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Post by tims on Jun 23, 2015 22:18:30 GMT -5
Yes ginger, another yard find. Little surprises like this keep the project fun
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Post by tims on Jun 22, 2015 22:46:57 GMT -5
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Post by tims on Jun 22, 2015 22:14:00 GMT -5
Just thought this was neat for the woodland camo coloring:
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Post by tims on Jun 22, 2015 22:10:38 GMT -5
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Post by tims on Jun 22, 2015 21:42:38 GMT -5
Pretty teepees. Seeing one cut really makes me itch for a saw ...
Is it possible they just used vegetable oil on the cut face for a 5-minute polish?
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Post by tims on Jun 21, 2015 0:48:34 GMT -5
Yeah, it's my first hammer just got it this Spring. Found some of my grandparents' discarded hammers in the yard and they look like something out of Shawshank Redemption. I'll get there.
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 21:37:37 GMT -5
Yeah, the fossil pile if from out on the prairie. Just rinsed off a couple different bucketloads and layed it all out together to dry.
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 19:39:16 GMT -5
Besides, plenty of manageable stuff laying around ...
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 15:54:40 GMT -5
I cut the photo off but that boulder is about 3'x5' square and a foot and a half thick, so I'd have to break it down partially at least just to move it. Probably not worth the trouble.
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 15:46:35 GMT -5
Don, I do run over to Rapid occasionally but not regularly. I've considered visiting the School of Mines to see if they'd rent me a geology student for a couple days to help identify stuff You mentioned the Crawford show in a reply to one of my agate posts and I've got it marked on my calendar, hope to see you there. Fossilman you'd be welcome to stop by --- I might even go nuts and take you out for coffee or something. At the least you could wander around and look at rocks. Message me if you head this direction. TimS
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 13:15:21 GMT -5
I'm located in northeast wyoming right at the edge of the black hills. I mostly hunt forest service land in the hills or oilfields on blm land out on thae prairie. I see a lot of agate, jasper and quartz in the hills, and fossils and the occasional artifact out on the flats. Agate is my favorite and I've bought a couple of books so far, plus I do research online which is usually more useful than the books. I've visited several rock shops around the hills but they want to sell, not inform. Odd but there are no local rock clubs here. I'm hoping to attend a couple rock shows in cody wy and nebraska this summer and maybe can meet some people there with more regional knowledge but I'm relying on the help of online rockers more than anything. I may reconsider picking up some equipment if I can make room ... I'm a self-employed computer tech with a home office but if I get rich and famous id like to build a small shop on the empty lot behind my home. Thanks for your suggestions they're appreciated.
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 12:36:28 GMT -5
Don you must have posted while I was typing. I'll keep that method in mind, lots of my smaller yard stuff is limestone bound as well.
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 12:32:23 GMT -5
This for once is not in my yard but at teepee canyon. They're teepee agate which doesn't get very pretty til the center. I think I'll just forget about them, I've got lots of similar agate already, but figured i'd ask in case someone knew a magic trick Thanks all.
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 0:37:48 GMT -5
I've been fond of kicking rocks since I was a kid (mid-40s now) but never took time to pay attention to formation, location, identification etc. A few years ago I inherited a field collection which I've lived with without giving it a second thought. Now something has clicked and I've developed a real curiosity about rocks.
I know this is primarily a lapidary website (I found it researching tumblers) but browsing the forum there also seems to be a ton of general information about rocks. I fantasize about buying some equipment but for now don't have a workspace outside my house, plus I'm saw-shy from past employment in a wood shop. For now my goal is to clean and sort and try to identify my jumbled collection but that could be a long process, so I'll probably lurk here and ask inappropriate questions and hope to learn a few things along the way.
Also, thanks to the regulars who've already made me feel welcome by allowing me to participate. If I get too obnoxious posting photos or asking questions please let me know.
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Post by tims on Jun 19, 2015 0:05:11 GMT -5
Too much matrix to consider taking this whole: 3 visible fist-size agate nodules. The 2 on the right look like there may be another above them just beneath the surface, and there are a few spots of color and druse that suggest there may be many nodules that aren't visible. Anyone know a good trick to release these? Sledge and a chisel?
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Post by tims on Jun 18, 2015 23:44:50 GMT -5
I like the little tater chip slab. The Brazilians are very pretty. That brecciated jasper has a real 3D effect to it, it looks like it should just crumble in your hand
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Post by tims on Jun 18, 2015 1:21:36 GMT -5
That's gorgeous with all the different color combos and the variations in formation / design. I've been curious about what people do with agate that exhibits multiple faces and can't wait to see what you do with this.
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Post by tims on Jun 14, 2015 20:33:27 GMT -5
Slow going, everything I want to do seems to require something else gets done first. Spent today trimming around a couple big lilacs and clearing more of the front yard, and actually got a few rocks laid down (though I imagine they'll get shuffled around some more before I'm done). So, a ton more pictures because my phone camera is nice and light
The triangular patch where the cats are sitting is now cleared and ready for sheeting and rock:
Here are the lilacs that will be surrounded by rock:
I found some expanded metal grating that I'm hoping to use for tables along the side of this shed, going to haggle for them tomorrow:
Anyone need an outhouse?
Much more excavating to do. Here's a big half-submerged coral-looking critter with some misc. rocks I was able to rescue without a shovel. The whole area (probably 300 square feet) is littered with rock from loose piles and long-ago disintegrated wooden tables: Big agates being absorbed under a tree: Shovel work that might wait til next Spring as it's growing over fast (the small grate I set out early this Spring while hand picking little stuff):
Here's one side of my front porch that will be getting a pile and a stone path. Not much left to clear out but I have to trim up a couple fruit trees to make it accessible:
50 feet of hard labor coming to excavate the pile along the front fence, it's anywhere from 1' to 3' high above ground and anywhere up to a foot below ground. It's not stacked quite as deep on the far side of the fence but total there's some tonnage involved:
There are also about a dozen misc. piles that I've found scattered around other spots in the yard:
The other side of my front porch filling in:
I'm hoping to hire some help to haul off limbs / brush etc. in the next couple of days and should have table material soon, so with luck and some sunshine there may be some visible progress by next weekend. Oh, and anyone who hasn't read Tom Sawyer is welcome to stop by and help, it's a whole lot of fun!
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Post by tims on Jun 13, 2015 22:52:42 GMT -5
snowmom I'd say the vast majority is from the Black Hills of SD, Northern Wyoming and nearby vicinity. AFAIK my grandparents (the original collectors) didn't purchase items for their collection, but they also didn't document anything so with some of it anything's possible. Epidote feldspar is listed as being native to the Black Hills, and the mottled red matrix is common enough around here. As for polishing, I have no equipment and zero experience. All my free time atm is going into digging and washing and moving rocks, but I have no idea what to do with any of this material long term. I'm hoping to learn a little about lapidary work via osmosis on the boards here so I welcome ideas or suggestions on how to put these rocks to good use.
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Post by tims on Jun 12, 2015 22:46:27 GMT -5
Fossilman here's something I haven't seen before, crystal baculite:
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