Metal Detector Saga: It begins.

For a year or so I've found myself in some situation or another where I think, "God, I wish I had a metal detector."

Mostly it's just while walking in the creek behind my house, picking up pieces of mysterious broken pottery and wondering where they came from. Broken pottery is neat, but I've already got a metal toolbox filled with that.

Sometimes I find great hulking pieces of metal that you don't need a detector to locate ...

... but imagine all those hard, cold metal secrets under the ground, full of stories, untouched by human hands for a hundred years. Those are the ones I want to find.

So anyway, I decided to start looking for a metal detector.

I know virtually nothing, and I have to start small; I can only afford to spend $150 or so. But I joined a great metal detecting forum (it's actually called "Friendly Metal Detecting Forum," which is sort of adorable) and am learning fast.

So stay tuned, fellow history geeks! Come spring, I'll have to get me another toolbox to fill.