elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 13, 2010 2:39:51 GMT -5
Sorry - No "You Were There" photos. I tend to jump out of the car once we reach a destination, grab my stuff, and then hunt hunt hunt. Here's what I picked up a week and a half ago in the North Cady's accessed via Basin Road. Ron Wise (field trip chairman for my club) and myself took off to Barstow Thursday night, hit a motel about 1:00 am - woke up about 5:00 am and headed down the highway. We started at the nodule field we came across last time out. It is about 2/3 of an acre, flat, at the top of group of hills. It looks like the agates just weathered out of the basalt and lay there, baking, for years. Last time there Ron had found a large sagenite agate. We hoped to find more. Here's my haul of agates: Larger Nodules Bucket o' nodules Bin of those showing sagenite (most are not going to be polishable - they are too fractured or not agatized enough, but we'll see Two individuals - one with some strange growths... One with a pitty spray: Then we pulled down the wrong canyon and saw a stack of rocks by a draw. We decided to investigate to see why someone would do this. We found jasper eroding from the side of the draw. It looked heavily worked but the patterns (moss and brecciated) were very intriguing. After a 1/2 hour I went back to the truck (it was 108 degrees by then.) I had about 3/4 of a bucket of the material. It's a mixed lot. Some show great pattern but are fractured. Some of the moss will undercut. I would have been more discerning but I was melting on that slope. I went through gallons of water that half day. Here's the chunky jasper/agate stuff: We then found the correct route and followed it for a little bit for exploration sake, but it was getting really hot and decided to head back to Diamond Pacific - which is where I got the Queensland material and Titan - which I wrote about elsewhere. Next time I'll take photos of the where as well as the what... Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 13, 2010 2:18:09 GMT -5
Craig,
Once you get it, it works.
In photobucket, I click on the image to get it on the screen by itself. There are four codes on the left side. Click on the bottom one - the IMG, copy it or it says copied. Paste directly onto the page.
My brackets are [ ]. They are not ( ) or { }.
If I make it up to your place on the 21st, give me a shot at helping you.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 11, 2010 13:30:37 GMT -5
Now that stuff is downright pretty!
I'm always amazed at your excellent material and am glad to see you around the virtual neighborhood,
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 11, 2010 11:22:20 GMT -5
I usually like faces in stones, but this guy leers too much for me. This creepy eye-staring guy seems to be saying: "Psst, hey, o'er here. Ye want some candy? heh heh heh."
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 11, 2010 11:01:50 GMT -5
The end cut looks like the fungus tendrils you get in mulch piles...
I like it!
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 9, 2010 23:13:06 GMT -5
;D I say, Mel, you've certainly got the Texan Tall Tale down pat!!!
Excellent yarn!!! (I know, one based on a true story!)
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 9, 2010 2:22:19 GMT -5
Is it also demanding it needs a nice home in sunny SoCal? I'm hearing that pretty clearly right now...
Perfect piece and great ear to catch what needed to be done!
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 9, 2010 2:19:32 GMT -5
I should have read your cabochon posting a little closer. You stated that information there. My fault. Thanks for taking the time to answer.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 9, 2010 1:49:10 GMT -5
Ohhhhh the Peer Pressure!!!!
Heck, you yahoo's, do you know how hot it gets here in the summer? It's breaking 70 degrees outside with a slight ocean breeze coming up the canyon! There's spiders in my garage (daddy longlegs admittedly) and alcoholic beverages in my fridge, and I'm on summer vacation! Who could/would work under these conditions, I ask you? Who in their right mind would spend hours hunched over a spinning wheel pressing a wet stone to an abrasive agent when they have to endure weather like that? It sounds insane!!!!
I have no Cabs!!!!!
(And, uh, our garage right now is the staging ground for the new flooring that is going in downstairs {Goodbye cr*ppy carpet} and I can't get to my Pixie and my new purchase is still in its box...they're so tantalizingly close - almost close enough to touch, but they are blocked by blocks of pergo, pallets, and piles of displaced furniture. It's torture I tell you, torture!)
