elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 24, 2011 1:51:14 GMT -5
It looks a lot like Bullseye Agate (though I believe it is a rhyolite).
It comes from the Goldfield Gem Claim in Nevada, about 25 miles south of Tonopah.
I'll see if I have some photos to compare.
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 23, 2011 12:55:35 GMT -5
I'm cheating here. A while back I made a trade with gr(gary) and wound up putting away my side before photographing them. I wound up getting some colorful pieces of AZ wood, some local jaspers, some quartz crystals which will be perfect for my students to analyze, oh and what else.... Oh! He also sent a batch of barite nodules he collected in Holbrook which I asked him about. I wanted to see more of them. Heavy little suckers. He also put in some geodes from the midwest that are very pretty. Thanks Gary! (Sorry no photos) As for Mel, He sent back a book I had wanted him to read - one on Parasites - as he says, not one for dinner conversation. Anyway, he returned the book with a medium flat rate box for ballast. Inside were a batch of polished stones for classroom and club use, a box of carefully wrapped preforms. (I told him that this was one of the nicest yet cruelest gifts I have ever received as now that I'm going back to school, I gotta find time to finish them all), and three pieces of shrinkwood - which I am fascinated by. Oh, and a slab. I do have pictures of these (sorry Gary- I was a little proactive in organizing what you sent). (I put the preforms in the bead box to organize them.) So thank you Mel. That box is a great back to school treat... Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 21, 2011 16:28:19 GMT -5
I like them! I like them a lot!
But wasn't there a the cow that jumped over that last one???
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 21, 2011 16:24:57 GMT -5
Oh, that's a fine box you have. I, also, am in the market for one. I'm tired of having to drag my stuff in the sun or under lamps to shoot photos. Beautiful stuff!!!
Can't wait to see what else you put under the box!!!
I also saw your photo in the This Is Me Thread. What's the matter - couldn't you fit in your new purchase???
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 20, 2011 19:11:29 GMT -5
You're welcome Mel.
Glad you liked it.
Love that shrinkwood!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 20, 2011 19:06:42 GMT -5
Went to a sale in Pasadena today of a long time collector. I'd run his credentials but that would bore you. Let's look at rocks. The place had lots of equipment and material. I missed out on the large chunks of Wingate pass that were found. Also, a hollow chunk of Holly Blue the size of your palm was picked up. There was jade, Texas Springs limb casts, montana agate, lots of pet wood, palm wood, rhodonite, chunks of lavic siding jasper, oregon picture jasper, howlite, obsidian, and lots more. Most of these items went for $1 to $2 a pound. The place was selling misc nodules fro .25 cents a pound. Hundreds of pounds were piled up against the back fence. There was woodward ranch, horse canyon, cady mountains, nipomo, hauser nodules, and a host of other materials. This is my misc pile: My favorite picks from the pile I'll post later. Of course there were other things, like bags of fire agate: (Bought 2 $10 and 1 $5 bag - lots of windowed specimens) and small packages of material perfect for kids: Carnelian: Indian paint rocks: Picture jaspers: Slabs: I got to the slabs late in the party and only poured over the dregs, but there were some fun pieces. It is the first time I've bought slabs for use as cabochons. These two are new to my collection: Bullion Mountains (now part of 29 Palms base) and Paisley agate from Thumb Butte, Ca My favorite individual find was this 4 lb chunk of luna for $8: My favorite finds of the day were the piles of thundereggs from Lead Pipe Springs. There were slabs, halves and broken pieces. The bright blue interior against the red rhyolite is purty! It was very enjoyable. Part II of the sale will be held on Sept 10th. Prices will be slashed at noon! Thanks for looking, Lowell
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elementary
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Cab #2
Aug 17, 2011 14:18:07 GMT -5
Post by elementary on Aug 17, 2011 14:18:07 GMT -5
Thanks Stu for your high praise, but I can't imagine getting to Bobby's or HPD's level or fisherman's talent (I could name others but I don't have room. (BTW I miss Dan, I gotta tell you. See what happens when you move to a place that has sunshine. You just don't stay indoors as much... ) Anyway, thank you for all your comments. I've got a batch of rock going out to be slabbed. I'll post those when they come back. Can't wait to do more. As for the polish, though I've not cabbed in the past, I have been doing contour polishing for years. The lessons learned there regarding final polish are paying dividends now. As for the shaping, one of my club members gave me a two hour lesson a while back, and he's an ex-teacher, so we get along great, and his words were gold. Again, you all are incredibly kind. Keep on grinding! Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 17, 2011 14:10:52 GMT -5
Kramer Hills is still open. I've got a bucket of stuff from there, but not the color of your material. This place is actually on my hit list for one of my next trips out. It's an easy drive. The problem is the size of the site. There are digs in several locations that target different material.
