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Hello there! Yesterday, Roger @Ludwigia dropped by for a visit, and we spent the day together checking out my local haunts with Viola. The day started with some coffee and brownies, as well as lovely German gifts from Roger: a Macrocephalites sp. ammonite for Viola (I don't have a picture of it because it's up in her room) and a Brasilia bradfordensis ammonite with a hitchhiking bivalve on the back of the matrix for me!!! See pictures below: We then piled into my car and drove to our first spot: Mimico Creek in Toronto. The fossils here are from the Georgian Bay Formation (Upper Ordovician). Here's a picture of Roger and Viola checking out the site... And one of Roger wielding his hammer... Since I'm still nursing my "fossil elbow", I didn't want to hammer anything; instead, I scraped into the wall of rock and I'm happy to say that I found a couple of sweet little bivalves: one with its two valves partly open (too bad that it's not complete) and another one with some nice ornamentation visible on its shell... @Wrangellian - what do you think? Roger did a little exploring and found some fossiliferous rock further up the wall - I collected two fairly big pieces of this type of rock and, lo and behold, they contained a bunch of brachiopods and their imprints (along with some other goodies)... @Tidgy's Dad - I thought you might like to see them

Hi all! I just got back from a little hunt with the kids along Etobicoke Creek here in Mississauga, Ontario (Georgian Bay Formation, Upper Ordovician), and I'm wondering if I perhaps found a trilobite pygidium? Here are some pictures: Front of rock (lots of little branching bryozoans and some crinoid bits): Back of rock (where the possible trilobite pygidium is located - circled in red): Close-up of possible trilobite pygidium: What do you think? And, if it is indeed a trilobite pygidium, can it be identified any further? Thanks in advance! Monica

I found the first two of these pictures in the river bed of Etobicoke creek, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the final picture is of one I found at the lakefront of marie curtis beach park. I have tried looking online and read they might be from ordivican? but I really have no idea! new to fossiling -- but definitely interested in learning more!

HI all! I was just casually perusing my fossils, and I noticed that there are some black fragments on a rock that contains an orthoconic nautiloid that I found at Etobicoke Creek here in Mississauga, Ontario (Georgian Bay Formation, Upper Ordovician). Are these black fragments fossil-related, or are they something else? Please see pictures below: Thanks for your input! Monica

Hello all! It's been a while since I last put up something to be identified because it's been a very busy few months (we recently sold our old house and have moved into our new house - yay!!!) I did get out with the kids today, though (mainly because Viola has to take her Brownie group's owl all over the place this week, and we thought that it would be fun to take him fossil-hunting ), and there's one potential fossil and one rock that I'd like your thoughts on... Picture #1: Viola with her Brownie group's owl (Oscar) and a fairly large orthoconic nautiloid Picture #2: The potential fossil - could it be part of an Isotelus sp. trilobite? Or is it something human-made? Picture #3: A cool-looking rock - any ideas as to what type it is? Thanks in advance for your help! Monica

Hello once again! Yesterday afternoon I had the kids to myself so I suggested that we head out to our local site for a little fossil-hunting. Viola was game, as usual, but William wasn't interested. I wouldn't take no for an answer, however, and so we headed off. All in all it was a nice few hours outdoors and, ironically enough, William didn't want to leave when Viola and I were ready to go! Hopefully this means he'll be willing to come along more often from now on. I took a few pictures of our outing - enjoy! Monica Picture #1: Viola leading the way Picture #2: William searching for fossils (he didn't find any this time ) Picture #3: A pair of Mallard ducks in the creek Picture #4: A couple of orthoconic nautiloids in a rock that's much too big to take home with us Picture #5: Viola holding up a pretty orthoconic nautiloid that was small enough to take home with us (By the way: you can see William in the background, playing in the creek - he had lost interest in looking for fossils by this point but at least he was finding something to do to keep himself amused!) Picture #6: There's a pretty little brachiopod somewhere in this picture - can you see it? Picture #7: Here's the brachiopod! The rock that it was in was too big to take with us, so we left it where we found it Picture #8: Our little haul of fossils: A - F are mine, G - J are Viola's (she found G, H, I and I found J and gave it to her since she loves her shells ) A, B, and C - snails D - brachiopod E - crinoid stems (I think) at interesting angles F - orthoconic nautiloid G - bivalve imprints (they are pretty faint so we may end up bringing it back to the creek) H - orthoconic nautiloid I - crinoid columnals J - bivalve

Hello everyone! Ken @digit suggested that I take a few pictures of the play-date that Viola and I had organized this afternoon with one of her friends from her Spark (Girl Guide for 5-6 year-olds) group, and so I did! Enjoy! Monica Picture #1: Viola looking out at one of our usual collecting sites along Etobicoke Creek Picture #2: Viola and her friend washing off a fossil in the creek Picture #3: Viola showing off the orthoconic nautiloid that she found. It's a fairly large piece of rock, so I asked Viola if she was sure that she wanted to keep it - she of course said yes. Then I asked what we were going to do with it - she said that we can put it out as a "family display," so I guess that's what we'll do (as soon as we find a suitable place for it) Picture #4: Viola and her friend traipsing along the rocks beside the creek Picture #5: Me and Viola - I'm holding a rock that contains a couple of brachiopod shells that I gifted to Viola (since, as you already know, she loves shells!) Picture #6: Viola's orthoconic nautiloid that will eventually be displayed for the entire family to enjoy Picture #7: The rock containing brachiopod shells (as well as some other things) that I found as well as a pretty little crinoid columnal that Viola found - both are already residing in Viola's room

Hello all! Viola and I went out to our local haunt yesterday afternoon and we found our usual items, but what follows are pictures of a couple of rocks that are a little different from what I'm used to seeing - your thoughts and opinions are much appreciated!!! Monica Item #1: "front" It looks bryozoan-like, but it's a lot bigger than what I'm used to seeing... Item #1: "back" It still looks like a bryozoan but, again, it's quite a large structure overall (even though the filament-type structures are very thin)... Item #2: gastropod - any idea as to what type?