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Christmas in January! New Geologic Goodies

Just when the world seems like it’s about to self-destruct, just when you’ve given up hope in humanity, a single act of kindness helps reset your view of the world, if only a bit, and if only temporarily. My son and I are (very) amateur rockhounds, doing a little bit of collecting here in South Dakota. I do have some nice specimens from the state (check out my S.Dakota Rockhound page), and have also gotten a small number of other geologic goodies from outside the state, primarily as gifts, or through some of the travel that we’ve done.

This week a box arrived in the mail from a work colleague and friend…Christmas in January! He’s an avid rockhound, and has helped organize and lead a many trips for his local group, traveling to various locations throughout the US. The box had about 10 specimens he was gifting me, pieces that suddenly give my small collection a nice jolt! Thankfully they came with detailed information on the mineral/rock type, and location where they were obtained.

Even with our own South Dakota-derived collection, I’ve loved getting out the camera and photographing them, including trying macro photography to look at some of the fine details. Here are some photos of the new pieces to the collection. Saving the best for last at the bottom. 🙂

Cuprian Smithsonite
Macro of Cuprian Smithsonite, From the 79 Mine, Banner Mining District, Gila County, Arizona
Botryoidal Goethite
Botryoidal Goethite, from the 60 Mine, Luis Lopez Manganese District Socorro County, New Mexico
Polished petrified Wood, "Blue Forest" area
Polished Petrified Wood from the “Blue Forest” Area, Eden Valley Near Farson, Sweetwater County, Wyoming. It’s surrounded by a ring of agatized material.
Quartz and Fluorite
Quartz with Fluorite from the Blanchard Mine, New Mexico
Beryl, Aquamarine Variety
Beryl, Aquamarine variety, from Mount Antero, Chaffee County, Colorado
Smoky Quartz, Feldspar, and Phenakite
Smoky Quartz, Feldspar, and Phenakite From Mount Antero, Chaffee County, Colorado. The Phenakite is the small clear crystal in the front of the piece.
Fluorite
Fluorite, from the Blanchard Mine, New Mexico. Macro photo showing the wonderful cubic crystals of Fluorite.
Opalized Wood
Opalized Wood, from the Virgin Valley, Humboldt County, Nevada
Cuprian Smithsonite and Hemimorphite
Cuprian Smithsonite and Hemimorphite, from the 79 Mine, Banner Mining District, Gila County, Arizona. The Cuprian Smithsonite is the green crystals on the right half of the piece, while the Hemimorphite are the small clear crystals in the cavity on the lower left of the piece.
Linarite Specimen on matrix of Quartz and Fluorite, with scattered brochantite
My favorite new piece, from the famed Blanchard Mine in New Mexico, it feathers flue blue Linarite crystals, embedded in quartz and fluorite. The green is likely brochantite.

More Geologic Goodies – Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

OK, so the gorgeous yellow-orange Fairburn was the highlight of my rockhounding trip this weekend, but it certainly wasn’t the only “find”.  Here’s a selection of some of the other agates, jaspers, etc.  What amazes me about this location on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands is the seeming infinite variety of what you can find, all within one very small area. All of these were collected within a one-square mile area.

Prairie Agates - South Dakota

A collection of Prairie Agates, something you find relatively often on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, but they’re so pretty and so variable that I can’t help but collect more.

Agate/Jasper - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

This one was SO striking when I saw it lying there that I couldn’t help but collect it. I admit however that I have no idea what this is…any ideas?

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

A gorgeous prairie agate (or what I’d call a prairie agate), with some very intricate banding and patterns.  The green is a bit of lichen I have yet to clean off. 

Bubblegum Agates - South Dakota

Bubblegum agates! I actually have a somewhat difficult time finding many of these, but always pick them up when I do. Of all the stones out here, it’s the bubblegum agates that really “shine” (ha) when I put them through the polisher. Once you start to wear down those nodules, there are often some truly incredible patterns and banding underneath.