There's dendritic material, opalite and agate at the old Key Kay (or is that Kay Kee) site. Rough scattered all about the ground.
A few years ago I took the husband and son of my principal out there. Within five minutes from leaving the car, the son (about 10/11 years old at the time) comes over with a rock in his hand that is the size of his hand. He asks if it is petrified wood. Now, I've not had the pleasure of finding wood of any size there, so I'm about ready to say "No" but then I take a closer look. Yep. Little guy (grr) found a nice piece of petrified wood. He displayed it at the country fair a couple years ago and got a blue ribbon for his age class.
There is also one solitary hole there that I've come across that produces purple.
I'll post the next time I go,
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 16, 2011 13:04:25 GMT -5
Thanks all for the kind words. I know this poem is a little dark, but I am putting together a children's poetry book that is MUCH lighter. I just need to find the time with all my other projects.
My last published poem (about 8 years ago) is called "A Visit to the KKK Website". I was doing a report on genocide for graduate school (much DARKER) and wanted to examine lynchings in the south, which led me to the KKK website. Lo and behold, it actually had a gift shop!!! The idea that the KKK would find it economically viable to have one was astounding.
A lot of things suck right now. In government you have those who want to give away the kitchen sink and you have others who don't want to give away anything at all. We have an economic system riddled with short-term profiteers and special interest groups that will destroy the whole to save their small part. On the streets you have kids who are entitled to a sickening degree, and you have a massive proliferation citizens who want all they can get without following the rules. Fraud runs rampant. Corporations shield themselves to maximize profits. Most everyone is out for themselves, it seems. Ah - we are rife with egocentrics: Hence, a poem of mine from the 1990's:
Ode to the Egocentric
I am the Egocentric. I am the center of all. I will not be forgotten. I hold all people in thrall.
I am the center of everything. Don’t you ever forget that. I am the reason the earth Is round and not pressed flat.
There is a life worth living – That life must be, well, mine! I am that best kept secret. I am that unique wine.
The prophets saw me coming. False psychics cower in shame. Cult leaders crave my knowledge. The Pope even knows my name.
They all have one thing in common: They know just what I am – I am the Egocentric, And I am my greatest fan!
(Still too serious, though it shouldn't. Try this kids poem:)
Eskimos
Eskimos Just so you knows Have ten frigid fingers And ten frigid toes. They have noses that are frozen From their exposure to the snows And have clothes to protect them From the below freezing lows.
Eskimos Just so you knows Have houses in a place Where I never plan to goes. They are not very close, These homes they have chose, And though the Northern Lights are pretty Who wants polar bears as foes?
So long:
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 15, 2011 22:57:27 GMT -5
Note to self:
No metal umbrellas in the backyard.
Remove all aerials.
No night putting of any kind.
Avoid Utah! ___
Really an awesome display. Great camera work.
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 15, 2011 21:53:59 GMT -5
To all,
I have stated elsewhere that I have been writing for the first time in a while. Most of what I have been writing has been prose related, but for one major exception; this poem derived from the massacre in Norway a few weeks ago.
