Assorted pictures and anecdotes, somewhat too scattered to make a proper "Digger's Diary"
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,530 ✭✭✭✭✭
Been snapping quite a few pics and ended up with a lot on the disc that didn't make it into any Digger's Diary entries. Here they are, scaled down considerably.
Sunrise on Sea Island Road, near Hawkins Island. I tend to shoot a lot more sunsets than sunrises, so this was a switch. I was on my way home from working a graveyard shift at The Cloister on Sea Island when I took these.
Ditto to the above- funny how different the colors came out, since it was taken at the same time and place as the picture above. I think there was a filter on the lens that came off when I removed the lens cap, and I shot one picture with it and one without it.
Next, a few shots I took from the Sidney Lanier Bridge a little while later on the same morning. A really high bridge is almost as good as a plane for aerial photography- it gives one an entirely different perspective on the marshes.
Snowy Egrets in one of their favorite gathering spots.
Egrets, again. Whoops, got the side of the bridge in the bottom of the frame.
Meandering creek near the egret hole, looking west toward Colonel's Island where the auto carrier ships offload imported cars. Note the power lines in the bottom of the picture, way below the bridge.
Here's a picture taken from the exact same spot but looking in a more northwesterly direction towards the southern tip of Brunswick. Seen on the far bank of the channel is what they're calling Liberty Harbor, now, so named because it is the spot where Liberty ships were built and launched during WW2. A hotel will be built there soon. The Emerald Princess II casino boat is in mid-frame.
And now, some relic hunting shots.
An ancient live oak, festooned with Spanish moss. An old plantation house once stood nearby but has vanished completely, only to be replaced with weeds and brush. The site sits unseen off the highway, on my way home. A relic hunting friend told me he found his "nicest silver three cent piece" in this area a while back. You'd need a machete to get around in there now.
Near the big tree sits the old family cemetery, all but forgotten and now invisible from the road, but still at least partially maintained by someone. The original nineteenth century iron fence still surrounds it.
Something about a half-forgotten old cemetery in an overgrown area is appealing to me somehow- these places have a certain mystique.
The earliest marked grave in the family plot is that of an infant son who died in 1813, at the age of nine months. Other children lie nearby, bearing mute testimony to the number of children who never survived to adulthood in those days.
I know what you're thinking- that this looks like an appealing place to go detecting, right? Well, a friend of mine did detect there before the area was so overgrown, and found a nice silver three-cent piece, some large cents, and early buttons. But the fact is, the place is less than ideal from a detecting point of view. Like many out-of-the-way cul-de-sacs near populated areas, it has suffered the indignity of being a modern dumping ground for everything from tires and car parts to even an abandoned tanker truck. Even if the site weren't overgrown so badly, the mountains of modern trash make it even less appealing. It is a good place to take pictures, though. The surrounding 20 acres or so are for sale, so if this spot is ever cleared for new development and the bulldozers are active there, it might have some potential if one can get permission to detect from the purchaser(s). While I'd love to see the 'dozers go to work there, I wouldn't want any harm to come to the big oaks or the old cemetery, of course. It's doubtful that anyone would mess with those.
Here's an intersection I came across while driving down a desolate dirt road near one of my relic hunting spots. Boy, it's a good thing they had a stop sign at this crossing, huh? And just in case somebody like the occasional armadillo, deer, or possum can't read the stop sign, they put a couple of metal posts there, as well, to keep 'em from dashing out into the bustling traffic! I just found this amusing.
And now, my recent finds, which aren't very impressive, but I'm still learning to use my new detector.
A white metal one-piece flat button, circa late 1700s/early 1800s, found sort of by accident while playing around with the new detector. It gave a "nickel" signal and was barely an inch deep, at the site of a new fishing pier. Apparently it got turned up when they moved some of the dirt around to make an access road to the new pier. The bluff where the pier is located was where oak timbers for the first US Navy ships (including the USS Constitution) were cut and shipped north. (The sides of "Old Ironsides" sides were not iron at all, but made of St. Simons Island live oak). The site was later a plantation and then the site of lumber mills in the later 1800s. Long before any of that, the first English settlers landed here in the 1730s, and the Spanish well before that, in the 1500s. It has much potential as a relic hunting spot, but the lower part of the bluff, where the pier is now located, is liberally carpeted with modern trash like pulltabs. I have found several buttons like this further up the bluff, closer to the old plantation site. They tend to come out of the ground very nice- whatever their particular alloy is (tombac, I believe), they survive very well in the ground. This one didn't even need to be cleaned.
A pair of musketballs I dug within four feet of each other on a recent outing. When I got them home, the dirt had fallen off enough for me to see that they were actually fishing sinkers, perhaps net weights. Oh, well. Funny how I can get excited about two musketballs but not about two fishing sinkers, even though they are basically the same thing and were probably made in the same kind of mold. I suppose it is because musketballs are now obsolete, whereas modern fishing sinkers are pretty much the same thing as these early-19th century ones.
