Teasel the Hedgehog

After practically an all-night session (that's what happens when you are working with nocturnal stuffies), our first boxing buddy is nearly ready. Let me introduce you: This is Teasel the Hedgehog. He was named after the dramatic looking weed with the spiny seed heads. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teasel He is completely lovable and only causes trouble occasionally; mostly when he forgets to wipe his paws or gets things caught in his prickles. He loves to forage through the leaf litter in the woods and in doing that he accidentally found his first letterbox. He has been "stuck on it" ever since. Because he digs very gently, so as not to mush the grubs he is looking for, he is a very good helper when it comes to hunting letterboxes. Fat worms, slugs and grubs are his

first choice when it comes to food, but he can be persuaded to eat the occasional mosquito; although he says they taste like eating kleenex. For the most part he has adapted to our diurnal lifestyle, but if he comes to your house, don't be surprised if you find him rummaging in the fridge for bologna in the middle of the night.

He wanted to make his own logbook, so I stayed up with him last night until he was satisfied with how it turned out. He has been practicing some carving and finished his sig stamp in the wee hours this morning. I am quite proud of him. He didn't complain once even though I couldn't find the handle for my exacto knife for him and all I had was PZ Kut. He says he prefers the Speedy Stamp.

I will tell you that he is not very brave. At the first sign of danger (perceived or otherwise) he rolls up into a ball and won't come out until he thinks it is completely safe. He can be quite stubborn about it. Moppett is the absolute sweetest cat and I am sure she was just investigating a remnant of olive loaf he missed.

Teasel's family is originally from Europe. His parents and siblings were captured along with him one evening on the English countryside. They were stuffed in windowless crates and shipped overseas. We discovered him in a shop window several years back and rescued him immediately. Through a service that works to reunite families that have been separated, we have heard that one of his brothers is part of a traveling animal education program. He visits schools and day care centers along with the other animals in the program to help children learn about being good pet owners. Recently, we also received word from his parents. They are well and living with a retired gentleman on the east coast where they help him by patrolling his garden at night. We can only hope that the others are also okay and being looked after.

If you would like to host Teasel and take him letterboxing in your part of the world, he would love to visit. Just contact me here or through AQ mail and we will set it up. He will also be listed on AQ as an "other" letterbox so that you can log him as a find. (Note: I changed him to a postal box so that I could add him to the tracker I created)

5 year old discoveries

This is what I get for showing the 5 year old what happens when you add bubble bath to the whirlpool tub and turn the jets on.
Now I'm going to have to share.

On a more letterboxing note: we have begun the creation of our very first boxing buddy. His stamp and logbook with be finished tonight and his photo shoot should be complete tomorrow. I will post an introducion and he should be ready to travel on Monday!

Night boxing check-lists

From the comments here and on the boards, I gather that there should be two kinds of letterboxes for folks to hunt at night:

Boxes for Most of Us should include:

• Relatively safe locations free of eye-poking sticks and lurking law enforcement with nothing better to do than press the finer points of the law. (that last could be difficult considering we live in one of those places that prints every public service call in the weekly paper-and it still takes less than a page)
• A story line or twist to the hunt that gets the adrenaline pumping just a bit.
• A cool overlook or view of stars (sorry, no mountains or sandy beaches worth talking about in northern Illinois)
• Preferably no homeless people jumping out at you (I suppose that could cross the line from adrenaline to change-of-underwear in a quick hurry.)

Boxes for Kirbert should include:

• The need for typhoid and yellow fever shots
• Carrying a machete
• A rabid rhinoceros; or at the very least, several vampire bats
• A moving target

One last question...or two:

How far would you be willing to drive to find a Nighttime Letterbox? And, would it make a difference if there were several fairly close together, perhaps even in the same park/cemetery?

Owning Up and a Night boxing question

Like my new sign? Isn't admitting that you have a problem supposed to be the first step?

I am also happy to report that I have snapped out of my initial fascination with the clothesline. Hung a handful of shirts out there last Thursday and they are still there. They've been rained on twice now too!

The kittens and I have all of our supplies assembled for making a night time letterbox. We have scouted a location as well. Still haven't found the perfect image though. I want it to be really awesome because I figure someone coming to hunt for letterboxes at night doesn't have the advantage of seeing gorgeous scenery or wildlife (I would really hope to not see any wildlife at all if I was hunting a box at night!) to make up for the box being a dud.

So, here is my question: If you went letterboxing at night, what would make the experience a Blue Diamond for you? (not that that is what I am after, but you get the reference!) I will probably ask this on the boards too, especially since I no that only about two people read this!

Budget revisions

Like finances, we have a given amount of time to budget as we must. And like finances, we often must scrape and scrimp in order to have the smallest amount left over for ourselves.
Or we can steal it.
My time has not been my own for an eternity it seems. Responsibilities at home with husband, children and homeschool, plus commitments at church and elsewhere have stretched me thin (but you already know the only thing I begrudge is the laundry). So when the slightest break in the schedule appeared, I took July and ran. It was a daring escape. With the help of the buddies we are hosting and a few "live" friends, I squandered the entire month away. I caught up on my logbook and read hundreds of backlogged messages. But mostly we dedicated the time we had to hunting letterboxes, and we were quite successful. 50 boxes were found and I passed my goal of 100. With that milestone reached, now I want to focus on the stack of 25 boxes that need planting. 25! Many of them are ready to go. Some of them need logbook alterations before planting. Some of them need Lock n Locks. And a few still have to make it home from postal rings. And I have no delusions about getting them all done in a month.
Because now August is here and I must once again spend my allotted time in a responsible, adult manner. But time can be bought even if the exchange rate is high. So maybe if I shave a little off here and there, continue ignoring the laundry and give up sleep altogther, I can save enough for a mad letterboxing weekend now and then. And like my finances, if I'm careful, I may be surprised at just how much I have left over.