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Hello all, it’s been a long time since I’ve last posted. A lot has changed, and I’ve been getting the fossil hunting bug again. (No pun-intended) You know what bug I do not want to catch? Ticks. I’ve already seen 3 this year, thankfully none on myself since I’ve been avoiding brush and tall grass. Yet the fear of catching a tick-born-disease is keeping me from fossil hunting. I am going on a fossil hunt out to a spot in western Pennsylvania this Saturday with my fossil club that I haven’t been to since 2016. I’m excited but also nervous about ticks. In the past there wasn’t a ton of brush there, since it’s a dam spillway in a park. But I went during the fall then, and as I remember ticks weren’t nearly as much of an issue then as they are today. Do any of you have any tips to keep ticks off of me this trip? I’ve read about DEET and permethrin sprays, and I am still unsure. I have two cats, so I am also worried about the toxicity of permethrin and other anti-tick substances. I will probably be wearing jeans and long sleeves to protect myself. Any help would be appreciated.

Pretty much the title- i have an ammonite i split recently. I started prep outside using safety a dremel 290 and wearing goggles and a paint respirator, worked for maybe an hour in total- but then i read about safety on zoicpaleotech and got terrified of getting/having given myself silicosis. Now i’m struggling to find the proper type of protection to continue- i cant find the one mask they suggested on the website, and i dont know how to pick a good one that will protect me against silica and other stuff. Any good suggestions?

I was wondering if a blast cabinet is required to air scribe fossils outdoors? (As long as one wears the proper PPE and safety equipment of course.) I’m trying to save some on my setup until I gather the rest of the cash needed to buy the blast cabinet and move my prepping indoors. And besides, the cold has never really bothered me anyways.

I wanted to vent about this somewhere and my wife is tired of hearing it, so here it is. LOL. This is not about the guy who recently made the news for being attacked by a gator while diving for meg teeth in the Myakka river. That has been all over the news feeds and it's been discussed in this forum in another thread. This is about alligators and Floridians in general. In the news today was another case of a person walking their dog near the water's edge during the summer in Florida. In this case, an alligator struck from the pond's edge and bit the woman - it was probably trying to attack her dog. She was bitten on the leg and is expected to make a full recovery. She was (un)lucky. A couple months back it was an older gentleman doing the same thing - a gator grabbed his dog and he fought the gator off to save his dog. It made national news and went viral. These cases happen almost every summer in Florida and there seems to be an uptick since the pandemic started. In the majority of these cases, the state calls in private contractor hunters to remove/kill the alligator. Also, in the majority of these cases, the gator was not being aggressive, it was doing what gators do. People should know better than to walk a dog near the edge of a pond or lake in Florida, especially during the summer, and especially at dusk/dawn. To walk your dog under such circumstances borders on negligence or willfull ignorance. It's dangerous and should be obvious to any reasonable person. I feel badly for the alligator honestly. It's not like he wandered into somebody's swimming pool and tried to snatch their dog or child. The dog-walker went to the gator's home and was dangling bait (the dog) around like they were trolling for gators. The alligator should not be killed for this. In the most recent case the retention pond was known to have gators and there was signage warning of such. In a case like this, the gator should be humanely removed and moved to an alternate location - like an undeveloped swamp in a remote area. Alligators are fascinating animals. They are the closest thing to a dinosaur we will ever get to see in North America. They are beautiful creatures and their behavior is very predictable. And everyone in Florida should be educated about them to prevent these tragic cases were people, pets, and alligators are killed needlessly. For those in the back row : If it's Florida, if it's summer, if it's near a body of water, then it's not a good place to walk your dog. Period. Ok folks, sorry for the rant. I had to get that out. Now here is a picture of a Peace River dinosaur :

