How to have a fantastic day of letterboxing

What you need:

• Blue diamond series clues by fantastic nearby letterboxer
• Old friend who is into hiking and could be easily persuaded to go out for a nice long walk (with markers)
• Nearby conservation area that is ripe with views, nature, wildlife, and recreated First Nations towns
• Bad weather forecast which you ignore
• Forget to pack picnic lunches and instead go to a nice salad bar and pack deliciousness that you'd never be able to prepare yourself
• Working camera that you just fixed yourself (despite Panasonic's own tech staff being unable to do so)

First, have old friend come from the US for a day-long visit.  Introduce the idea of going hiking again for old-time's sake.  Head to favourite salad bar and stock up on some delicious gourmet food that will eventually seem out of place while picnicking in the park.

Arrive at heretofore unvisited conservation area which clearly has not been promoted enough.  Find that the conservation area is not only wildly beyond expectations given nearby parks, but is virtually empty due to rain forecast.  Continue on with giant smiles on your faces.

Easily find first letterbox after viewing some amazing mushroom specimens and getting some amazing photographs with recently repaired camera.  The only thing better than a working camera is a camera that you can smugly say is working because you fixed it yourself.  Continue smiling with friend and carry on to lunch spot.

Have a delicious lunch while the "terrible" weather finally hits: get sprinkled lightly with rain as you happily catch up, laugh at funny chipmunk antics and eat amazing salads.

Next, finish the letterbox series, finding the last two boxes.  All carves are found to be fantastic and the series old enough to have many interesting old stamp finds in the logbooks.  Friend will spontaneously say, "this is awesome" and offer to return to go hunt some other long-hike letterboxes. Joy is had by all.

Then decide to take the clue's recommended trail going around the conservation area's lake. See many beautiful sights, including the lake, the pristine forest, beautiful rock mosses, and get flirted with by some saucy turtles who want to show off.

Finish the boardwalk trail and finish up seeing the sights.  Smile and laugh with your old friend and agree that a repeat day is definitely in order.

Letterboxing in Guelph

This little guy wanted to come along for the ride.

It's been a while since my last post, but in my defense, I've been doing a lot of traveling and I'm getting prepared to move, unfortunately. Looks like I will be one town over as of October and I s'pose that means I have to get to carve a new sig stamp... Same one, just change the location, methinks.

Anyways, I have a couple travelogues I want to post as well as a blog post on how I made my first audio clued letterbox... So back to it!

Last Friday, I finally got to do some more letterboxing and I got to go to one of my favourite locations: Guelph. I prepped a list of 10 clues and headed out after a half day of work. Yes, I took a half day off of work to go letterboxing.  Weekends are not my own in the summer...

First up: Big Dog by Turtlews. This was a repeat box because last November I attempted it without any success.  The clue as it read at that time referred to a bare tree.  But after the fall, all trees are bare, making that reference rather tricky.  The clue has since been updated and others have listed finds so it was time for a repeat.

So off I went to this dog park on a beautiful summer day to see if I would be successful the second time around - I was.  I was also successful in having a HUGE mastiff of some sort jump up on me. Not a surprise; it's a dog park and dogs love me.  Luckily, I was in my boxin' clothes and was anticipating getting a little dirty.  But let's face it - the unabashed, unconditional, unrepressed love that gushes out of these furry beasts can put anyone in a good mood - even if the result of said love is a muddy shirt.

And so, full of confidence with my first find and full of warm puppy love, I set off with clue two - Slide (also a box by Turtlews). A nice stroll in a school's park and a fairly easy find... I spent a bit of time at this box stamping in. It was a beautiful day and it was dead silent at this park so I stamped in in the shade of a nearby maple and enjoyed the nice breeze coming that swept by...

STOP! He who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three...

Next, off to the University of Guelph's Arborteum, one of my absolute favourite places to letterbox. Newly planted is Fiddlehead's new series, Traces of Darkness, with her fellow carvers, Prop and Earth Diver.  The Arboretum is my favourite place for a few reasons: it's the perfect size, it has  amazing variety in terrain, it has multiple various trails and gardens to visit, it's in one of my favourite Ontario towns, and it's free.  What more can you ask for? Letterboxes, you say? Well, there are some awesome ones there, including this series, so check it out.

