This weekend the Cricket family went out hunting an exciting new box in one
of our favorite wildlife-experiencing haunts. The clues were great and fun
and educational and we had a good time following them but I was dismayed when
I finally saw where the box was placed. Getting to it required that one
harmfully tromp, no matter how carefully one tried, through several beds of
newly arisen, delicate wildflowers. My roommate, who was out on his first
excursion, is an enthnobotanist and just about blew a gasket demonstrating
what he said were at least two rare lilies popping up right in the way next
to the trail and that after possibly stepping on them we might move on to
decimate the trout lily and bloodroot beyond it. Traffic to this box, no
matter how light, will be harmful.
I now resolve to place my boxes very near the trail and to avoid leading
excessive foot traffic off the trail where we may inadvertantly help diminish
the wild we all love so well.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Be careful where you put your boxes
3 messages in this thread |
Started on 2003-04-07
Re: [LbNA] Be careful where you put your boxes
From: (gbecket@aol.com) |
Date: 2003-04-07 13:31:52 UTC-04:00
Re: [LbNA] Be careful where you put your boxes
From: SpringChick (letterbox@attbi.com) |
Date: 2003-04-07 18:18:14 UTC
--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, gbecket@a... wrote:
>
> I now resolve to place my boxes very near the trail and
> to avoid leading excessive foot traffic off the trail
> where we may inadvertantly help diminish the wild we all
> love so well.
>
I couldn't agree with you more. One of the parks where I placed a
series of several boxes requested that hikers stay on trail, so I had
no choice but to place the boxes trailside. I found I had more fun
writing innovative clues of how to get to the precise place along the
trail, than trying to make the actual hiding spot hidden deep off the
trail. And it wasn't nearly so hard to find hiding spots right along
the trail as I expected it might be. The series of 9 boxes have all
been in place since late summer/early fall last year and none have
disappeared.
I like challenging clues; I like clues that make me think or use
logic; I like clues that are somewhat ambiguous as to starting point
or which fork in the path to take, etc. But it always bothers me
when I have reached the end of the clues and they are still so vague
that I have absolutely no idea if I am at the right place, let alone
where I might find the box at this point. I once let a box go when a
few passes through the fallen leaves with my foot, a peek under
nearby rocks and into hollow stumps and tree crooks yielded nothing.
It was probably there, but how far do you go in disturbing the
surroundings to find it?
As this hobby continues to grow, and more and more boxes are hidden
out in the woods and parks, I think it becomes increasingly important
to be good stewards of the environment. This includes being careful
of where to hide and where not to hide a box, and also choosing
places out of flood plains, etc. Someone had a very good point the
other day -- A letterbox is a letterbox when it is safe in its hiding
spot, but when it is washed away in spring floods or dragged off into
the woods by innocent critters, it becomes litter. And as I imagine
was the case in the situation you mentioned, different seasons
provide different environments in the woods. What looks like just
bare ground with a cover of fallen leaves in the summer or fall could
very easily be haven for trout lilies or trillium in the spring.
Deb (SpringChick)
>
> I now resolve to place my boxes very near the trail and
> to avoid leading excessive foot traffic off the trail
> where we may inadvertantly help diminish the wild we all
> love so well.
>
I couldn't agree with you more. One of the parks where I placed a
series of several boxes requested that hikers stay on trail, so I had
no choice but to place the boxes trailside. I found I had more fun
writing innovative clues of how to get to the precise place along the
trail, than trying to make the actual hiding spot hidden deep off the
trail. And it wasn't nearly so hard to find hiding spots right along
the trail as I expected it might be. The series of 9 boxes have all
been in place since late summer/early fall last year and none have
disappeared.
I like challenging clues; I like clues that make me think or use
logic; I like clues that are somewhat ambiguous as to starting point
or which fork in the path to take, etc. But it always bothers me
when I have reached the end of the clues and they are still so vague
that I have absolutely no idea if I am at the right place, let alone
where I might find the box at this point. I once let a box go when a
few passes through the fallen leaves with my foot, a peek under
nearby rocks and into hollow stumps and tree crooks yielded nothing.
It was probably there, but how far do you go in disturbing the
surroundings to find it?
As this hobby continues to grow, and more and more boxes are hidden
out in the woods and parks, I think it becomes increasingly important
to be good stewards of the environment. This includes being careful
of where to hide and where not to hide a box, and also choosing
places out of flood plains, etc. Someone had a very good point the
other day -- A letterbox is a letterbox when it is safe in its hiding
spot, but when it is washed away in spring floods or dragged off into
the woods by innocent critters, it becomes litter. And as I imagine
was the case in the situation you mentioned, different seasons
provide different environments in the woods. What looks like just
bare ground with a cover of fallen leaves in the summer or fall could
very easily be haven for trout lilies or trillium in the spring.
Deb (SpringChick)
Re: [LbNA] Be careful where you put your boxes
From: be ma (bema57@hotmail.com) |
Date: 2003-04-07 21:58:18 UTC
Hi Crickets! Thanks for an important heads up! You may want to let the box
planter know so they can move the box. I know if it were ours -- we would
want to know! We try to be very careful (especially in places like
Meadowlark Gardens which specialize in all different kinds of flowers and
plants) The only places we go off trail to any degree are ye ole woods near
playgrounds etc. But, there could be plants there too! I think it would be
a service to let people know on the list if we find a box in a less than
optimum location. Just our thoughts! BeMa
>From: gbecket@aol.com
>Reply-To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
>To: letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [LbNA] Be careful where you put your boxes
>Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2003 13:31:52 EDT
>
>This weekend the Cricket family went out hunting an exciting new box in one
>of our favorite wildlife-experiencing haunts. The clues were great and fun
>and educational and we had a good time following them but I was dismayed
>when
>I finally saw where the box was placed. Getting to it required that one
>harmfully tromp, no matter how carefully one tried, through several beds of
>newly arisen, delicate wildflowers. My roommate, who was out on his first
>excursion, is an enthnobotanist and just about blew a gasket demonstrating
>what he said were at least two rare lilies popping up right in the way next
>to the trail and that after possibly stepping on them we might move on to
>decimate the trout lily and bloodroot beyond it. Traffic to this box, no
>matter how light, will be harmful.
>
>I now resolve to place my boxes very near the trail and to avoid leading
>excessive foot traffic off the trail where we may inadvertantly help
>diminish
>the wild we all love so well.
>
>
>
>[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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