Drunken Fossiling

I call it "rehydration solution."

Don't you judge!

I really want to be a part of the trend of doing an activity in a drunken state and then posting the results on YouTube but I don't have the stamina to actually kayak and dig for fossils all day in a drunken state.  

Maybe I'll try "Drunken Fossil Sorting" 

for my YouTube debut but doesn't that conjure images of broken fossils?!

Better stick with the occasional nip for medicinal purposes only.

My geologist sister-in-law

says she is a "catch and release" fossil hunter.

I've decided I'm a "share the love" fossil hunter.  My house is small so I keep my favorite finds and share the rest with my fossil club and any friends who are interested.

I just took a load down to Ft. Myers in preparation for the club's annual Fossil Fest in February.

Tragedy struck

at the fossil meeting; or so I thought.

I dropped my 20 lb palm frond that I found in Washington, creating the crack you can see on the left in the photo above.

Can't cry over spilled (or dropped) fossils so I waited until I got home to pull the pieces apart.

I was thrilled to find and even better palm frond inside!

It's the only one I have that shows the connection point of the stem.

I'm not going to make a habit of dropping my fossils (unless I take up Drunken Fossiling) but I'm glad it worked out this time.

I just participated in a kayak trip on the Suwannee

with my non-fossil kayak group.

I took a screen and shovel, as I always do, in hopes of finding gravel, but I have yet to find a place to dig when I'm with this group.

The 21 mile stretch that we paddled was lined with lots of swiss-cheese limestone and I managed to collect some echinoids.

I'm most proud of my creative foot warmers.

My feet get chilled, even when it's not that cold out, and I hate to wear wet dive boots all day while I paddle.  I bought a pair of inexpensive, water-proof boot covers for motorcyclists and inside those, I wear a light sock with a self-warming insole.  

Bliss!