The next letterbox was QR: Quaint Rabbit by Lone R.  Won't spoil it because it is a mystery clue, but I will say that the last finders of this box didn't close it properly and when I opened it, I ended up covered in earwigs and earwig eggs.  Yuck.  Pass.  Luckily, other than a few soaked pages and some runny ink, everything looked fine...

Next box, Ben.  I did find it.  But let me tell ya, I was none too pleased with the unfortunate state of this box - nor with another local letterboxer beating me to be the first finder on that very same day.  Sheesh.  Good box, though.  And because I took a wrong turn at one point and perhaps wandered a little farther in the wrong direction than I typically would have, I did get to randomly see a nice bat stencil on a post.  Random find for the day, I suppose.

Next I tried to find an airport letterbox, Gee Bee Z planted by Fiddleheads and carved by Kirbert.  No luck on this one - the airport seems to have been sold and there were some pretty intimidating signs up saying "danger" and "no trespassing".  Also, while I stood debating whether to make the last jog and just get the box anyway, I surly looking plane guy gave me the evil eye as he went past.  No thanks.  Moving on.

Next up was Water Lily's hubcaps series, the Acura 007.  Cute find in a place that I'm pretty sure I've been to before... The experience wasn't the best though: I ended up walking face first into a huge spider web (with very strong webbing, I might add).  The irate spider, now on my face, made a mad dash and I only just managed to fling it away from me.  It was huge but managed to hide in leaf litter.  I was literally paralyzed on the spot.  I could see the letterbox but was afraid to move in case the spider came back.  Worse yet, I was convinced that if I didn't move soon, the spider would be back with reinforcements.  Since the only thing worse than one spider is more than one spider, I stamped in and got the heck out.  (Based on my recollection, this seems to be an accurate representation of that spider. Except I was shrieking.)

Anyways, to end the day on a higher note, I finished off with Lone R's box in her Cemetery Series, the Cove Pioneer Cemetery.  It was beautiful, it was peaceful, it was perfect.

And that ended my day in Guelph.  I did a couple more boxes over the weekend - more to come on that - but all in all, it was a fantastic letterboxing day in Guelph!

The Summer of San Diego

I have tragically been unable to do a lot of boxing so far this summer due to some work and personal life stuff that is dominating my time.  I love all the updates I'm getting from folks finding my boxes, and I'm living my boxing life vicariously through them...

I did, however, get to do another trek down to San Diego for the International Comic Con.  Loved it.  San Diego is a fantastic town and I love going back there from time to time to soak it in.  I love the feel of the whole place... And the 'Con is always a riot - my true inner geek comes out in full force and I'm surrounded by kindred spirits everywhere I turn.

And this year, this year I saw... Sir Patrick Stewart.  *squeeee!*  What an honour.  He is a gentleman of the highest order and I would have given my eye teeth to give him a hug.

He went where no Sir Patrick Stewart had gone before... San Diego Comic Con!

But, this is also the first time that I have gone down where I have also been a letterboxer.  I didn't get to do a lot of boxing due to my other *ahem* nerdy activities, but I did manage to both find and plant a box.

I ended up finding Dancing for the Jumbo-tron which was conveniently located between my accommodations and the convention centre. It was a cute box and I love traveling to other places and seeing new and different sig stamps from letterboxers from another area...

Later, I planted Get Your Geek On in honour of the 'Con and thus far it hasn't been found.  Seriously people, I see an untapped market in the overlap between the Comic-Con nerds and letterboxing geeks.  Just sayin'...

Out with the old, in with the new

I've finally gotten around to carving a new sig stamp - my third since starting with letterboxing last year. (Actually, I started boxing on July 20th last year, so I suppose today marks the end of my first year of letterboxing, tomorrow starts my second...)

