lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Aug 8, 2022 20:09:55 GMT -5
Photo #246 This Brazilian Agate was difficult to photograph. The dark colors and mirror polish really confused my camera. With 100F heat + humidity outside, I didn't want to bother trying an outdoor shoot. My cats wanted to help me with the photos, but, still got a bunch of blurry images...anyhow, you get the idea. My fingerprints show in the second photo below, but, the cats face was too hilarious for me to pass over...    
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Aug 12, 2022 20:40:35 GMT -5
Photo #247 A chunk of Variegated Tiger's Eye. I know everyone likes glare photos, but, sometimes it is nice to see the stone.
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Aug 15, 2022 17:55:09 GMT -5
Photo #248 - Mozambique Agate + Lavender Albino Ball Python 
This agate came in quite a variety of colors and patterns. A lot of my rough was heavily pitted and 90% is still WIP (Work In Progress). I realize I forgot to add a quarter for size comparison. Here is a one dollar (U.S.) bill for scale (pun intended) on the snake (for reference).  I like to think the woman on the note is pointing at the ball python.  |
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Aug 17, 2022 14:26:05 GMT -5
The other day I visited Hampton Beach, NH. I like to visit the little stores and snap a lot of quick photos:  Fake stones, how disappointing:  Real stones from the same store...do you think $45 is a good price?  What is funny is that if I flip through the Love stones, some of them are repeated in the Prosperity stones...  I see a growing trend of these 'Aura' Quartz coated stones. I don't really have a problem with it if they are boring cloudy crystals that have been colored up.  Some of them look quite nice up close.  I am not so much of a fan of taking a nicer stones like amethyst which IMO looks nice even in muted tones and dying it some outrageous color. I'm sure some kids would love these though!  There is a Village Silversmith store at the beach. They sell higher end rock/mineral specimens. I have been to several of their sites across Massachusetts. Side Story: Many years ago I had them give me a quote once for a complete cleaned and articulated adult Cave Bear Skeleton. In retrospect the price was quite reasonable (by todays standards)...I should have bought it at the time.  A lot of nice stuff.  An entire cathedral Aura coated-pretty impressive-if not gaudy...:  I told my gf she pick out whatever she wanted:  She said she wanted more Bumblebee Jasper...and they did not have any...so picky!  She told me I should pick out something to buy:  This is what i bought (from another store):  A lot of pits, questionable tumbles...probably a real challenge to get a good polish...  I guess I will just eat them then...  The larger ones are malt balls. The smaller ones have raisins or peanuts. A bit disappointing...back in the day there was a lot more variation in the candy rock mixes...  |
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Aug 18, 2022 18:49:55 GMT -5
Photo #249 Brazilian Agate
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
|
Post by lordsorril on Sept 4, 2022 16:44:11 GMT -5
Photo #250 Brazilian Agate This piece has these little squiggle marks throughout the patterning which is innate to the stone...I had originally tried to grind them out lol....can't see them unless the stone is in bright light... Ball python is a Mojave so of course it has a weird yellow-green color going on. Alternate Stone Angle: 
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 7, 2022 10:23:49 GMT -5
Photo #251 Some more local rocks, Central MA, USA.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Sept 7, 2022 23:52:31 GMT -5
Another cool picture. You have blue rocks in your backyard? Where are you? Thanks, They do look blue! I live in Central Massachusetts. This type of stone can be found pretty much everywhere here, it is so plentiful that people used it in their stone walls marking the edge of their property, and there are boulders of it sitting in the woods by my house. I try only to collect and tumble the 'good stuff' (pictured). It looks semi-translucent prior to tumbling and then it looks opaque afterwards. My first batch was a real disappointment as I thought it might be crystalline and translucent, but, regardless the appearance has been growing on me over time...  Man if I had money I would pay you to send me a box of those blue stones! Being in NW Ohio sucks for Rock hounding because literally the fanciest thing I can find here is Quartz and Quartzite, I found 1 unakite since I started hunting, and more granite than I care to talk about lol The snakes are awesome, as are the rocks, but the Kittahs man the kittahs get me every time, I have 2 kittahs myself. Mine however are Meowing Dogs, they are CONSTANTALY on me wanting love, never bite or claw, and act literally more like dogs than any cat I have ever had(i am 47 and i have had cats since i was like 3 lol) |
