elementary
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Post by elementary on Jun 28, 2010 22:36:54 GMT -5
I think I'm going to stop complaining about mosquitos...
I'm glad you're getting better, Keith. I've found a few ticks on my wife during our years of hiking, but we've been fortunate to avoid the nastier effects...(still they give me the heebie jeebies - I mean they bury their head in you!)
This thread has made me itchier than any other...
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by elementary on Jun 27, 2010 21:06:59 GMT -5
Two - 3 lb tumblers gave forth their bounty today. ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0008-8.jpg) Center - Qtz (American River - (?) Central Ca) Bottom - N. Cady Desert Roses Bottom left - Mexican Blue Chalcedony Top Left - Carnelian Top - Lonely piece of mojave blue (Arrowhead Lane) Top Right - Hauser Bed White Agate Nodules Bottom Right - Mexican Nodules ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0010-7.jpg) Center - I believe Fran called these Fancy Hauser Jasper last time I posted them. Top Left - Baker Eggs, NM Bottom Left - Acton Agate Nodules (Ca, near Palmdale) Lower Right - Jasper from east of Barstow Upper Right - Palm Root ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0012-5.jpg) Middle - Northern Cady Seam and Nodules Middle Right - Cambria Beach Stones (green) Upper Right - Hauser Bed Material Lower Right - Kramer Junction material Left side - Misc schtuff ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0013-3.jpg) Close up of Cady material ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0015-5.jpg) Me with my daughter in the mess that is my workspace: ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0001-9.jpg) Thanks for looking, Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by elementary on Jun 23, 2010 1:55:57 GMT -5
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Jun 20, 2010 23:10:08 GMT -5
Nate,
Great haul!
Those agates I'd wager are Botswana's. Nice find. If my memory serves me right, they're no longer exported from Africa in rough condition.
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by elementary on Jun 12, 2010 22:55:34 GMT -5
Great material!
I like the stones that are predominately white - their cracks make them look like lightning storms.
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Jun 7, 2010 9:10:43 GMT -5
Excellent material!
Love the pattern.
Just one thing - if it had been found in my garden I'm sure it would have been called 'Snail Track Rock'.
Cool stuff! Hope you find more!
Lowell
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
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Post by elementary on Jun 5, 2010 9:49:26 GMT -5
Debby and Tom,
In your history of cutting the geode/t-eggs from this site, how many of them turn out to be hollow?
Also, are all these from one general area, or do you have more than one deposit on your land?
Thanks,
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Jun 5, 2010 9:45:38 GMT -5
Hey Mel,
Hope all's well and you ain't finding too many rattling organisms in the underbrush...
Question: regarding the material that you're cutting - especially the jasperish items - do you find that they are more solid than Lavic sidiing material or do they tend to undercut like some of that material?
Love the nodule. Ah, makes me think of driving 3 hours and getting a sunburn on the back of my neck!
Speaking of driving long distances, we're heading up to Sequioa for some camping. Is Ron's rocks the place out by Bakersfield - and is it still open?
Thanks much!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Jun 4, 2010 2:33:36 GMT -5
Very nice!!!
I especially like the stormlike design inside the second one.
Keep hunting!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Jun 4, 2010 2:28:00 GMT -5
Well, my initial 6th grade year is ending and I'm looking forward to its completion. One of the things I do for my students is give them extra credit points for doing certain things over the year. These points can be cashed in for cheap toys ($1 Target items), school supplies, etc. But they can also be used to purchase polished stones and rock boxes. I currently have a display case in my room (with the majority of specimens supplied by Mel) of 70 agate types. These are now labeled. Each type is presented with a rough and tumbled piece. On the wall behind the cabinet are tiny bags filled with 6-7 tumbled stones each. These correspond with the rocks down below. During the school year the students are able to 'purchase' polished stones for 100 extra credit points. They also earn get them for their birthday, for reading books, attendance, and other reasons. By the end of the year, it is expected that those bags on the wall will be empty - everything given away. With 70 bags times 6 rocks, that's over 420 polished stones that are given away each year to the kids. Here are some images from a few years ago: ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0018-3.jpg) ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0012-4.jpg) ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0009-10.jpg) Rock boxes are Bead Boxes I pick up from Michael's Art/Craft Stores for under $2. They have 17 small compartments. For 750 points, students can buy one of these from me with 17 labeled rock samples. This year I waited until the end of the year and decided to provide more polished pieces than in the past. This year the boxes include: Selenite Quartz crystal Fire Agate Rough from Mexico (unpolished but shows fire) Moqui Ball Desert Rose from Turtle Mountains Four polished stones chosen from wall and special items not on display Geode from Hauser Beds And the polished pieces: Petrified Limb ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0022-3.jpg) Howlite ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0014-3.jpg) Travertine from N. Edwards ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0020-1.jpg) Jasper from off I-40 past Barstow ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0015-4.jpg) Fluorite from N. Cady Mountains ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0005-4.jpg) Petosky Stone ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0006-7.jpg) Seam Agate from N. Cady Mountains ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0009-9.jpg) I enjoy making the rock boxes. I hand them out to neighborhood kids, donate them to my club kid's booth at the shows, give them as presents to people at church and school (both my last two principals received one for their child.) Anyway, thought I'd share. Can't wait for summer for me to have my time... Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 30, 2010 15:26:48 GMT -5
That last one looks like cut cat claws!