First signature stamp 

My first stamp, which was a square with honeycomb in the background and a bee up front was carved on Speedy-cut (hiss! spit!), was literally my first carve and was horribly undercut due to my aforementioned carving education.  You can see it on the first page of my first log book on the right there.  The stamp itself was actually quite large - probably about 10-12 centimetres square. Obviously, that one didn't last very long at all... All the lines started literally falling off of the stamp (there was nothing underneath holding them to the block) and pretty soon it didn't look like anything.

Signature stamp 2

My next stamp, which I used mostly until today, was also made with Speedy-cut - yes, you'd think I'd learn, but it was all I had and all I could find!  I actually drew this one free hand (never again!) and knife carved it, no undercutting this time so from that perspective it was a stable image.  It has not kept well and because I used black ink once, I had to keep with black ink (because the material is terrible - if I had washed it properly to get the ink off, it would have completely disappeared as it crumbles so bad).  I've actually used this one for longer than I expected, but every time I would stamp with it I'd kick myself, wanting to have carved something better already.

Micro signature stamp

I started using, almost exclusively in recent months, my micro stamp (gouge carved on pink stuff - phew) which is simply of a bumblebee...  This little cutie is just the size of a thumbprint and was actually intended for a letterbox, but I liked it so much that I kept it.  Nevertheless, it was never intended to be the signature stamp that I used and I wanted something a little more elaborate.

Finally, after much deliberation, I finally chose and image and got carving.  Not sure the image is all that clear in the end, but I like it anyway.  The new stamp, along with my pretty new Kaleidacolor from Stampeaz and I am all set.  It's about 4-5 cm across and 10-12 down and I mostly gouge-carved it, the exception being some small spots and the lettering.  I think I like it, I'll have to test it out in the field...

Boxing in Guelph

So, I'm just back from a lovely day of letterboxing up in Guelph, Ontario - they are very fertile lands.  As per usual, I took my letterboxing pack, my logbook, some extra ziplocks (cuz ya never know), my Marvies & sig stamps in my zippered case, my iPhone (maps, compass, access to clues), and my wallet.  What you don't see is that I also take  my camera and two pairs of shoes - I learned my lesson.

Bon voyage from my feline supervisor.

See? There she is, watching me go.  Guilt sets in.

The drive to Guelph from Burlington is always a nice one. It's a simple drive up the Niagara escarpment via Hwy 6 and usually only takes around 30 minutes.  I went to the University of Guelph back in the day, so I'm pretty familiar with the roads up there, so as a whole letterboxing in Guelph is always a calm and and enjoyable experience.

First up: Deer Crossing. This one I had already attempted back in the early spring.  Luckily, second time around, I found the box - which was a good thing, Lone R had made another delightful box and I loved the carve.

Next up: Acting Like an Idiom by Fiddleheads and Seeking Sylvie Sylvilagus by Lone R. Success with both of these boxes, which each reference a similar landmark in their clues.  Thus far, I hadn't been munched on too badly by the 'squiters, but the day was still early.

One delightful thing I found were some stacks of balanced stones.  Just like letterboxing, I love the idea of something new and magical is out there in the woods. I'm not sure how long these particular stacks were there because it was clear that there was a couple stacks had toppled, but the others looked like they were there for some time.  I remember seeing an incident on the news about some folks seeing balanced rocks in the Humber River last year and being sad that I couldn't see it in person, so it was a delight to see this.

 

Next up,  Who Doesn't Love a Picnic? by the Landmark Leapsters. You know who? Me.  Not a picnic fan. You get eaten by bugs - just like I did when I found this box.  Great carve and theme, but I could have used a few less mosquitoes. 

I then went for another hike to find the Little Tract Letterbox by Lone R and got munched on a little more.  It was at this point that I recalled the words of the nice ladies at Canadian Blood Services who told me I can't give blood any more often than two months because it's bad for me - I think the mosquitoes got more blood from me than they do when I give blood.  Something to watch for... Go give blood!

