First time out in my yard

So yesterday I finally found sometime to learn how my new Pioneer 505 works so I get myself all geared up to go where the grass doesn't grow in between my neighbor and I.  As it's an area that is basically out of site, out of mind and the last person back back there was the cable guy 2 years ago, I was pretty shocked to see that I had a full blown Canadian thistle path growing.  Green thumbs everywhere would have been in awe at how well the patch looked, then cringe at the thought of having to clear it.  as I am not a green thumb, I just cringed, yelled for my son to get his shoes on and enjoy some fresh air with dad, then promptly put him to work helping me clear the thistle patch.  90 minutes later and quite a few stabbings form the barbs later, we were done, and so was I as I still had to cook dinner forthe two of us and get ready for work the next day.

So, After work today I got out into the freshly picked patch and started figuring things out.  One thing I learned, is holy smokes it it a trashy place with the detector going off every few inches.  As I have no real idea what all the pinging means I started digging.   Found 3 "treasures" so far before it was time to come back in and get supper started for my son and I. 

They are:
A round piece of metal siding, presumably cut from the soffit of my house for ventilation
A pair of garbage wist ties
And a cable end that the cable guy must have dropped there a few years ago.

Definitely heading back out after supper, maybe I will get a real treasure

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I'm hoping I find some good stuff.  My house has a neat, but short history.  It was built in 1970 and the first family to live here had 12 kids.  Not too much info on the 2nd family other than they were not here long.  3rd family was a family of 3.  The daughter left a note in the closet of what ended up being my daughters room, kinda neat.  The dad was into house demolition of some type and apparently had a few good parties that really impressed the neighbors   My kids and I have been for 7 years and have had a few block busters parties of our own (with the neighbors so they were OK with them).  I'm hoping with all the kids and parties, maybe one of them dropped a coin or two

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This is great timing! I went out yesterday to take advantage of the drought to 'sweep' my garden. This procedure is best done when rain is on the way or you can water to reconstitute the soil. First clear vegetation residue from the area then rake to remove rock, glass and other debris at the surface. Rake the dirt to a dusty condition, then sweep the area with a nail magnet. go over the area a couple of times, criss-crossing your pattern. Rake again, a little deeper till the first 2 or three inches of soil are disturbed. Pick up visible targets that you can to save time when you break out the metal detector. Sweep with the magnet again. Now start your hunt. Nails and other tramp iron will still be picked up, but with a very reduced frequency. Now your target can be isolated more easily as the surface area gets trashy. It paid off for me, I got a penny! hehehe. Poptop!

Posted on: August 13, 2012, 10:53:10 PM

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"as the area gets 'less' trashy"... I need an editor

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Poptop, Great Idea with the magnet to pick up tramp iron. I have a 'super' magnet on the end of a wooden stick that I use to check the site for iron. I have a 1930's country store site which is productive but for the tramp iron. The first time I tried the site I found the ground was covered with bottle caps like a blanket. My detector just went nuts and my detecting buddies won't go there.  It never occurred to me to actually try cleaning up a site using a larger magnet and a rake. What I do is get out the old half inch sieve which is laborious and time consuming. Even after you have sieved the soil out you have to clean up the residue with the magnet to get down to something the metal detector can work on. When I do this I come away with half a 5 gal pail full of iron mostly bottle caps and flattened cans. The neat thing about it is it it so close to the highway there was only a 20x30 parking space right in front of where the door was. All the good stuff has been found there. I have found some of my best silver there and a gold honor society pin lost by some high school student... Shown is my favorite digging tool which has a super magnet attached to it to pull out iron when I'm working a trashy area.  

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Thanks for the Tips poptop, I'll see what I have laying around the house so I can make something up.

gambol1 - That is one medieval looking digging tool you have there

Bluenoser - Every piece of "treasure" I find in my little dirt patch I get all excited about and as soon as it's out of the ground, I can't wait to find the next one.  The faith is strong in this one

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