Banded Agate - South Dakota

Stones like this make me want to take a hammer and break every stone open. I don’t have a rock saw or anything, but I imagine there are SO many hidden treasures like this on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, pieces where you don’t see the beauty unless you slice them open.

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

A prairie agate. The orangish ones are probably the most common, but there are some pretty red tones in many of them as well.

Agate - South Dakota

While many agates have the banding patterns shown on this post, there are some other cool patterns you find as well. Love the pink “druzy” crystalline area that forms the heart of this agate, with some banding and other patterns around it.

Jasper - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

A jasper, of which there are many on the grasslands.

Miscellaneous Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

One more agate (at least that’s what I’d call it), with some interesting fine banding.

Jackpot! Agate find on Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Been stressful at work lately so I took off Friday and did something I’ve only done one other time this summer…head out to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands and go rockhounding. It wasn’t the most pleasant of days! The forecast called for 75 and cloudy, but when I got about 60 miles away, the fog started getting thicker and thicker, and soon it was accompanied by a light drizzle.  Much to my chagrin, things were exactly the same at my favorite rockhounding spot southwest of Kadoka.  I ended up rockhounding from about 8 AM to 2 pm, and the temperature never got higher than 60, with the drizzle falling most of that time.

I found plenty of “good” material.  As many prairie agates as I could want, as always.  Bubblegum agates. Quartz. Petrified Wood. Jaspers. Adventurine.  But the “prize” for people searching out there is a Fairburn agate. Since we started doing this last summer, we’ve probably been out there about 8 times, and have found a Fairburn about half the time, and that’s with a good, hard days’ search each time.

As the drizzle was just thick enough to make you a bit miserable Friday, I was contemplating leaving. But as I paused for a second to assess my situation, I saw a bright yellowish-orange stone ahead of me, one that really stood out from the others around it in terms of the color.  Much to my delight, as I approached I saw some fine parallel banding…Fairburn! And a pretty good sized one, at over 2 inches in length.  I did continue rockhounding for  awhile before returning to the car and getting a good look at the banding.

A find that made a miserable weather day a whole lot brighter.

Fairburn Agate - South DakotaFairburn Agate - South Dakota

The Dakota Prize – Haiku of the Day

Dakota’s Prize

Dakota’s painted prize
Water, rock, and time conspire
A rainbow set in stone

Fairburn Agate - South Dakota

An elusive Fairburn agate, from the wonderful rockhounding area of Buffalo Gap National Grasslands in South Dakota. I’m headed there in the morning for a day of rockhounding, so what better time for my first ever ROCK-related haiku of the day? Such a difficult prize to find, as chances are all I’m back tomorrow without one, but OH so worth it when you do find one.

It’s been a buzzy summer! South Dakota Cicada

For the past couple of weeks it’s been quite loud in the evenings.  On occasion we get cicada noises here in the summer, but I don’t remember it being as “buzzy” outside as it has been lately. Despite hearing them, I don’t recall ever actually seeing a live cicada here.  That changed this morning when I was outside doing yard work. Something flew past and when I turned, I saw it land on a big rock in our landscaping. When I went to check it out, I saw the cicada, and quickly ran inside to grab my camera gear. Given I’m always set up for birds, not littler critters, it took a second to get my macro lens and macro flash setup on my camera, but when I returned the cicada was thankfully still there.

From what I’ve found online I believe this to possibly be a “Scissors Grinder Cicada” (Neotibicen pruinosus).  If that is indeed the species, we’re at the far northwestern edge of their range, here in southeastern South Dakota. They are one of the “annual” cicadas, not the more famed 13- or 17-year cycle cicadas that periodically come out in the eastern United States. The name common name “Scissors Grinder” comes from the characteristic sound they make.

Cool find, and very glad to get a ton of photos of this guy! After about 10 minutes on the rock, he disappeared.

