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Finally I can share an incredible piece with you all!!!!!!!! I have been very fortunate to be able to do invertebrate fossil preparation for The Royal Ontario Museum (The ROM). I have recently been given permission to share pictures of some of the work that I have done for them. Thank you Dr. J.B. Caron. In the coming weeks I will share some pictures of other pieces I did for them. In total I prepared about 12 pieces for them out of their collection and I donated 7 pieces for the new gallery. In case you are not already aware they will be opening a major new fossil gallery "The Dawn of Life" later this year. Here is a major piece that I did for them last year. The piece is quite stunning in person , my photography does it no justice. You will be able to see it in person in the new gallery. There are over 60 Leviceraurus mammilloides on the plate. As well as a few other species of crinoid and trilobite. To spare you all the waiting here is the finished piece The piece was prepared over a 12 month period and required around 200 hours to prepare. It was prepared under a Olympus zoom microscope using the following air scribes (CP9361, ARO, Pferd MST-31, Paleotools Microjac 2) The air abrasion was performed with a Comco MB1000 using baking soda and dolomite in the 40 micron range and mostly 20 to 30 PSI. Since this was a piece of scientific importance (there may be a new species on here and it potentially shows some sexual dimorphism ) all associations were left on the plate. If a brachiopod was covering a trilobite it was not removed. Partial trilos were not removed to exposed complete ones below it. Dr. Caron was quite specific in what he wanted in the way the specimen was prepared. There are probably more trilos that have not been exposed and these may be discovered in the future by Xray. At 200 hours I quit searching for more as the plate had nice aesthetics and the museum needed it to do professional photography and measuring for the display. This picture is as it was found in the field back in 2019 by David A. who is a member here on the fossil forum. The fossil was found in an Ordovician quarry (St. Mary's Cement) that allows a very limited number of qualified collectors in a few times per year. The slab as found required 4 people to bring it down the side of a very large blast pile using a blanket. It was estimated that the slab weighed about 300 pounds. Here I am u The 2nd and 3rd pictures are me cutting and thinning the slab using a checkerboard technique done with a diamond rock saw. This got the piece to a transport weight of about 60 pounds. The rest of the pictures are a sequence leading up to the finished piece which weighs about 50 pounds and was the first picture shown in this post. If you have any questions please feel free to ask or send me a private message if you prefer. The piece in my basement before any preparation. Not so pretty at this point in its life.... The piece at 1 hour The final shot here was with about 20 hours to go

My story will be a bit(could be too much) long, so I put this report separately from @Kane's report. I'm not sure I can do this or not 'cause this is my first time to write same topic from others'. If I should not do this, I apologize administrator for making bothersome Before I start my story, I convey my profound and huge gratitude to @crinus for taking me quarries(these travels were my very first visiting to not only quarries, but also Ontario's fossil site!) and giving a lot of nice fossils to me what he found, and to @Northern Sharks for giving a nice specimen to me what he found as well from Brechin quarry and organizing Bowmanville journey(I didn't know that until seeing from @Kane's report. I'm not sure that you set the all plans), and to @Malcolmt for giving a complete crinoid to me, which is my first complete crinoid possessing arms and stems, and finally to everyone that I've met on this travel for welcoming me *Plus - My report will be incomplete 'cause I don't know that much about Ontario's geological information and some species' scientific names. So, I'll appreciate greatly if you guys tell me about right information and help me to correct it I revised this post a loooot of times 'cause I realized that it was not report, but a proper diary(Too Much Information.. and still, it's like a diary..) Well.. Now then, I'll begin my long story with some pictures though I couldn't make to take that many pictures of quarries and people. As for the Brechin quarry, I forgot to take my phone and there was no time to take DSLR out from my bag. And as for the Bowmanville quarry, I was so concentrating to find fossils that I forgot to take pictures *Date : Oct.21&22.2017 *Location : Brechin quarry & Bowmanville quarry *Records of formation : Brechin quarry - D -----> Upper Verulam Formation(There was a "cluster" of fauna that I think it's different from below one. Color was bright grey and somewhat yellowish) DD -----> Middle Verulam Formation(Bluish and grey rocks with vurnerable condition) DDD -----> Lower Verulam Formation(Brown and grey rocks) DDDD -----> Upper Bobcaygeon Formation(Alternates between sublithogenic and medium calcarenitic limestone, but also includes some brown lithographic limestone and bluish fine-grained limestone in minor thicknesses)[*] [Buried under the ground] Middle Bobcaygeon Formation(Grey and brown, very fine grained to sublithogenic, sparsely fossiliferous limestone, with some fine-grained limestone in the upper part)[*] [Buried under the ground] Lower Bobcaygeon Formation(Brownish grey, fine- and medium-grained limestone)[*] (Reference - [*] Bobcaygeon formation - Weblex Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://weblex.nrcan.gc.ca/html/001000/GSCC00053001579.html @Northern Sharks informed me! Thank you! ) Bowmanville quarry - D -----> Blue Mountain Formation (I couldn't get there.) DD Upper Lindsay formation DDD Level 2 (?) DDDD Level 3(?) - Lower Lindsay formation (Below as well. The quarry was so biiiiiig!!) - - *Geological Age - Middle Ordovician These all rocks are what I took. Maybe I took a lot of fossils even if it is only a small part of trilobites. I just so excited that I found Ontario's trilobites directly, not through internet store or pictures! Well.. Now I'm worried the weight.. Could I take these whole fossils?... I should have considered about it, not just collect unnecessary things by my instinct. It was not a clever move.. That crinoid(at 11 O'clock-wise) is not what I found these quarries. I found it from Scarbourough bluffers park before. To begin, the beginning of the day(Oct.21) I've met @crinus first at the very early morning of the day(For me. 'cause I'm not the early bird type). Actually, we met from Ebay. I won his two auction and I asked him that would you wait for me until I get to Canada in order to reduce shipping cost. Then, he offered me to go to quarries with him! Anyway, we arrived there around at 8:30 AM and there were 4 or more people had already arrived. I've met @Malcolmt and two other people(Sorry, I can't remember the name. My poor memory..) on near the greenish and bluish pond in the quarry. After handshaking, @crinus and I went to the piles of rocks, which is near the pond. We climbed up the piles of rocks and met @Northern Sharks on there. He found one complete Calyptaulax sp. and dropped it from his hand while we were greeting each other(yet, fortunately, the trilobite was alive with small crack on the pygidium(if my memory is correct)) After the greeting, @crinus and @Northern Sharks went to another place and I remained there, which was that @Northern Sharks found a trilobite, and looked for trilobites with hammering big rocks. I found a horn coral, which is Lambeophyllum profundum Conrad, 1843, the cephalon part of Ceraurus sp. , and a loooot of brachiopods and so on It came from lower Verulam formation. This one is Lambeophyllum profundum Conrad, 1843( @Northern Sharks and @FossilDAWG informed me! Thank you! ) Ceraurus globulobatus? I don't know the exact name of this specimen.. This one maybe came from the middle Verulam formation because of its color. Though I found this from the lower Verulam formation area.