The repeated phrase that gives the poem its title (Red Is Blood) came to me while listening to my pastor speak. His comments ranged from the recent attack in Norway to other similar topics. As he spoke, I shut my eyes and visualized the photos I had seen, especially the one with the bodies of young people scattered across the rocky shore of this tiny Norwegian island. I couldn't imagine being put in that situation. Being at church, I also couldn't shake one of the tenets of Christianity, that being forgiveness, and I wondered how the people so affected by this murderous assault would counter their faith with their emotional responses.
My daughter is half Norwegian. My wife's family (both sides) came over from Norway two generations ago. Many were fishermen, some of whom never returned from the sea. They talk about these lost souls in a way that indicated these losses were expected and part of the ancient traditions of fishing. If you went out, there was a chance you wouldn't return. These recent deaths were much different.
There are no answers in the poem. This poem is just my way of dealing with these thoughts and questions. I really don't know if it's any good, but if it makes you ponder or consider or think about things in a new manner, or if it invokes any emotional response, then it does its job.
If you take your time to read it, please do it aloud. It should have a ebb and flow and rhythm. Silent reading will limit that aspect of the poem
Thank you for coming down this road with me, Lowell
Red is Blood
Red is blood. Red is hate. Is ignorance Is pain. Is fury Red is hollow.
Today. On this day. There is red on the rocks And on the trees And in the water. There is red on shirts And hands and on legs and faces And on scattered shoes And on the ground. There is red all over the ground.
They do not understand this alien landscape. These young people. These random victims. These targets. Comprehension eludes As they are chased And red covers the ground.
Red is fire. Red is anger. Is flash. Is rage. Is sorrow. Red is mourning.
Today. On this day. Red expands from the streets Engulfs buildings Pulls at their facades. Red scatters pedestrians Blows out windows Imbeds itself into concrete and steel And consciousness. Red spreads across asphalt Spinning, twirling, congealing, Passes from bodies to hands To legs to the ground. There is so much red on the ground.
Red is brilliance Radiating from foci So strong it kills Snuffing out life like candles.
Who chose this calamity To befall these people On a day drenched in sun Blue waters, green foliage, shining glass, and white marble?
Who allowed this world to be drenched in red?
People kneel, stand, sit, lay, bleed, die. Are they victims Are they guilty Are they damned Are they innocent Are they ascending Are they lost Are they remembered?
Red lingers In doubt and confusion And faith And millions of red roses.
Red is salvation Red is sacrifice. Is forgiveness. Is compassion. Is selfless. Red is God.
Today. On this day. Red cries from the streets Emanates from the town squares And pours from cathedral doorways. Red demands peace and absolution Advises patience and understanding Provides wisdom and context.
In this moment red confronts red Bitterness engages love Fellowship rebuffs revenge Impulse smothers reason Old conflicts new
And the color red Red is blood Covers this Northern Land Red is sacrifice Testing its people’s resolve Red is redemption To their individual souls.
Red is blood.
8-1-11 Lowell Foster
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 15, 2011 18:00:36 GMT -5
Hey Colt!!!
Everything will be okay just as long as you don't start singing Selena Gomez's "I love you like a love song" ballad... :cheesy:
(and if you all are wonderin' why I know these songs, it's because I teach 6th grade and I get to hear about it all the time.... and the local mall won't stop pumping these tunes through the aisles... :help:
Steve Excellent. Awe inspiring. Droolworthy. And incredible. Wonderful display all around and drives mine to shame. Truly...my rocks right now feel shame... All my rocks desire to be put back in the ground for Steve to find and coddle. They won't even look at me right now... Do you know how hard it is to look an agate in the eye? Most don't even have one! They keep referring me to potatoes. And I bet I don't even need to tell you how hard it is to polish a potato. It makes my Titan all gummy and creates something akin to hash browns. Yuck. Do you know what my garage smells like now?