Scissors Grinder Cicada - Neotibicen pruinosus

Scissors Grinder Cicada - Neotibicen pruinosusScissors Grinder Cicada - Neotibicen pruinosusScissors Grinder Cicada - Neotibicen pruinosusScissors Grinder Cicada - Neotibicen pruinosus

 

POTD – American Bittern “hiding”

Photo of the day, for a bird that gets high marks for trying, but failing, to hide. I didn’t have much luck shooting birds yesterday, but did run across this American Bittern along the rip-rap bordering a huge wetland area.  The ol’ stick-my-head-up-and-they-won’t-see-me approach Bitterns use may work when they’re standing in the middle of a bunch of dry cattails, but kind of falls apart when they’re out in the open, particularly next to red quartzite.

American Bittern - Botaurus lentiginosus

American Bittern “hiding” at Weisensee Slough in western Minnehaha County, South Dakota.

 

Latest Agate/Jasper Batch from Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

I’ve been on vacation for a couple of weeks, and have been playing catch up since getting back a week ago.  Hence no blog posts for a few weeks. One advantage of being gone…my rock tumbler continued to carry on, and finished off a really beautiful batch that I’ve been working on the last 3 months.  It’s one I’m particularly fond of, because every stone here is one that my son and I found on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands here in South Dakota.

I guess I have a hard time classifying these, although most are prairie agates, with some bubblegum agates, jaspers, and quartz as well.  Photos of the latest batch (click on the smaller ones at the end for a larger view).

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Prairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Bubblegum Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsBubblegum Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsBubblegum Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsBubblegum Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsBubblegum Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsJasper - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsJasper - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsJasper - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsPrairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsPrairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsQuartz - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsPrairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsPrairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsPrairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National GrasslandsPrairie Agate - Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Macro Mania

As a bird photographer I don’t put on my macro lens very often, but I got it out this afternoon to take some macro photos of the batch of Mexican Crazy Lace agates that I got this past week. Before I started tumble polishing them, I wanted to record what they look like in their natural state. When you zoom in extremely close like this, you can really see the beauty. It boggles my mind that these gorgeous patterns are all made by nature…such variety, such cool patterns, such wonderful colors.

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace AgateMacro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace AgateMacro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

Macro Photo - Mexican Crazy Lace Agate

South Dakota Rockhounding Display – Complete!!

The age-old question has been answered!  The question (primarily from my wife)…”What are you going to do with all of those rocks?” Minor detail, something I hadn’t thought about much since my son and I started rockhounding this summer!  But given the growing collection in the basement, it was time to figure out how to display some of our goodies.

It’s been a labor of love, but it’s now complete!  Over the last couple of weeks I’ve refinished the printer’s trays I got on eBay, and installed them on the wall of my office.  Given how new we are at this, we still don’t have a huge number of pieces that have made it all the way through the tumbling and polishing process, but we certainly have PLENTY of combined raw and polished material to fill the 178 individual compartments in the two printer’s trays!  I think they look fantastic, and certainly add some wonderful character to my home office!  Here are some photos:

South Dakota Rockhounding DIsplay

The finished printer’s trays, sanded and refinished on the wider cross pieces, but simply cleaned up and left as-is for the individual compartments themselves. I used a brown enamel paint on the wide pieces, but simply sanded off the old paint and expose the metal faceplate on each drawer. The most satisfying aspect of the collection shown here? Every single piece was hand-collected by my son and I, all from right here in South Dakota!

South Dakota Rockhounding Display

An oblique view, one that shows the bare metal I left on both original drawers.

South Dakota Rockhounding Display - Agates!

For each of the two printer’s trays, I cleaned up the original drawer pull, and repurposed them as labels. The right side is rightly labeled “South Dakota Agates”, as every piece on this side are prairie, Fairburn, bubblegum, or other agates, all collected from the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.

South Dakota Rockhounding Display - Jaspers, Petrified Wood, Quartz, etc.

The original drawer pull and label on the left piece. This side is more of a “mish-mash” of material, with a lot of petrified wood, quartz, chalcedony, jaspers, and other pieces. Again, all collected from right here in South Dakota!