Sometimes I have to collect by myself. Here in the US Pacific Northwest we have wonderful locations, but some come with associated dangers. What do you do to stay safe while out collecting? 1. Tell someone where you going and give the a time table. 2. Have a small first aid kit including prescription medications included. 3. Compass and something like a utility tool. Learn how to use a compass and a map if you go off road or hike far. Water... 4. Learn about the biological dangers in the area you are going to. a. What lives under rocks you will be lifting: Scorpions, Spiders (only a very few are dangerous), bees/wasps/hornets and snakes (by far the most dangerous animal you are likely to encounter under a rock). Do no harm if you find any of these animals you are disturbing their home. My state only has two snakes of interest (both rattlesnakes). b. Mammals : My area its Bears, Cougars, and Hoof animals (Deer, Elk, Moose, Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep). A couple of my favorite areas having warning signs about bears and cougars but not the hoofed animals which during certain times of the year (or if they feel endangered) can be a menace (I had an unpleasant Elk encounter once that lasted about 20 minutes and it was not fun). 5. Protective gear for hands and eyes (both are not replaceable at the current time). If you have ever had a piece of rocks from a hammer blow "stick" you, you understand how important these two items are. 6. In the summer here in the NW, know the signs of what a forest fire looks like in the distance because the travel a lot faster than you. 7. listen to your inner voice when trying to climb in talus or up a cut. Don't take a chance even if you have someone with you. Ever see what a 20 or 30 pound rocks falling from even 20 feet does when it hits something? Everything in life has risks, but some knowledge and using good judgement can keep you safe and collecting for a long time. Have fun and be safe.

I am ringing in the new year with all sorts of research for three major field excursions and dozens of minor ones. I am getting re-certified in backcountry first aid, working on a rescue, top rope and rappelling re-cert, and cross-training to get back into my active duty physique in addition to using years of lessons learned to replace gear. Yeah, I know, this is on top of the dozens of other projects I am working on. You may even wonder when I sleep...the answer is I don't, much... I admit I am quite a bit out of date on most modern gear. I finally retired my circa 1987 Eureka two man tent in 2019 only because a now deceased rodent descided to burrow into it over the winter for instance... Anyway, I am very interested to see the gear yinze use, from your day trip load out to your "heading to the desert see you in two weeks" gear. High altitude, tropical, desert, lowlands, etc...I want to see it all. I'm interested in all of it. I should add, this is the stuff OTHER than fossil and geology tools and equipment!

This could possibly be a random incoherent thought bubble, but here goes anyway. I was reading another thread which mentioned acid prep as the way to go for a particular item and then was proceeded by a bunch of professional preparators (that I repsect) being scared of the prospect of attempting it themselves. This really bothered me. I know I have a wealth of experience preparing far surpassing what a normal fossil aficionado would have, and I have always thought of acid as a tool in my bag and not something to be scared of. I am not a professional preparator, though I may be as close as one could be without being one. Absolutely it takes knowledge and safety and time. But it is no reason to scare our community away from it. Some of the best specimen have been prepared this way. There are two instances where I have used acid extensively. 1. Pennsylvanian stromatolites containing terrestrial vertebrate material. (Hamilton quarry in Kansas) 2. Brazilian fish nodules. Given exposure to other materials, that list might expand quite a bit but I generally stay in the lane of terrestrial vertebrates. My studies were generally only in that area. The setup is simple. 1. Make sure you are working in a ventilated area. You either need a lab hood or a private outdoor location (I do have the benefit of living in a sparsely populated area, my preference was to build a 'covered' workbench that holds several acid baths). 2. Protect yourself, wear gloves and a mask appropriate for your acid. I generally worked with 10% acetic. Note: Test, test, test, find practice pieces to get your exact acid strength and boundary agent defined. 3. The process is daily and repetitive. Don't do acid prep while you are traveling/not home. 4. Coat exposed fossil in acetone & polystyrene mixture or other appropriate material (you are creating a boundary between the fossil and the acid but not the matrix you want to remove). 5. Drop matrix in acid bath. 6. Remove matrix daily, wash and repeat 4 & 5. 7. Stop when you are happy. Please professionals, correct me where I am wrong. In my opinion, anyone who has done a chemistry 101 class should have the skills/knowledge to do acid prep. A few google searches should fill any holes that are lacking. Absolutely choosing the right acid for your particular piece takes some research, but it shouldn't be something we are scared to attempt. Absolutely safety should be first. Absolutely you should have practice pieces before attempting something major/important. I don't think we consider acid preparation enough, myself included, My default is mechanical removal followed by air abrasion. But when we have a case that screams acid prep, we should have the tools, knowledge, and expertise(and probably some technical forum thread) to deal with it. If we aren't using this forum to document our techniques and expertise for the next generation of preparators, what's the point? I learned from Orville Bonner at KU in the last few years of his working life, he may have trained 5 other people in his lifetime. How is that advancing our field? I think it is barely sustaining the practice. The knowledge will disappear if we do nothing. Currently, I work as an IT architect. My job is to listen to the needs of a project and find the appropriate solution. Fossils are no different. We all want the answer/solution first, this is the current society/culture: immediate gratification. We need to remember to listen to the needs of the specimen, have the wisdom to choose the right solution, and the knowledge to perform the proper technique. Please add your thoughts and experience. P.S. I may have inspired myself to 3D acid prep some Brazilian fish this summer.

