Chicago Parks

[makton]

Do you folks think the Chicago Parks will be diggable by this weekend or is that ground still frozen pretty hard?

Thanks,
Makton

 

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[p2c]

My guess is it depends on how quickly the snow clears. The snow will insulate the ground from warmth and reflect sunlight. If the snow is mostly gone by Thursday, then possibly. I can take a look at Garfield Park on Wednesday and Friday. Note that as it does thaw, it will still be frozen deeper, so it depends also on how deep the frost got. I'd hate to hit a perfect Dime signal at 10 inches, only to find I can't dig past 5 inches.

Wherever also it will be muddy -- parks or woods!

-Jon

 

[watercolor]

Personally, I'd keep to the woods until the last frost and the grass starts greening up.
After that, plugs won't be popping out unexpectedly over night and you won't damage the roots.

Just my opinion. . . (and do I ever want to get out and hunt! )

 

[Lowbatts]

It's just too early to go hitting the parks. Might be warmer near the lake, but I'm betting you got at least two inches of solid ground to cut through.

Those plugs stay open until the ground completely thaws so they can become liabilities to all of us.

I'm just a believer in making sure we don't dig graves for our hobby along with the sparse coinage, so I wait until I know I have ground that will cut and replace easily.

It would be a real shame to draw busybody attention to md'ing this way, especially if you don't take anything more than a few cents and some canslaw home.

This morning I was walking on top of snow as deep as 7 inches and it was solid, the ground under the ice and snow was solid, the ground that was bare was solid also. There was plenty of soft diggable ground, under the creeks however.

 

[makton]

Yeh, You guys are right. Best to just wait 3 to 4 weeks to dig up those bottlecaps.

Makton

 

[BigDan]

I just tested my yard here in Pekin. If this will help at all, I don't know. But I found 28 cents, one clad quarter, three pennies, no wheat. My yard was thawed but it is open to the sun. I went to my neighbors to look for the ring he made from a silver quarter and promptly lost 15 years ago. I got a nice signal and went to dig and his yard is still hard as a rock. But it was a very shady area.

So, if you're out in the sun, you'll stand a chance.

 

[twistidd]

Logan Boulevard is about 50% clear of snow and the surface is very soft and spongy to the step. However, I've got a feeling it's still frozen underneath the top 3 inches or so. Who knows. Outside my place, at the curb where I park my car, the ground is very soft. Closer toward the sidewalk, it's frozen solid.

I think I'll be hitting the woods for now. Like Tim said, I don't want to leave a nasty mess in my wake.

Joe

 

[kimsdad]

Yeah, I concur with waiting until it's safe for turfing it without doing any damage. That's what it's all about.

 

[mikewaz]

Hi Todd!
Yeah, I agree with everyone here, stick to the woods.
Mike