Prairie and Fairburn Agates - South Dakota Rockhound

One of the six major compartments across the two trays. This one is devoted to prairie agates, and the handful of Fairburn agates we have so far.

Fairburn Agate - South Dakota Rockhound

We haven’t found many Fairburns as of yet, but the one on the right here is the favorite of ANY piece we’ve found so far.

Bubblegum Agates - South Dakota Rockhound

One of the six compartments devoted to bubblegum agates. Some are tumbled and polished, most here have not been polished yet. I like the look of the little bubblegums though, and probably won’t polish most of these. The “eyes” of the bubblegum agates give them a great look then when you do polish.

Bubblegum Agates - South Dakota Rockhound

A closer view of some of the “raw”, untumbled bubblegum agates. You can see why they are well named! They do often look like chewed up pieces of bubblegum.

Petrified Wood - South Dakota Rockhound

The 2nd most common find for us on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands – petrified wood. These are all petrified wood pieces. Most you find are the grayish or tan color, but there are also some other beautiful colors and patterns you can find. Most of these have not been tumble polished.

Chalcedony and Chert - South Dakota Rockhound

It’s not just agates and petrified wood on the Grasslands! There are other forms of chalcedony, and a huge variety of other rocks as well. I’ve been told those on the right (particularly the bottom right) are chert, in a limestone matrix.

Miscellaneous Prairie Agates - South Dakota Rockhound

A closer look at some miscellaneous (prairie) agates. There’s quite the variety of colors and patterns that you can find.  All here are polished, except the one in the upper right.

Misc. Jasper and Quartz - South Dakota Rockhound

A few miscellaneous jasper, quartz, and agate.

Large agates, chalcedony, etc. - South Dakota Rockhound

The only downside to the use of the printer’s trays…some of the compartments are relatively big, but the depth is quite shallow. Bigger pieces thus won’t work. I haven’t quite decided how I want to display them, but for now I have a table directly underneath the display, and I’ve started to put out a few big pieces. These are some big chalcedony pieces, prairie agates, and petrified wood.

Printer’s trays – For rock/mineral collection

It’s been about 5 months since my son and I started rockhounding, and polishing some of our finds in a tumbler. It’s rather shocking how much material you can find on the South Dakota grasslands in just 5 months! I’ve got several large trays and buckets worth of agates, jaspers, petrified wood, fossils, and other goodies. Now the number one question I get from our other household member…”What are you going to do with all of those”?

It’s a DAMNED good question!  I’ve already taken over our utility room (the room downstairs with the furnace and water heater).  A big wire shelving system is chock full of rocks and supplies, and two tumblers have been going non-stop for the last 4 months. It’s such a long process to polish, that we don’t have a massive number of “final” pieces, but it’s a growing amount.  Nearly all right now are either sitting on a shelf at work, or are sitting unseen in a tray in the utility room. Lately I’ve been looking at ways to display them.

I came across some images on Pinterest for displaying collections, including a guy who used “printer’s trays” to display his cork collections. I had never heard of a printer’s tray.  They are large wooden trays with many small compartments, used by letterpress printers to hold the tools of their trade.  Not knowing where the heck you could possible get such a thing, I looked on eBay and was surprised to see many available.  One person was selling several quite cheap (only $22 each!), so bought a pair and thought I’d see what I can do with them.

They look wonderful! They’re old and have an antique look to them, but are in really excellent shape. I’m not quite sure how I’ll use them yet, in terms of whether I try to do some kind of refinishing on them, or leave them more as is.  Stay tuned…within the next few weeks I hope to get a nice display set upon the walls of my home office!

Printer's Trays

The two printer’s trays I bought on eBay. Not what they are designed for, but they are truly wonderful for displays of small knick-knacks! For me, that means agates and other geologic goodies. They even came with the original grass drawer pulls! Once I decide whether I want to do something to the finish, I plan on hanging them vertically (kind of similar to this) in my home office.

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