5:00 p.m. Walk and Two Boxes Checked

Moving fast again the Pei's and I ripped out the door tonight (I had a meeting at 7 p.m.) to check on two additional Eagle, Idaho boxes. I will admit I was not expecting to find either box alive and was totally shocked to find both in place. Gee, have the vandals gotten lazy? Where is the commitment of today's youth? You know if you are going to vandalize one box you better plan on doing all of them. The first box we checked was Little Lady Bug. Not only was the box there but it was concealed well and is in perfect condition. I almost had to shake off my shock just to continue with our walk. Reminder to self it is really cold out here in Boise - wear warmer clothes and gloves when checking on outdoor boxes.

The second box we checked on was The Buzz: Moxie Java. This Moxie Java location closed down recently after being there forever. We slipped around the building and found the box in it's spot but in complete disarray. Everything was out of the bags. The logbook was in the container but the stamp was in a totally soaked bag on the ground along with the other baggies. It was as if someone opened the box and just littered the area with the contents. This has actually been another problem for us locally. I can only assume it is new boxers that are either not re-hiding the boxes (many have been found over the past year just sitting out in the open) or like the box tonight the contents are strewn all over the place. Maybe I am totally off base and it is a rogue pack of squirrels that are opening the boxes and leaving the items scattered. Hard to pin point the culprits. Either way because the Moxie closed down, this was my last The Buzz box that was alive and the soggy condition of the box I decided to pull it and retire it along with the others. Here is the re-cap of tonight's findings:

• Little Ladybug: Eagle, Idaho - Alive
• The Buzz: Moxie Java: Eagle, Idaho - Pulled and Retired

Not sure which boxes we will check on tomorrow but it seems that our luck was better in the evening than in the morning. It's almost like we are part of a disaster search and recovery team. Will we find any survivors tomorrow? Hard to say. Stay tuned for our next rescue mission.