Pirate Treasure Hunt

At the beginning of the summer, I decided to do a treasure hunt for the kids, unbeknown to them . The loot included make-your-own message in a bottle necklace kits, pirate bandannas, pirate coins, jibbitz for crocs, rock candy and a pirate flag--all from Oriental Trading. But then weather and lack of inspiration struck and all of it sat in the office. Until yesterday. The night before, M watched National Treasure with her Papa while I was at a meeting. She woke up with grand plans to write a note to her cousins so they could do their own treasure hunt, but she had no plan for what they were going to be looking for. I convinced her to be patient and give me an hour and we would do it up right. This is what followed.

I wrote out a poem and delivered it to "the Buccaneers next door" (the 4 cousins).

Legend be told

Of Blackbeard's gold

Hid on an Isle

In ocean cold.

Map that was lost--

Found at great cost.

Ship sent to search--

By wild storm tossed.

From East to West

As the Sun crests

Horizons far--

Where is the chest?

Brave the gale!

Find it or fail!

All Ye Pirates,

Finish this tale!

They were instructed to work together and not let anyone fall overboard (although there were several side excursions in the dinghy).

Thirteen clues then led them through obtaining fuel for their voyage (the propane tank), gathering grain for bread and rum (the crib--Yes, I know beer is made from grain and rum is made from...whatever rum is made from. I was working with what I had.), a bell tolling, an old iron horse, soldiers in the fort...until they found the treasure and were instructed to divide the spoils equally, or risk the Black Spot.

 It was great fun, and, for the moment, I'm a cool Mom. Oh, yeah.

Letterbox Rabbit

0-380-00293-0

346:12:3 55:2:1 185:1:2

140:12:2 32:22:2 152:22:2 75:29:4

46:26:1 47:4:5 309:27:4

140:17:8 140:12:2 441:12:5 361:30:2 116:25:3 37:1:3 37:6:11 38:1:8 38:7:1

38:1:6 220:21:3 46:32:10 47:16:1,2 192:4:7,9 439:21:13 439:30:3

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Silly Letterbox Squirrel

tHe Animal known as the squiRRel IS commonly Found in Parks and yards across The us, asia and euRope. it is A type of rodent that bears a bushy taIL and lives in holes iN trEes. the fox squirrel, eAsteRn and weStern grey squirrel, american red squirrel and tHE dougLas squirrel are a few of ThE betteR known species. The eastern grey squirrel can also be seen in a melanistic variety known as the black squirrel. albino and white squirrels can occasionally be Found In places such as breVard, north carolina, olnEy, iLlinois and dayton, ohio.

squirrEls build nests, called dreys, of leaves and other Forest biTs, high in the tree tops. the nests typicAlly have Two rooms, one of which is used as a nursery. The femAle usually gives birth twice a year.

the squirrel’s multipurpose tail is its most notable FeaTurE. it uses it foR balance, warmth, expreSsion, signaling, a shade uMbrellA, and sometimes even as a saiL or parachute when swimming or Lleaping. they are fun to watch, But can be destRuctIve in flower beDs and GardEns. their abiLity tO overcome forward momeNtum and stop dead in their tracks is amazinG.

the squirreL cOllects food throuGhOut the summer aNd eaRly falls and stores It for the cominG winter. tHey mighT buRy it Or stash it in the hOllow Trunk of a trEe. it is Not uncommon for the squirrel to forget where it burieD something, and theN a nEw tree or plAnt can gRow. once a Squirrel threw a partially eaten oreo cookie and Me And my dog! the squirreL eats many things Like nuTs, fRuit, whEat, acorns and bird’s Eggs, but they are very fond of MUSHROOMs!

*black ink. before removing the stamp from it's hiding place, please take a moment to examine the contents carefully so that you can return them in the same way (with the label visible) when you are finished. please be on the lookout for poison ivy and other less charitable inhabitants of the woods. Feel free to contact me if this box need attention.

Idle Hours

~seriously choking on evil laugh

Heads Up!

The "kittens" and I have been having a number of letterbox related discussions lately and a few changes are in the works. For us, the most important aspects of this hobby are the people, the carving and the hiking. We have spent a good chunk of time on non-traditionals, partly because hiking was nearly impossible and we were bored, and partly in an effort to develop relationships and carving skills. The girls are getting older now, and the surgery should take care of the physical obstacles. Which means:

• We are going to be working on planting a number of new boxes this fall, starting the moment I get a release to start hiking again.
• We hope to improve our "clever clue" track record. So far they have been pretty boring. Recovery time is already dedicated to clue writing.
  
• We plan to post the clues to this blog first. Readers will have access to the clues before everyone else. Feel free to pass on the location of the clues, but not the solutions or locations of the boxes.
• Most of the boxes will fall somewhere between traditional and mystery.
• We hope that all the boxes will be on hikes of one mile or more.

This does not mean that there won't be the occasional trading card made, but they will be few and far between, and most likely, secretive. It also does not mean that we are upset and leaving any site or group. It just means that we are narrowing our focus a bit. That has been our goal from the start.

If you're still reading, then this is for you: I hope to post the first clue before the beginning of next week. It probably won't be a one mile hike, but it is a box dedicated to all of my Avoiding the Laundry readers. Don't miss it!