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 8, 2010 2:03:28 GMT -5
Hot damn!
An Eddie reference!
Time to pull out the Maiden...
Maiden while cabbin'...
Hmmmm. I don't think the subtleties of cabbing go with the, um, the enthusiasm of Maiden's music. I think Maiden would go better with slabbin'.
Still, love the monster - just remember to feed it!
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 8, 2010 1:59:13 GMT -5
Si' Lee!
Hay mas moss en el otro photo tambien!
Esta' moss aparace' como floss!
Esa' moss aparace' como un monstro!
Que pasa' con la mossa?
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 8, 2010 1:52:13 GMT -5
Interesting pieces - and your cabs were excellent that you posted.
Comment - It looks like you are going over float material in your area. Is that where the majority of your material coming from, or do you have a lot of locations where the agate is in the host matrix?
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 8, 2010 1:48:52 GMT -5
Great piece!
I love how you capture such excellent detail in your work.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 7, 2010 14:23:59 GMT -5
A couple weeks ago I dropped by Diamond Pacific in Barstow while coming back from rockhunting. Up on a hill above their building is a set of barrels filled with rock, some of which is for sale. Most is local stuff, but in a barrel of nodules I came across a dirt encrusted piece that had a nice pattern showing. I thought it was a Botswana. I picked it up, and noticed a few others that had a red tint. I grabbed as much as I could find in the brief 15 minutes I had, and I expected them to charge $5 or $8 or higher per pound. No, it was $2.50 a pound for the misc. nodules. I rinsed them off at the car and began to laugh - they were Queensland agates... I went back yesterday after hitting the N. Cady's (will post this trip later) and pulled out another 15 or so nodules. See pictures: This second set didn't cost me anything because I, well, came across a used Titan they had for $1900 - new motor, a couple new wheels, a 14,000 grit wheel - and, well, bought it... So much for my Titan envy that I complained about a week or so ago. Funny how things play out sometimes... Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 5, 2010 12:11:25 GMT -5
Dan,
Looks great.
I like the one image on the home page. It centers the viewer's attention and with the quality of your work, it should draw him/her into your site hoping to see similar high quality pieces for sale.
I like the information that you provide when each image is enlarged. The measurements are great, such as the size and the weight, but I also appreciated that you were up front with anything that lowers the overall perfection of the piece.
The photos are all gorgeous and uniform.
What are you doing to have your site captured by search engines? Is it only being hit by people via links on other websites, or do you have your site appearing under 'cabachon for sale' etc when people browse on yahoo and google?
One comment, I love your title banner (saying Caution Rocks), but when I try to move it over to the Agate Database, it stays very small and when I try to make it larger, it becomes all fuzzy. As it is now, the font at the bottom is really hard to read. Your other banner with all the rock images is incredibly colorful and eye-catching, but has no identifying mark on it. I don't know if this bothers you or not. If I may, I'd like to superimpose your white Caution Rocks title on your website over your "Rock Tile" banner so it combines your name and that great mosaic, or I can wait if you decide to create a larger version of your Caution Rocks! sign.
Good luck with your revised endeavor. I wish you the best of luck.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 3, 2010 22:41:46 GMT -5
Heck. I'll give it a whirl!
Lowell
Ventura, CA
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 3, 2010 20:56:55 GMT -5
Que tiene mas moss? Maury tiene' mas moss!!!
Es muy macho! ERR - Es muy Mosso'!
(This post has been brought to you by Rosetta stone.... and 3 years of working in restaurants...)
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 3, 2010 20:49:09 GMT -5
That's a great rock! Thanks for posting it.
Is that a seam agate, nodular, or are both types represented? (Sorry - the teacher in me asks these questions...)
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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OOPS
Aug 3, 2010 20:46:49 GMT -5
Post by elementary on Aug 3, 2010 20:46:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the heads up.
I'll head them off at the pass!
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Aug 3, 2010 20:44:20 GMT -5
Now that is an awesome piece!
Great work!
By the way, a while back you posted a picture of display at the CFMS show. Have you displayed at any shows recently? Just wondering.
Lowell
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