Blackbird Singing In The Dead Of Night

Sometimes I do things that are not caching related. It’s not something I like to broadcast widely, but it is true. Last night, I went to dinner and a musical with an old friend. When he headed home, I had three hours to find a cache for the day. I had seen a few new caches publish earlier in the day, but since I was at work and I’m addicted to getting paid for my endeavors, I couldn’t just drop everything to go get one. Actually, I probably could, but that would be more trouble than it would be worth. But that’s not important right now. The important thing is that there were fresh new caches earlier in the day and, when I checked after the show, at least a couple of them were still fresh and unspoiled.

Ground Zero was fairly close to home in a newer subdivision on the edge of a brand-new park. It had been a while since I had gone out for a cache after dark, probably since back in Delaware. I reached back behind my car seat and pulled out my Maglite. The cool heft of it in my hand never fails to make the night feel less intimidating. I stepped out of the car and went after my quarry. I walked along the edge of the mowed park and the wild trees until I got close. Of course, the location began bouncing around once I got to within twenty feet, so I had to fall back on my geosenses to finish the job. I looked into the trees and scrub surrounding them and thought that I wasn’t exactly attired for this. Knitted cardigans are no match for inch-long thorns. But I had a feeling it would not come to that. I found a couple of spots that could make for a good hiding spot, but I wasn’t touching them in the middle of the night. Then I found a tree farther out than the others, surrounded by less scrub, and on a branch at about eye level was a little 3D-printed bird. I unscrewed the cap and beheld the clean log that waited inside.

I guess my point here (and I do have one) is that there can always be time to cache and nothing can stop you: not nighttime, nor flora, nor even nice attire if you’re careful (or don’t care too much). Now, there are some things that even I’d never do, but if you feel good about doing them, don’t let them stop you either!