I have a couple of questions regarding using a circular saw for bulk matrix removal. First, is it safe to use the circular saw to remove soft matrix from a fossil? Secondly, can I use the saw to shape/slice the matrix or is this best left to another tool? Finally, what do you do to clean up the fossil, once it has been exposed and prepped? For example, let's say I prep a trilo, expose it to my liking and I end up with a bunch of mounds and lines from using the Dremel. What do I use to smooth the bumps and lumps out of the surrounding matrix?

I know it has been said before, but anyone collecting along Calvert Cliffs, always be careful. I was out yesterday and saw 2 different falls. One was giving warning of it coming, with a number of small clods trickling down. I did not hang out in that area and kept well away from the cliff. About 45 minutes later I heard the sound of a fall and saw it come down. As I was kayaking home I saw another section, about the size of 2 minivans, come down. That was in an area that sees a lot of collectors. Also, when I was out yesterday the bay was absolutely full of sea nettles. It looked like the scene from "Finding Nemo" with the jellyfish swarm. Those actually sting, and they were so thick anyone in the water would encounter dozens of tentacles very quickly.

In praise of my faithful old walking stick and why I carry it fossil hunting: · To clear cobs’ webs from my path · To serve as a third leg on slopes and uneven ground · To clack on boulders advising the residents (especially snakes) that I am about · To extend to a friend helping him get up that last few feet of cliff · To probe among stones where I’m leery of putting my hand · To hold aside the leafy foe – poison ivy · Or the spiny foe · To help carry my bag of rocky treasures, suspended from the “handle” · To look very slightly less defenseless than an empty-handed old man · To act as a crutch when I have just stepped wrong and cracked my tibia and fibula above the ankle Here’s the story on the last one. Yesterday, I went with my friend, Mike, to a favorite fossil hunting spot. It’s a rock face (Winterset) about 100 yards of brush, small ditches, mud, rocky-rubble, and tangley-vines off the road. I was delighting in a couple of newfound trilobits and some cephalopod pieces as we gathered our finds and backpack and headed toward the car. A few yards later I stepped into a small ditch where my foot slipped and stuck at an odd angle between two large rocks, while my body continued forward. I felt my ankle wrenching. It’s an odd sensation and I knew I had done something nasty to it. Mike helped me get up and gave me a hand as he could along the way while we spent the next five years getting back to the car. My mainstay for this journey was my old walking stick. Imagine a single four-foot crutch – not ideal but worlds better than nothing. The doctor commented later that afternoon, “Well you really did it!’ I had. Tibia and fibula were cracked above the ankle. So, you may understand my sentimentality. It’s just a nicely shaped limb of osage orange, straightened a bit, with a metal cap on the bottom. My son (he’s forty) made it for me. But I’ve used it a hundred times in the last few years and it’s a sort of faithful companion. If I lost my 10x Belomo loupe, my Estwing rock pick, my phone, my backpack, or even (gulp!) a bag of newly-found fossils, I would kick myself; but loosing my old walking stick would sadden my heart. Russ

