morning shade. That was good for two reasons; one, I wasn't cooking while working, and two the ground was softer from watering and easier to dig. Both were bonuses compared to days digging in the sun.
However, during the first hour I was afraid this was going to be my first detecting session without finding any coins at all. I was using filtering via discrimination and double-checking my equipment was working right, but no luck. Every real ping ended up being something other than coins. I even had one elusive dig that I just could not find the target no matter how much I searched. When that happens I give it about 15 minutes, and then I just stuff the dirt back in the hole and move on to avoid losing the day in frustration.
After about half-way through the local kids started paying attention, running over every time I stopped waving the detector and started digging. With the repeat announcement, "He found something!" The five to eight year olds would clamour around me and try to get a look. They weren't the patient time assuming as soon as I broke soil they would have something to see. After the third time of this, I dug up the target, a cheapo aluminum carabiner, and showed it to them on the cement nearby. The five or six year old picked it up and, with one move, tried to shove the metal to his pocket assuming no one saw. The only problem was he missed his pocket and the metal dropped to the cement with a ping. That's about when I gently said, "Hey, you shouldn't be stealing people's stuff. Now you can't stand near me when I'm digging." Hoo boy, the rest of his friends let him have it. Three of them barreled on the kid verbally. The best comment was, "Yeah, if you steal as an adult you're going to go to jail!" LOL.
Anyhoo, the kids moved on and I was winding down after having worked the perimeter of park lawn around the local basketball court. Then I get a really loud, solid beep and signal. This is not deep, it's close to the surface. And, sure enough, I dig up a .... steak knife. WTF. What's a goddam steak knife doing buried in the park next to the kids area?!?
The rest of the search coughed up one more elusive target, a couple more coins, and I was done. So, today's haul was more scrap metal, a marble, one steak knife that goes to my garage as a pick, $0.59 in quarters, a nickel and pennies, and a bolt.