I've been doing a lot of night hunting lately. Want to see what one of my typical sites looks like when I step out of the van? It gets really dark out there in the boonies at night, and lonely, in some of these out of the way places! Imagine yourself all alone in near-total darkness, with only moonlight and a small headlamp to guide you. Gets spooky sometimes. Once, my light reflected on some glowing eyes in the woods, and a herd of deer came leaping out of the brush toward me! I nearly died of massive cardiac arrest right then and there.
A nice button from the early 1800s, with a starburst pattern and some of the original gilt remaining. It wasn't until I shot the pictures that I realized this was an early two-piece button and not a one-piece flat button.
The broken strap-end piece of an early- to mid-19th century spur. I believe this kind of spur is called the "Prince of Wales" style, and similar ones are still made today.
A primitive lead doodad from the same 19th century site as the above two finds. It's either a "buzzer" toy which would've been spun on a string, or a really crudely-made button.
I've found no old coins with the new detector, yet, except for four Wheat cents in the city parks (1937, 1940, 1942, 1944). I did dig a neat little gilt brass child's ring, probably Victorian, with a pinkish glass "stone" in it. But I couldn't find it when I was taking these pictures.
I have tried mightily to get "silvered" this month, but failed to do so. Still, I have found some interesting things. I also found something I didn't want- or should I say, they found me: I have been eaten alive by chiggers and am covered in itchy little red bumps. For those who don't know what chiggers (or "redbugs") are, consider yourselves lucky. It's an experience quite similar to poison ivy, though caused by tiny insects instead of a plant. Chiggers seem to love me- my detecting pal Billy appears to be immune to them. That, or he isn't as tasty.
Sunrise on Sea Island Road, near Hawkins Island. I tend to shoot a lot more sunsets than sunrises, so this was a switch. I was on my way home from working a graveyard shift at The Cloister on Sea Island when I took these.
Ditto to the above- funny how different the colors came out, since it was taken at the same time and place as the picture above. I think there was a filter on the lens that came off when I removed the lens cap, and I shot one picture with it and one without it.
Next, a few shots I took from the Sidney Lanier Bridge a little while later on the same morning. A really high bridge is almost as good as a plane for aerial photography- it gives one an entirely different perspective on the marshes.
Snowy Egrets in one of their favorite gathering spots.
Egrets, again. Whoops, got the side of the bridge in the bottom of the frame.
Meandering creek near the egret hole, looking west toward Colonel's Island where the auto carrier ships offload imported cars. Note the power lines in the bottom of the picture, way below the bridge.
Here's a picture taken from the exact same spot but looking in a more northwesterly direction towards the southern tip of Brunswick. Seen on the far bank of the channel is what they're calling Liberty Harbor, now, so named because it is the spot where Liberty ships were built and launched during WW2. A hotel will be built there soon. The Emerald Princess II casino boat is in mid-frame.
And now, some relic hunting shots.
An ancient live oak, festooned with Spanish moss. An old plantation house once stood nearby but has vanished completely, only to be replaced with weeds and brush. The site sits unseen off the highway, on my way home. A relic hunting friend told me he found his "nicest silver three cent piece" in this area a while back. You'd need a machete to get around in there now.
Near the big tree sits the old family cemetery, all but forgotten and now invisible from the road, but still at least partially maintained by someone. The original nineteenth century iron fence still surrounds it.
Something about a half-forgotten old cemetery in an overgrown area is appealing to me somehow- these places have a certain mystique.
The earliest marked grave in the family plot is that of an infant son who died in 1813, at the age of nine months. Other children lie nearby, bearing mute testimony to the number of children who never survived to adulthood in those days.
I know what you're thinking- that this looks like an appealing place to go detecting, right? Well, a friend of mine did detect there before the area was so overgrown, and found a nice silver three-cent piece, some large cents, and early buttons. But the fact is, the place is less than ideal from a detecting point of view. Like many out-of-the-way cul-de-sacs near populated areas, it has suffered the indignity of being a modern dumping ground for everything from tires and car parts to even an abandoned tanker truck. Even if the site weren't overgrown so badly, the mountains of modern trash make it even less appealing. It is a good place to take pictures, though. The surrounding 20 acres or so are for sale, so if this spot is ever cleared for new development and the bulldozers are active there, it might have some potential if one can get permission to detect from the purchaser(s). While I'd love to see the 'dozers go to work there, I wouldn't want any harm to come to the big oaks or the old cemetery, of course. It's doubtful that anyone would mess with those.
Here's an intersection I came across while driving down a desolate dirt road near one of my relic hunting spots. Boy, it's a good thing they had a stop sign at this crossing, huh? And just in case somebody like the occasional armadillo, deer, or possum can't read the stop sign, they put a couple of metal posts there, as well, to keep 'em from dashing out into the bustling traffic! I just found this amusing.
And now, my recent finds, which aren't very impressive, but I'm still learning to use my new detector.