My first hiccup of the day came when I went to go find Water Lily's Comberton Mazles box.  The Jesuit Centre was hosting a large local food festival and the site was swarming with muggles.  When I got to the location of the box, I was slightly alarmed - the hedge the box was located in looked like it has been blown away by a small tornado - and the box was directly out in the open.  I have no idea how no one noticed it.  It took me five minutes to grab it because there were so many people wandering around.  Then, the book was soaked... Poor box, it's been having a rough time.

Nearby, I found another Lone R box, Peace in the Park.  After a nice jaunt (and some side stepping of more muggles celebrating something or other) I found the box.  I got a little turned around due to not paying attention to the landmarks and because of some overgrown grass, but the delay only resulted in more time for the 'squiters to munch on me.  Circle of life, and all that.

I then headed back into Guelph proper to visit a beautiful garden and find Fiddlehead's Thrift Flower Up the Garden Path.  Nothing thrifty about this box; the stamp was perfection, the box was perfect, the location was spectacular and the clues were cute. 

Back into the downtown, I sought out the first of the Justice League of Guelph series. After waiting out some muggles, the find was find.  When I went for the second box, it was clear that the muggles there would outlast me.  Then the third box wasn't where I expected it - I'll have to try again later.  At that point, having found nine boxes and three hitchhikers, I decided to end the day.

On the way back to my car, going over the bridge, I came across a very friendly black and white spider.  He was very photogenic and allowed me to get close with my macro lens to snap some shots - he put on his cheeriest smile for the camera.

Happy trails!

Love and hate for LTCs

Here I go again with my second attempt at this LTC thing. I don't think I'm quite cut out for LTCs, mostly I just don't get the joy in sending out really intricate (let's face it) art projects.

What I do like about LTCs is receiving a slew of stamp impressions of a certain topic that you like.  When you go out letterboxing, you're at the mercy of whatever is planted in a given area; when you participate in an LTC exchange, you can decide to join based on a theme... That's what I like.

So, after my recently planted Can't Stop the Signal series, I am participating an an LTC exchange for all things Joss Whedon. I plan on making three cards to send, each using the stamps I created for my letterbox series.  As with the last time I participated in an LTC exchange, although I'm really excited to see what others carve, sometimes I think I've bitten off more than I can chew.


SPOILER IMAGE BELOW

Here they are before they are cut and made into whatever I'm going to do for these LTCs.  Wish me luck!

Inara, Mal, Jayne, and my harshest critic who is clearly unimpressed with the images.

Mystery clue

Today, I finally managed to get a box planted and the clue finished.  You can try your hand now at The Purloined Letter letterbox.  I'm not spoiling anything by saying that The Purloined Letter is one of Edgar Allen Poe's short story mysteries.  The carve itself is cute, but I spent a lot of time designing the clue, which I also post here:

I spent a lot of time on this image to get it juuuuust right.  I'm not very good at graphics and image editing, so it took me a long time to create this.  I'm really hoping that the clue works at all - and mostly, I'm hoping that once folks figure it out, they will have that aha! moment and a smile on their face.  Time for the count down...  That's the worst part for me, waiting for the first finder.

Back to carving.

How to not get a box finished

So, I came up with an idea, found a fantastic image, had it printed and transferred, and now I'm stuck unable to force myself to finish the carve.

To go back a bit, the idea actually came from a location first - a place I had been to a couple of times and always stuck out in my head as somewhere I really wanted to plant given the opportunity.  I wanted a big, intricate carve for the location - the location demands it - and spend quite a bit of time looking for the perfect image. (I'm not creative and can't draw. Finding something was a must.)  I found the perfect image and, with a new photocopy image and blender pen in hand, proceeded to transfer this 12 centimetre square image on some newly purchased pink stuff.*  

Unfortunately, this is where things went wrong.  I began to carve the complicated image and then promptly lost interest in the carve.  I still love the image, still want the box done, but can't muster the enthusiasm necessary to finish the carve. I feel like it will take forever and I'm having a hard time dedicating the time.  To make matters worse, I can't bring myself to start another carve - even when the next carve on my agenda is a new sig stamp (my current one is about 5 stamps away from total destruction). Essentially, it's interrupting my carving groove.