But enough of my pandering to your lapidary display quality. I must criticize you. YES!!!! Even I must criticize the work ethic of you! I know you said elsewhere you like sawing more than polishing. I don't care.... You must polish. Polish polish polish. Else you deprive me of my covetous ways...which for collectors is indispensable as it drives us to do more ourselves. Are you implying that you are better than us? Teasing us with unseen cuts scarcely mentioned, hinted at, and never revealed to us in their shiny glory? "Oh my rocks satisfy me even at the cutting stage." I can hear you cooing, hovering over your saw, cradling little mexican nodules as if they had just been born: "If I take these glorious creations to the heights of shininess, their inner beauty will be destroyed. They need not be covered in cerium oxide. Others make them like beautiful women who cover themselves in too much makeup! I WILL NOT DESTROY WHAT NATURE CREATED PERFECT!!!! My agates will go forth into the world bare naked and natural!!!" Ah yes, Steve. I denounce this, Steve, as an unfair hobby practice. You must polish and you must post. Go forth into the garage and be anti-social!!! Ignore the people and walls and phone and knocking on the door. Go hermitize yourself and DON'T come back until you have fulfilled your obligations and produced a masterpiece of perfect lines, harmonious colors, and unfettered glossiness. GO NOW!!!!
(This message brought to you by the Lapidary Association of America. [LAA]).
(I really shouldn't drink coffee in the afternoon...)
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 15, 2011 17:33:02 GMT -5
Christopher,
Looking forward to seeing you again. Saw your note elsewhere and I'll tell you when I head out for some diggin in the desert.
As for this agate, it sounds like the sale had a lot of good material, not just local stuff, but if the guy lived in your area (or within couple hundred miles of it) I am wondering about Nipomo. That location is across the hills from you and there was a lot from out there bouncing around, mostly horded now, no new stuff. It is famous for its sagenite (bean field agates) Go back to the Agates with Inclusions site (your link is blocked from here) and glance through those. Your inclusions are black/brown, and Nipomo runs through a bunch of colors including those your specimen possesses. Might be it.
If it is a Myrink Springs, that's a huge rarity. It's a closed location on Fort Irwin and has been closed for quite a long time.
If Nipomo doesn't pan out, I agree that texas might be worth a look.
Oh, and POST YOUR UNKNOWN SLABS!!! I love a good guessin' game!
Nice score!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 15, 2011 11:07:21 GMT -5
Sorry, it doesn't exactly look like a montana to me.
The outer rind, the hole, and the inclusion/pitted interior doesn't match my inner view of the Yellowstone River material.
I could be wrong, but I'm trying to think of what it does remind me of.
What else did you get at that estate sale?!!!!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 15, 2011 10:58:40 GMT -5
FYI - my club is hosting a seminar (Costs $85 though, but is very worth it if you are a Pet wood person) by a guy who travels the world doing these classes. One of the people who might be there is Steven Wolfe who comes to our show each year. He has allowed me to poach his images from his website for use in the Agate Index. He brings his ID kit to the show and it's fascinating how they take their special microscopes to observe the cell structures and use that info to id oak, maple, ash, etc. Basically, they are the cutting edge of this field. It is very worth the $ if you can do it. Sorry for the short notice, but I just received the notice today for publication. Lowell
PETRIFIED WOOD SEMINAR Lecturer: Walt Wright, Paleobotanist August 26-28, 2011 ABOUT THE SEMINAR: This is an opportunity to learn about the complex and beautiful world of petrified wood. Become more knowledgeable about the woods in your own collection and about what and where to collect and buy. Learn about the fossilization of wood: it’s age, origin and occurrence. Learn how to identify different kinds of petrified wood yourself with simple tools. The intensive 2 1/2 day seminar will emphasize identification of petrified wood, with samples from Walt Wright’s extensive collection as from those brought by participants. You may bring a few pieces of petrified wood for Walt to identify. You should plan to bring a good 10X or 20X magnifying lense. Recommended reading includes the following books: William D. Tidwell, Common Plants of North America, 2nd edition, Bruce Hoadley: Identifying Wood: Accurate Results with Simple Tools. Walt will bring a selection of books on petrified wood available for you to purchase at the seminar. There is much to learn about Petrified Wood: more than can be covered in just one seminar. Each of Walt’s seminars is a little different. Each one contributes more to your understanding. So, even if you have attended prior seminars; you will improve your knowledge of this fascinating subject. ABOUT THE LECTURER: Walt Wright, a renowned paleobotanist, has probably identified more petrified wood than anyone else in the world. For the past 15 years he has been conducting Petrified Wood Identification Seminars. Walt’s career has included being an educator, naturalist, geologist, botanist and biologist, as well as a paleobotanist. Dates and times: August 26, Friday 6:00 pm. To 8:00 pm. August 27, Saturday 9:00 am. to 9:00 pm. August 29, Sunday 9:00 am, to 5:00 pm. Location: Ventura Community Service Center 420 E. Santa Clara St. Ventura, CA Cost $85.00 Contact: Ron Wise clintwise@hotmail.com 805-647-4393
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 14, 2011 18:49:00 GMT -5
I really like that montana!