A white metal one-piece flat button, circa late 1700s/early 1800s, found sort of by accident while playing around with the new detector. It gave a "nickel" signal and was barely an inch deep, at the site of a new fishing pier. Apparently it got turned up when they moved some of the dirt around to make an access road to the new pier. The bluff where the pier is located was where oak timbers for the first US Navy ships (including the USS Constitution) were cut and shipped north. (The sides of "Old Ironsides" sides were not iron at all, but made of St. Simons Island live oak). The site was later a plantation and then the site of lumber mills in the later 1800s. Long before any of that, the first English settlers landed here in the 1730s, and the Spanish well before that, in the 1500s. It has much potential as a relic hunting spot, but the lower part of the bluff, where the pier is now located, is liberally carpeted with modern trash like pulltabs. I have found several buttons like this further up the bluff, closer to the old plantation site. They tend to come out of the ground very nice- whatever their particular alloy is (tombac, I believe), they survive very well in the ground. This one didn't even need to be cleaned.
A pair of musketballs I dug within four feet of each other on a recent outing. When I got them home, the dirt had fallen off enough for me to see that they were actually fishing sinkers, perhaps net weights. Oh, well. Funny how I can get excited about two musketballs but not about two fishing sinkers, even though they are basically the same thing and were probably made in the same kind of mold. I suppose it is because musketballs are now obsolete, whereas modern fishing sinkers are pretty much the same thing as these early-19th century ones.
I've been doing a lot of night hunting lately. Want to see what one of my typical sites looks like when I step out of the van? It gets really dark out there in the boonies at night, and lonely, in some of these out of the way places! Imagine yourself all alone in near-total darkness, with only moonlight and a small headlamp to guide you. Gets spooky sometimes. Once, my light reflected on some glowing eyes in the woods, and a herd of deer came leaping out of the brush toward me! I nearly died of massive cardiac arrest right then and there.
A nice button from the early 1800s, with a starburst pattern and some of the original gilt remaining. It wasn't until I shot the pictures that I realized this was an early two-piece button and not a one-piece flat button.
The broken strap-end piece of an early- to mid-19th century spur. I believe this kind of spur is called the "Prince of Wales" style, and similar ones are still made today.
A primitive lead doodad from the same 19th century site as the above two finds. It's either a "buzzer" toy which would've been spun on a string, or a really crudely-made button.
I've found no old coins with the new detector, yet, except for four Wheat cents in the city parks (1937, 1940, 1942, 1944). I did dig a neat little gilt brass child's ring, probably Victorian, with a pinkish glass "stone" in it. But I couldn't find it when I was taking these pictures.
I have tried mightily to get "silvered" this month, but failed to do so. Still, I have found some interesting things. I also found something I didn't want- or should I say, they found me: I have been eaten alive by chiggers and am covered in itchy little red bumps. For those who don't know what chiggers (or "redbugs") are, consider yourselves lucky. It's an experience quite similar to poison ivy, though caused by tiny insects instead of a plant. Chiggers seem to love me- my detecting pal Billy appears to be immune to them. That, or he isn't as tasty.
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(I mean Tim B., aka "The Mighty Phut", not Tim R., aka "SirLamre"). I took him by to see the place when he visited early in the year, but it started to rain on us and I was recovering from pneumonia.
Thanks for sharing!
-Amanda
I'm a YN working on a type set!
My Buffalo Nickel Website Home of the Quirky Buffaloes Collection!
Proud member of the CUFYNA
There was a dirt road behind the cemetery that probably leads to the old crop fields. The site had potential written all over it.
Great pics Rob. Thanks for the memories.
<< <i>You guys are brave men digging graveyard. >>
Near the graveyard, not in it. I don't dig in graveyards anymore, for the most part. I used to when I was in North Carolina, but down here there are enough good hunting sites that I don't feel the need to detect in old cemeteries. Up there, I did pretty well in them, but on the few times I've tried it, I have not had as much success with them down here, and I am a little more selective about where I hunt now.
I can still think of one old cemetery that I would like to search down here (in Midway, GA), but getting permission to hunt there is unlikely.
(Actually, I was once told by one of the trustees that I could detect all I wanted there, but I couldn't dig!)
<< <i>There was a dirt road behind the cemetery that probably leads to the old crop fields. The site had potential written all over it. >>
Indeed, the site has potential, but it's snake city back there. I did go down the road a bit the other day, and was digging aluminum cans as deep as a foot and a half. That kind of stuff very quickly turns me off and makes me wanna leave a site. Even if my pal Billy hadn't confirmed it by digging some nice finds among the oaks (and weeds) on this particular site, I would know for sure there were goodies there, but until it is further developed (and bulldozed), it's not likely to be a very good detecting spot. Even Billy, bushwhacker that he is, was pretty disgusted with it the other day.
I'm originally from northeast Texas farmland and am very familiar with chiggers. My aunt used to powder a little sulphur on her ankles or exposed skin before working in the garden or fields. It works great. She made me do the same. When you're done, just shower real good. If this sounds like some old style remedy that may not be healthy (wouldn't want to say), guess what - it is! It's one of those southern cornbread, turnip greens, and red beans things I grew up with. Probably causes hardening of the arteries or something. Seems like all southern things do. Good luck finding powdered sulphur though. Someone probably has made it a toxic substance that requires permits, licenses, waivers, non-disclosure agreements and other non-sense. At least that's probably the case here in Disneyland. Poison ivy? Keep that stuff away from me.
Bentfork