Now I am stuck in limbo, unenthusiastically carving a little each night - essentially forcing myself to do so to try to get it done.  I feel like it will never be done.

The offending carve.

*In retrospect, given the nature of this image, I wish I had held out and used Firm Cut instead.  Live and learn.

Remembering the Remembering the Railroads Meet

Okay, so it's been a couple weeks, but what better time to rehash the Remember the Railroads meet than when I'm stuck home on a Saturday night with food poisoning? (Rhetorical.)

So, St. Thomas is a beautiful place and all in all somewhere I haven't taken the proper time to visit.  I tried to go in early in the morning in order to snag a few boxes before we checked in.  A Fiddleheads box on the 401: nowhere to be found... First Big Blue Team box: exactly where it was supposed to be, but now my feet are soaked.  Next box, attached to the proper tree, but tree now on the ground.

Off to Waterworks Park to meet everyone... Sign into the park says to use the hill at my own risk and it occurs to me that the meet itself could have been an elaborate ruse to confuse and haze new letterboxers.  Luckily my rusted out Mazda made it down the hill and I finally met some fantastic boxers.

Finally off to get some boxes.  Ended up going to the museum and learning about Jumbo.  In horrific detail.  I want this to be a family-oriented blog, so I'll spare you all the gory details, but Jumbo didn't have a peaceful death.

I was off then to find quite a number of other boxes, had lunch with the boxers and did some more exchanges, and then back out to nip a few more boxes.  Along the way, I learned about St. Thomas, the war, the City's influence on the national and international railways... and I became jealous of Big Blue Team's ability to convince unsuspecting store owners to keep boxes in their stores.  But, I have to say, it makes economic sense: I think I bought something in just about every place I went.  (I am now the proud owner of a beautiful elephant tea set.)

High density bird living.

The last few boxes I found in Pinafore Park, where, based on the clues and dates the boxes were planted, were part of previous year's letterboxing meets. The park was just amazing and I wish I had more energy to continue and search them all out - but as it was, I was swaying as I stood.  Fun fact: the park has some amazing bird condos.  Love them.  It's this decade's answer to suburban birdhouse sprawl.

I had planned out a lot of boxes to find that day, but having left so early in the morning from Burlington, I petered out pretty fast.  On my way home, I planted my new Annandale box (found a mere 24 hours later). I was lucky enough to find the perfect place to plant the box... Love it.

All in all, a fantastic day.

Along came a bumble bee...

So the other morning, I wake up for the day, go downstairs to the basement bathroom and begin my morning preparations for the day. With my glasses off, feeling around trying to find my contacts case, I suddenly see in the mirror this enormous black entity start crawling across the carpet behind me.  The cat was watching it bemusedly.

I lunge for my glasses (scared, of course, that it was some sort of spider on some homicidal mission to take control of my home in a baby-step effort to one day take over the world) and slipping them on stared, puzzled, at one of the largest bumble bees I've seen crawling over the carpet in my basement.

Unhappy bumble bee waiting to be released...

Why was she there? How did she get in? Is there a bumble nest somewhere in my finished basement? Why is my cat so entertained by bugs?

I love bees dearly, bumble bees and squash bees in particular, so I grabbed a notebook and a tupperware container, lifted the lady up, and took her on outside to greet the day.  She wasn't entirely happy with this turn of events, but happily flew off to visit some flowers in the garden.

So, it might be a sign; I picked Bumble* as my trail name for a reason, but I nevertheless proceeded to carve a cute bumble bee series that I hope to plant soon...

Runway clear; ready for take off.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Remember the Railroads mini meet in St. Thomas, hosted by Big Blue Team.  I'm excited and looking very forward to it - the pasta salad is made and ready to go.

*Actually, it was BumbleAlong until recently.  But that was only because AtlasQuest wouldn't let me register Bumble as my trail name at the time, apparently because it was too close to some existing name.  On a whim, I tried to change it and it let me.  So there you go.