(Ducking for cover....)
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 30, 2010 15:21:44 GMT -5
Sigh...I still love me cats, but I'll move on since arguing about cats doesn't bring me joy - and I'm not on this board to rattle sabres... (ha ha - double meaning!)
So, I'll change my answer:
California Reasons:
You know it's summer when another hillside gets bulldozed to put in another 600 acres of grapevines.
You know it's summer when the kids in your classroom have that dazed faraway look that indicates they've already checked out for the duration.
You know it's summer when the people who buy houses up the long canyon roads start complaining that they don't get enough fire coverage as the brush grows back but complain about accepting the cost of keeping up their roads...
You know it's summer as every Friday the roads north out of Los Angeles get so congested it's faster to walk.
You know it's summer when those who live in the far north are still saying it's winter and those in Australia are saying the same thing...and those in SoCal complain about the smog.
You know it's summer when there's no room on the beach and if you jab your umbrella down, chances are you just spiked a guy (or gal) trying the change the orange false tan of winter to the unhealthy cancer causing brown of summer.
You know it's summer when the flotation devices at the beach are more silicon that air-filled rubber tubes.
You know it's summer when you catch me in the desert 'marking' my favorite agate spots!
So, did I anger anybody this time?
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 29, 2010 21:11:47 GMT -5
Hi Mel! I know where you come from. BUT... I love my cats. I have no mice in the garage. They've eliminated the gophers in my yard. They don't roam beyond the borders of the backyard and those backyards of the immediate neighbors. They are female so they don't spray. They are spayed so they are not reproducing. One is completely indoor. The other two were adopted from neighbors who had nowhere else to send them when they had to leave their house. I feel I have to have a trade-off right now between my cats and the dumb-*ss birds that think they can come down and chitter at the feline in the yard without repercussions! (truthfully it hurts each time they take a bird, but hey, I had to make a trade off when we adopted the cats.) As for hiding it's poop, um, I bury mine in the desert sand when necessary....most of us, though flush it out of sight... As for hardwired to hunt and take trophies....sounds like a wide range of rifle owners across the country... And I think more damage is done by the humans who built the houses over the environment than the cats that came later! Aren't we an invasive species? Anyways, still miss you around here! And again, I agree, cats can be little bastards, can't they? How do you feel about dogs? ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 29, 2010 16:16:25 GMT -5
Those are nice looking 'mater plants!
You growin' one type or several?
My wife would love to have more room for growing stuff, but we're lucky to have space for three plants and that's it. Love the summer though...BLT, LT, & T sandwiches all the time!
Great green thumb you got there!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 29, 2010 14:53:21 GMT -5
I know it's summer when my cats start bringing back 1) hummingbirds 2) lizards 3) butterflies 4) fleas....
I love cats, but man they take down the hummingbird population.
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 29, 2010 14:49:50 GMT -5
Roger (Fairburned) was kind enough to trade with me a while back and I finally had a chance to play with one piece of the rough he sent. (I can only hope what I traded back to him was high enough quality.) Here's the piece I worked today: ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0001-8.jpg) ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0002-5.jpg) ![](http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/3lementary/PICT0003-7.jpg) Thank you Roger, Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 27, 2010 0:17:41 GMT -5
Love the tadpole! (I swear I saw that on a bumper sticker once...)
Now you gotta make a couple frogs to go with it!
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 27, 2010 0:13:30 GMT -5
Ernie of "Ernie and Bert" fame goes rockhunting and comes across something that hopefully none of us have....
Enjoy a bit of frivolity...
( I swear I posted this yesterday morning...but maybe I just previewed it and didn't post... --and if for some reason it was deleted, great moderator of the sky, PM me why, please!)
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elementary
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Post by elementary on May 24, 2010 22:10:58 GMT -5
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Post by elementary on May 24, 2010 22:02:04 GMT -5
I always love your mixed up batches. It's like playing "I Spy" except you're hunting specific rocks.
I spy with my Big Eye ... a Newberry Nodule! Lavic Siding Jasper! (or is that jasper something from your driveway hunting???) Bubblegum Agate!
(Bet you can't tell I have a 4 year old I drive around with....)
Purty green stone in the upper right!
Lowell
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