Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 18, 2009 12:31:39 GMT -5
Howdy folks, Went to the Fredericksburg Gem Club show yesterday with some friends and then on a short rock hunt afterward. Show was enormously crowded. Lots of vendors but not much rough and slabs except for ultra expensive slabs at a few booths. Didn't find much new but picked up a couple of things. Here are a couple of pics: Henderson Ranch Agate. ( I've heard of Anderson Ranch but not Henderson). Supposedly a neighbor of the Woodward ranch that seldom allows collecting. My camera hates full sun. Oranges in the pics are actually reds. Looks like a close relative of Cathedral Agate but a little different. Curt: This one's a question for you. Looks like palm fiber on the outside but more bone looking on the inside. I think you posted some once from your part of Texas . Can't remember what you said it was. Nice hunk of Pata De Galo for $2. Again, more red than in pic: And finally, a couple of finds from yesterdays rock hunt with my friends, my very first piece of regular looking pet wood from the ranch stream and a huge gastropod 4" long. The wood ain't much but shows it's here. It'll head for the tumbler next load.
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Post by texaswoodie on Jan 18, 2009 13:38:06 GMT -5
The elongated fibers have me, Mel. I can only speak for what we have around here. The fibers are always round, even in the squashed logs. This was either cut at an angle or it's from somewhere besides E. Texas. The color, if correct doesn't look like ET either. It's not Snakewood. Some sort of palm is all I can think of. Nicely agatized cells whatever it is.
That Pata De Galo is nice!
Curt
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 18, 2009 17:37:17 GMT -5
Thanks Curt.Dang, must've seen the pics of that stuff somewheres else. It is cut straight across the grain and I agree, the shape and distribution of the cells doesn't look like the palm I'm used to. More similar to a weird hunk of wood I have from the eastern Mojave desert near Sperry Wash but with more compact cells. Shucks, now I'm gonna have to try to remember where I saw it. Guy I got it from just knew it was Texas wood....Mel
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Post by Bikerrandy on Jan 19, 2009 11:06:18 GMT -5
The slabs in the first pic are cool!!
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Post by beefjello on Jan 19, 2009 11:40:23 GMT -5
Killer finds there Mel! Great pick ups at the rock show too! That 'wormy wood' looks a lot like the slab I picked up at the Rock-a Rama show a couple months ago Ronda has a similar piece as well.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 19, 2009 12:01:32 GMT -5
Hah! I knew I saw that stuff somewhere Brian. Tht'a definitely the same material! Thanks for reposting your pic. Now the big question is, did the guy you got yours from know what the heck kind of stuff it is? I posted the pic on fossilweb and the experts there say its not wood at all. Now I'm wondering what is it, some kind of bone?....Mel
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Post by beefjello on Jan 19, 2009 12:39:58 GMT -5
Mel, the guy I got mine from said he thought it was some kind of palm. I'm pretty sure it's not. Ronda said she was told the same when she picked up her slab. Hmm..
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 19, 2009 13:46:49 GMT -5
Brain, The fossilweb folks said definitely not palm as the vascular bundles are not distributed or shaped like those in palm. They did not say what it was but were very firm on what it was not *L*. They wanted me to post a photomicrograph of a thin section. I'll go through all my fossil wood books and see if I can find a match....Mel
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Post by akansan on Jan 19, 2009 15:31:52 GMT -5
Brian saved me from answering - I was indeed also told "I think it's palm" when I bought this guy: I've been curious about it since I purchased it, as it didn't look like any palm I had seen around. I'll be interested to hear what the fossil guys say!
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Post by frane on Jan 19, 2009 16:03:15 GMT -5
Those look really neat Mel. Now we have to find out this mystery about what this "wood"is. Seems like a lot of folks have it too. I especially like that Henderson ranch agate! That is going to really make some nice cabs!
Fran
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Post by Tonyterner on Jan 19, 2009 19:23:57 GMT -5
I don't know much about pet wood but I do know quite a bit about live wood. Its hard to believe that the agatized areas would be worm holes. There are far too many of them and they are too evenly spaced and shaped. Other than that small tidbit of opinion I can't help much.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 19, 2009 21:04:06 GMT -5
The fossilweb guy said maybe wood infested with fungus before being fossilized might show that sort of pattern....Mel
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 20, 2009 17:25:19 GMT -5
So the two questions seem to be: What is it? and Why don't I have any yet?
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