Until now.
I came across this photo while researching dolphin earbones. I like things that make me think and this artist's work really made me think about my fossils. I'm getting some ideas for my personalized Christmas card! (Be not afraid! I will hire a body double, lol!)
My day to dig is Friday. Always. But last week encompassed spring break and due to visits from out-of-town guests, I switched to Saturday.
And I liked it.
I had myself all worked up to believing that weekends sucked because, heaven forbid, I might see other people on the river, but it was nice. Everybody that floated past was happy, and the Orlando traffic was a breeze, and there were no more paying groups with guides than I see on Fridays. Logistically, Friday is still the best day but I won't rule out weekends when availability crops up.
Last week also encompassed my birthday and one of my dearest friends sent me this surprise from the great midwest:
My very own GoPro!!! The box is emblazoned with the slogan "Be a Hero" and I'm letting you all know that won't be happening, but I plan on having some serious fun with this. Too bad I can't figure out how to post video to my blog.
Baby steps...
So, as usual, I was cruising through WalMart, looking for a fight, and I saw a fabulous shovel head that would be perfect on my $25 Kobalt mortar hoe handle.
This shovel comes with a built in step to make it easier to dig holes and you might think that would be the attraction for me but the real reason I wanted it is that the built in step helps keeps everything from sliding off the back of the shovel head as I'm transferring it to my floating strainer. Easy!
...not...
I took the raw materials to Mike's house and told him I needed "X" shovel head transferred to "Y" handle and could he please weld the finished product while he was at it and that's when it got crazy. He couldn't get the head off the shovel and was bending the built in step all to hell and back with a 10 lb sledge hammer and kept going at it with a grinder and I was getting more and more agitated and hovering until he missed with the sledge and took out his finger instead. That was a bad moment. I waited a full 24 hours before asking him if he could finish the welding on the shovel.
After all that, my new long handle shovel is fabulous! The photo was taken after ONE DAY in the river. I'm rough on my gear.
It may seem anti-climatic to post pics of the fossils I found Saturday but I'm going to do it anyway.
Here are the aforementioned dolphin ear bones. The top 3 are called bullas and the bottom 3 are periodics. I assume they perform different functions within a dolphin's ear but as you already know, I got distracted during my research.
These are fossilized fish mouth plates. Not perfect but the form is so distinctive and eye-catching, they always stand out in a sieve full of gravel.
And here's the haul for the day. Not too shabby! Another tapir cap (I must be on a tapir cap kick), a sweet mako blade and some decent little megs, loads of small teeth, turtle scutes, etc., and a worn canine that I am still attempting to ID.
Counting down the days til my next dig!
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