With the yellow on top, it's like looking down a valley. With the yellow on the bottom, it's a wasp, hornet, or firefly. (Or some kind of bug.) Very cool.
(That texas stuff is nice too.)
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 14, 2011 18:41:07 GMT -5
I know there's a place between Santa Fe, NM and Taos that I believe is famous for the fairy crosses. I remember going into one mineral store in Taos and they were selling the lil guys for 8 bucks each. It would be neat if you have access to a relatively untouched source.
Congratulations!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 13, 2011 19:09:53 GMT -5
Pretty place! Wonderful trip!
Uh, Has your grandson reached the "enough with the trees, grandpa, where are the girls?" stage yet?
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 13, 2011 18:59:25 GMT -5
I'm glad my humor has been accepted and acknowledged. It's been a joy to read. I no longer feel guilt regarding this, um, post...
Hey Weeshan,
If you want to receive a small package in the mail, just PM me your address and I'll send you it!
I don't really need it. Don't know what I can do with it. Displaying it might get me a ticket or arrested. That wouldn't be good.
If you can make use of this thing, then I'll be more than happy to part with it.
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Aug 13, 2011 18:51:10 GMT -5
This summer I've been writing more than working on stones, somehow penning over 125 pages. I've completed rough drafts of two stories and am on page 63 of what is winding up being a novel (not my intention when I began it.) I've also written a poem on the Norway massacre for my church, and they are sending it over to a sister church across the Atlantic. (Funny thing: the last time I wrote fiction was three years ago, and I put together a 30 page children's story slightly inspired by Winnie the Pooh. It's about a young girl and her father trying to save her mother. 10 years ago I wrote a few fantasy stories for some friends. 20 years ago I wrote a 120 page novel for 5 other friends that was comedy through and through. Now I am writing horror. -- Not exactly gross-out horror, but scary/spooky/uncomfortable stories. Must be the economy... Go figure...) Regarding stones, I even skipped displaying at the Ventura Co. Fair which has been going on the past two weeks. Well, maybe I've been cured...I went to the fair Thursday and looked at all the displays (very wonderful) but kept on seeing things that made me feel I would have been competitive. So yesterday I sat down at the wheels and cranked out a batch of material. My 2nd cab (see related thread), and a bunch of nodules from across the globe: Botswana: Australia (Agate Creek): Mozambique (pretty sure of this I.D.) South America (Condor #1) (my wife is stealing to display at her work) South America (Condor #2) (((Bonus [Condor #3] - a condor I did months ago but never posted on its own, if I remember right....If it's a repeat, well, it's still purty...) Together - The Agate Family And finally, this morning I thought I finished a Baker Egg from New Mexico, but a crack appeared in the exact middle of the egg while polishing. ERRRRRR. I'll be grinding down the middle to eliminate the flaw and repolishing, but I figure I'd post it anyways. Thanks for looking, as always. Lowell
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