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 8, 2022 4:28:45 GMT -5
Thanks, They do look blue! I live in Central Massachusetts. This type of stone can be found pretty much everywhere here, it is so plentiful that people used it in their stone walls marking the edge of their property, and there are boulders of it sitting in the woods by my house. I try only to collect and tumble the 'good stuff' (pictured). It looks semi-translucent prior to tumbling and then it looks opaque afterwards. My first batch was a real disappointment as I thought it might be crystalline and translucent, but, regardless the appearance has been growing on me over time... Man if I had money I would pay you to send me a box of those blue stones! Being in NW Ohio sucks for Rock hounding because literally the fanciest thing I can find here is Quartz and Quartzite, I found 1 unakite since I started hunting, and more granite than I care to talk about lol The snakes are awesome, as are the rocks, but the Kittahs man the kittahs get me every time, I have 2 kittahs myself. Mine however are Meowing Dogs, they are CONSTANTALY on me wanting love, never bite or claw, and act literally more like dogs than any cat I have ever had(i am 47 and i have had cats since i was like 3 lol) Thank you! Thank you! That grey-blue feldspar and some patterned serpentinite is the only thing I have in my immediate area that is not quartzish that will tumble well. I like to imagine that some day I will find a piece that will come out like labradorite. As for the cats: my gf really wanted a dog, but, I refused because we spend so much time working-so we made a concession. A quick trip to the shelter and two kittens picked us out. The rest is history...  Photo #252
Snake was very uncooperative for this photo shoot. Took this shot and said 'good enough' lol... |
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 13, 2022 8:31:01 GMT -5
Photo #254 Brazilian Agate with another Mojave ball python, I really like the patterning on this stone (and the snakes is good too ).
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 13, 2022 19:13:44 GMT -5
I was sitting down for breakfast today and my gf stopped as she walked past and said: "What the hell are you doing now? Did you put an agate in your cereal???" I did not justify that question with a response, I think the physics were obvious.  |
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 14, 2022 20:05:09 GMT -5
Photo #255 More New England stones: some don't round out evenly, and others are tough to get a polish on.
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 16, 2022 11:05:30 GMT -5
Since I had a few days off this week I went to a rock store in CT I have been meaning to visit for a while. I would have liked to post some images, but, customer relations were....poor at best...and the store manager demanded that I delete all my photos after he overheard me mention to my gf that some of the pieces were being sold as 'natural' at a huge markup when they were clearly artificially created and thus priced/labeled improperly. I will not mention the name of the store because I don't care to give them any free advertisement. If you find your ever find yourself in a rock store in CT that is charging $15/lb. for substandard tumbling rough from Brazil: you will know where I was... |
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 17, 2022 6:18:41 GMT -5
Photo #257 Green epidote in matrix from the Great Lakes Region? I thought green epidote had a Mohs value of 7 and the matrix has a Mohs value of 7 and the yet the 'green' areas have a value of 6. I was not expecting undercutting. I only paid shipping on the original piece...so I'm not heartbroken over the results. I have not tumbled epidote before so I'm not certain if I ran into a hardness or characteristic issue or if this is something completely different. Did get polish on the green and the yellow areas together, but, the stones are a mess lol. If someone recognizes this stone as something else, please let me know (video below of me breaking it up the original piece). No, I don't have a saw lol.
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 20, 2022 19:22:31 GMT -5
Photo #259 More New England granite...Whooo!!!!!!
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 938
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Post by lordsorril on Sept 21, 2022 14:00:01 GMT -5
Took this photo for fun.  Makes tumbled dyed crackle quartz very dramatic lol... |
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