Ruthann,

Thank you for reminding me of the dye vs. pigment ink preference. I am not a stamper so when I am oogling over the many beautiful colors of pigment stamp pads in the stores, my hand reaches for what I like and my impulsive creative side does not discern those differences.

I have a single box planted in a remote part of the western Adirondack Park in NY. I have not posted the clues yet because "someone" left critical handwritten notes in her jeans pocket and then washed them. I returned a couple of weekends ago to visit my parents there and to retrace my steps, but it poured all day so I guess you could say I was the one who got washed out on that trip. During that visit, a local woodsman friend with vast knowledge of the terrain and history of the area mentioned other fascinating places that would be ideal for boxes, so, with his help, there will be more there to hopefully make this out-of-the-way trip and enduring  man- and woman-eating insects worthwhile.

The upshot is that I am leaving this first box in place over a winter that is not unlike those in Michigan. This area, to the lee side of Lake Ontario receives over 120" of snow in the winter and can get days on end of sub-zero temps. By spring, if a bear doesn't ingest the whole thing, I should know the following: 1) how tough those Rubbermaid containers REALLY are. 2) what extreme weather will do to stamp pads 3) what extreme weather will do to carving medium. Stay tuned.

At the risk of redundancy, those of you who are more experienced than me probably already know the answers to these issues if you do not pull your boxes. With winter approaching and so many new letterboxers, maybe this is a good time to talk about various climate extremes so we can make decisions vis a vis pull or leave in place. I realize it always comes down to personal preference.

I absolutely agree with you that keeping pads and stamps and logbooks separated from each other is a good idea. I mentioned last night (or was it in the wee hours of morning?) that I had just purchased on-line1000 medium weight ziplocks of varying sizes quite inexpensively. I have come across boxes here in CT whose containers and baggies were deteriorating or whose stamp and pad were in the same bag and a bleeding mess.

I hope owners don't mind if I do a little maintenance, donate a bag to separate things, replace one that is malfunctioning or enclose a box that is cracked in a larger bag temporarily. When I do that, I do try to contact the owner to let them know their box is in peril. I would appreciate that sort of attention to any of my boxes. If anyone sees a reason for not doing this, please let me know.

Linda a/k/a Alafair

 Ruthann Logsdon Zaroff wrote:

Because of cold winter weather in Michigan, I usually don't put stamp pads
in my boxes -- every letterboxer I know carries his or her own pad anyway.
If you decide not to include stamp pads in your small boxes, you can say
something in your clues like, "Make sure to bring your own stamp pad."

Also, the "eye-shaped" pads you speak of are pigment ink -- sort of like
paint. I strongly recommend DYE-based ink pads instead (there are small ones
available at stamp stores). Pigment takes a long time to dry on both the
stamp and the paper, while dye dries on paper right away, yet still washes
off the stamp with plain water.

Just my humble two cents!

Ruthann
aka Mirkwood



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