Finally Using My Metal Detector

     A few years back I bought a metal detector @ half price clearance sale at that store everybody in the USA claims to hate but shops at almost religiously, you know the one I mean. I thought I would use it at city parks and such to see could I find lost jewelry, coins, et cetera. Long story short, it got set aside and pretty much forgotten until a few days ago.

     I went out to do a bit of mowing in my back yard the other day and had scarcely gone 40 feet when my mower keeled over and died. A quick check revealed that a bolt that holds the handle to the body had fallen out. On my mower, the handle must be fully extended and locked for the motor to run. Without this bolt in place, my handle was neither fully extended nor locked.
     I knew it was futile, but I attempted a visual search  and ended up  taking the bolt from the opposite side and hitting  the road searching for a replacement. After 2 hardware stores and 1 lawn mower parts house I came home empty handed.

     Then came my "eureka"  moment... my metal detector! I knew I had one but the grand question was "where?"..... It took me a couple of days to locate the little device and you guessed it, the batteries were as dead as dead could be.
     The machine requires 2 each 9 volt batteries so I bought 4. Hey! That's the way I roll! If I need 2 now, I buy 4 so I'll be ready next time.

     Anyway, to make a short story long, I slapped the new batteries in, calibrated my detector using a bolt of near the same size and went out searching. It took longer to replace the batteries than it did to find the bolt. I did pick up a lot of small "trash" signals which makes me think... how many tons of assorted metals are in my back (and/or front) yard? I'm sure there is a piss pot full of scrap such as nails, beer cans. I've found a plenty of that by visual only. Believe it or not, I have even found rail road spikes, which it rather freakish considering I worked a few years for a rail road repair company.
I pulled and drove my share of rail road spikes, believe me.

     I'll continue scanning the yard with the metal detector just because I am a curious sort of geezer and who knows? Perhaps some day I'll actually get my old butt out to the parks and such to see if I can find a fortune!