Agent X and I went to the Middle Earth Birthday Bash in Denton on Saturday. Other than Agent X getting bored and frustrated with all the talking (because it meant we weren't finding boxes) - it was a great time. Breath of Life and Trillion Grams hosted one heck of an event! I was excited to meet the infamous Puddle Splasher - who's Artist Series at the Botanical Gardens was our last boxing outing - and The Fantastic Four - who planted a box here in Mansfield shortly after the Tyler meet. It was fabulous getting to see Gryphon, Beach Bum and everyone else again. Grizzled Gryphon even inquired as to the state of our boxes (which he found earlier this month) after all the awful rains we've had lately. And - we had newbies! Captain Lola, Juice Box, and their adorable son Bloo (who Agent X was thrilled to take over to the playground).
We found the wonderful Middle-Earth themed boxes that Breath of Life and Trillion Grams were kind enough to plant in the park for the event. Agent X and I were super excited to discover that we were first finders on three on them - very exciting, since that's never happened before. Even though, I must say - I certainly missed getting to see everyone else's sig stamps in the book. We even got to sit under a bridge stamping in, with walkers and cyclists going over us, not even knowing we were there. I felt like a troll, ready to pop out and demand the bridge-crossing toll.
Sunday was super-busy - we got home from church and Agent X went out to play. And shortly after that, he came back in. I said to myself - "Now, that's odd. He has a good 45 minutes before curfew." Complaining of a sore throat, I check to see if it's strep - nope, no white spots on the tonsils. I take his temperature - 102.1! "Oh my! No school for either of us tomorrow!" Cue Tylenol, chicken noodle soup, big blankets and 7-Up.
So, what's a mom who wishes she were in class to do with herself while supervising a sick child who refuses to fall asleep and keeps arguing the whole "no-video-games-if-you're-home-sick-from-school" rule? She carves stamps while watching cartoons with the kiddo! Star Wars Clone Wars came on, and so he asked me to carve him a stamp of a Storm Trooper Blaster Gun - look for it as a personal traveler or alternative sig stamp soon!
His fever was still sort of high Monday night, so I kept him home today too. He didn't get up until 11, and by then his fever was completely gone! Yay! So, he got cleaned up, ate some real food, and we set off for the park. We needed to check on our boxes - something I've been needing to do since the storms came through, but never have time for (17 credit hours is a lot more than I thought it was - we pretty much hadn't been boxing since school started). The playground is almost finished, but not quite, so he couldn't play.
Now, for some background for non-Metroplex readers, assuming I actually have any. The second weekend in September, the rains began. And it rained, and it rained, and it rained. I don't remember exactly how long it rained, but it was several days, then we had a day of sun, and then it rained for several more days. Agent X and I planted our first box (By Any Other Name...) along a creek in our town, along with a bonus box (Walnut Creek) a bit further up the creek. The rains were so much that one of the main streets in our town, (which runs right along the edge of the park we planted in, and has a bridge over the creek we planted next to) was closed due to high water. Now, back to my story....
We found the nature overlook near where the first box was. Trees are downed everywhere. The trail we used when we planted is non-existent. Up in the trees, well over where I could reach, you could see debris from how high the water level actually got. Agent X donned the gloves we had brought, and searched through debris, but it was in vain. By Any Other Name... had floated away. We broke out the trash bag and started collecting trash on our way to where the bonus box had been. Treacherous without the trail. We found the tree that we had planted the planter's pouch at. No pouch - Walnut Creek floated down the creek as well. Despondent, I just wanted to go home and eat ice cream to console myself. But Agent X had other plans. He takes the environment seriously (yay! I did something right!) - and he insisted on continuing picking up trash. He found a 5 gallon pail (who even brings a huge bucket into the woods?), and proceeded to completely fill it while he was digging around in the hopes that our pouch was still nearby.
We got back to the car, and decided we needed to go play at a playground to cheer ourselves up. So, we went to Town Park, and checked on Fantastic Four's Gristmill. And, boy! I am so glad we did - it was out in plain sight! Agent X did an excellent job of rehiding it properly - and did a really good job of keeping the box out of sight when a woman happened upon us and inquired as to what we were doing. Fortunately, Agent X is my son, so she didn't press the question and assumed that he just really needed to relieve himself behind the tree.
So, with that, still sadden by the loss of our boxes, we went home. We pulled in the driveway, and I was almost in tears. Agent X, with a huge smile and big bright eyes, took my hand and said, "Don't worry Mama, we'll just plant all the stamps you carved yesterday! That's way more boxes than what we lost!"
And, I hate to admit it, but he's right. We'll just have to plant the stamps I've been carving. So, y'all can expect a nice 6(ish) box series with a fabulous sci-fi theme planted in Mansfield sometime soon. :-)
So, without further ado, here are today's Lessons in Letterboxing...
- I really must put together a list of must-haves for events. I not only forgot the white cake at home (which necessitated an emergency run for brownie bites as soon as we got to Denton), I forgot the camera! Again!
- Although we were smart in planting boxes up past where we thought the creek bank was (yay us for thinking ahead!), I'm really thinking that we won't plant that close to the creek again.
- The magnifying lamp and a pair of tweezers really should be considered must-have carving tools. With all the carving I've done in the last two days, I really don't think that I could have pulled off some of those fine lines without them.
- Perpetual optimism and a sunny attitude are apparently must-haves for planters - as my not-so-little-one has taught me.
Happy Trails!
Rogue Artist
