Have I ever even been in a river?

The word "hiatus" 

sounds either important or medical.

When used to describe my recent fossiling activities the reality is far less glamorous.

In a nutshell...

I ain't been doin' shite.

Miss Vickie has moved away. :-(

Granted, she never lived anywhere near me but I was happy to have her in the state of Florida for at least half the year.  Now she's going to be living in the pacific Northwest which isn't a bad thing but it will cost a lot more to see her and Jim.

These are a couple of photos of the big crusty geode I found with her in Keokuk, IA this summer.

I feel like I'm done with the keokuk geodes but I kind of want to get Pam up there one time.  "Plethora" is one of my favorite words and that describes the quantity of crystal beauties you can collect in a day.

Here are a couple of the chalcedony beauties from Round Mountain, AZ.

I picked this nugget up and was treated to a chalcedony shadowbox showcasing a little terminated quartz crystal.


The geodes aren't showstoppers when opened up on the rock saw but this one had an interesting interior structure and I love the pinkish translucence.

"It was hell," recalls former fossiler.
I paraphrased that from one of my favorite old Kliban cartoon books
and it accurately describes my mood right now.  It's been a wet fall and winter and my schedule has been bonkers and I haven't set a dive boot in a river in months.
(sound byte of a scream)
Out of desperation, Tom and I took our screens
to a local creek about 15 minutes from my house.

It felt good to be wet, cold, and uncomfortable again: my happy place.
Tom found ancient coins:

I found ancient bottles:

But wait! 
Tom also found...

A dog jaw!
When you haven't been able to dig in months, this equates to pure adrenaline.
And then I found the elusive...

Ancient Roman blown glass incense burner.
It IS an incense burner, right?

Since I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, here's a little Wikipedia about domesticated dogs:

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris when considered a subspecies of the wolf or Canis familiaris when considered a distinct species) is a member of the genus Canis (canines), which forms part of the wolf-like canids and is the most widely abundant terrestrial carnivore.The dog and the extant gray wolf are sister taxa as modern wolves are not closely related to the wolves that were first domesticated, which implies that the direct ancestor of the dog is extinct. The dog was the first species to be domesticated and has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes.

Their long association with humans has led dogs to be uniquely attuned to human behavior and they are able to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canid species. Dogs vary widely in shape, size and colors. Dogs perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship and, more recently, aiding disabled people and therapeutic roles. This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet "man's best friend".