My Coozie Runneth Over

Memorial Day weekend emboldened me

to spend 2 days on the river.

In reality, I should've done the opposite.

     Friday's digging, with Pam and Jack was wonderful:  warm and breezy and not a soul passed us all day long.

     But the vibe changed drastically on Saturday

Don't get me wrong, everyone was very happy and friendly...

But how many times can I answer the question, "Have you found anything?"...

(My new reply is, "I found a skull but it still had a lot of skin on it so I threw it back.")

...or laugh good naturedly when people say my trolling motor is "cheating!"?

Apparently, I can answer those questions hundreds of times.

Hindsight is 20/20 because I should've accepted all the beers that were offered to me, then cruised up and down the river that evening, selling them back.  I never think of these things until it's too late!

All in all, it was a good weekend.

The friendliest campground in central Florida, Highland Hammocks in Sebring, 

had a tent space for me.

Saturday morning I treated myself to a town meal for breakfast.  The Pioneer Restaurant was everything I'd hoped it would be: run-down, homey, table of old men regulars in the corner, and a cheap tasty plate of eggs.

Friday's digging was great!

I found a jaw fragment from a giant ground sloth.  How cool is that?!

Here's a pic from a reference book showing the unique S-shape of the tooth that would've fit into this socket:

I found my first ever manatee tooth.  Excited!

Some big pieces of manatee/dugong rib.

These are so abundant, most people throw them back but when I find big chunks, like these, I bring them home.

Best gator tooth yet!

And a good selection of other fossils including 2 horse teeth and a very good meg.

     Then it was Saturday...

     Day 2 saw significantly reduced enthusiasm for the exhausting digging needed to find a single good fossil in this location.

     After 4 half-hearted hours of dredging heavy chunks of clay like this:

...I decided to pack it in.

     I still have the monster 40lb battery for my new lightweight trolling motor and I found it rides better if I put it up front with me.  The benefit of this arrangement is it makes a very nice footrest for the relaxed cruise back to the boat ramp.

     When I looked at my "haul" for the 4 hours of poking around on Saturday, I am torn about whether to return to this spot or not.

     It's not a lot but it's not "nothing" either.  Jack told me, at the beginning of this season, "I don't stop going back until I find nothing."  

     Maybe after a few more good nights' rest and some yoga to unkink my back, I'll be able to wrap my mind around 6 more hours of dredging clay...maybe!