Below are some papers about either identifying, handling, or combination of hazardous minerals, radioactive and asbestiform minerals. Freedman, J., 2012. Safe handling and storage of potentially hazardous minerals in natural history collections. NatSCA News, 22(2), pp. 51-65. http://natsca.org/sites/default/files/publications/NatSCA News Issue 22-6.pdf Horak, J., Faithfull, J., Price, M. and Davidson, P., 2016. Identifying and managing asbestiform minerals in geological collections. Journal of Natural Science Collections, 3, pp. 51-61. http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/116261/7/116261.pdf https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/42369265.pdf https://www.natsca.org/sites/default/files/publications/JoNSC Vol3-6_0.pdf Kerby, H.C., and Hora, J.M., 2006. Maintaining Standards in the Care of Petrology and Mineralogy Collections at the National Museum Wales. Collection F, 21(1-2), pp.42-57. http://www.spnhc.com/media/assets/cofo_2006_V21N12.pdf#page=44 Price, M., Horak, J. and Faithfull, J., 2013. Identifying and managing radioactive geological specimens. Journal of Natural Science Collections, 1, pp.27-33. http://natsca.org/sites/default/files/publications/JoNSC Vol1-3.pdf https://www.geocurator.org/images/resources/advice/radioactive.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jana_Horak https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297687054_Identifying_and_managing_asbestiform_minerals_in_geological_collections Wain, A., 1992. Hazardous Materials in Museum Collections. AICCM Bulletin, 18(1-2), pp. 3-28. Radioactive items in general. Council, N.I.M., 2016. Guidance on Hazardous Collections. Northern Ireland Museum Council http://niopa.qub.ac.uk/bitstream/NIOPA/4045/1/Guidance on Hazardous Collections.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/383657/JSP392_Lft_31_Museums.pdf Yours, Paul H.

I want to invest in a pair of insulated wading bibs for next winter & I just wanted to see if anyone has a strong opinion on brands or types. Also, opinions on best hats, hiking boots, socks, and or general safety gear or even just other tips for hunting safely and comfortably would also be appreciated. Also just looking to "meet" more of my fellow women fossil hunters. Thank you.

Hi, I got a few chunks of dinosaur bones about 10-30cm long and 20-30cm wide. I used a Geiger counter to check for their radioactivity. The readings ranged from 0.28 usv/hr to 1.9 usv/hr. For those with 1.9 usv/hr, should I be concerned about the potential risk to my health if I put them on display in my living room?

When i hear the recent news, i cannot help thinking about my friends from that forum, and all the californians, who are affected directly or indirectly by the giant blazes. I pray for them, and hope they'll have the less harm possible. Sophie.

I think fossil collecting is great but I've encountered a snake and a scorpion while collecting and it's really made me more fearful of any rock I try and flip over. Any tips for staying safe out there?

...or, Always Wear Protection! Monday night I went to the garage to just poke at a fossil for a few minutes. I'd picked up a decent shell still mostly in matrix in the Selma Chalk of Alabama over the weekend. Though I only intended to take a few tentative swipes at it, I ended up spending over an hour on it, chipping away rock with my airscribe, then smoothing out the matrix with my Dremel. Anyone who has ever worked on this kind of material will see where this is going. The rock that comes from this deposit really is chalk. When dry, working on it with any tool, but especially a grinding tool, creates a lot of very fine dust. And since I hadn't really planned on working on it for more than a few minutes, like an idiot I didn't put on my dust mask. Later that night I woke up from a sound sleep to discover that my sinuses were a disaster. Running, stuffed up, and a bad raw burning sensation all the way into my throat. Since then I've had a couple of nights where I didn't sleep for more than two hours at a time, I've become very well acquainted with my Neti Pot, suffered several nose bleeds, have taken enough Sudafed to run a respectably-sized meth lab, and burned through more than one box of tissues. Finally, I think the worst is over. I'm down to merely frequent sneezing and nose blowing. Essentially, I believe I had the equivalent of bad road rash inside my sinuses, caused by the chalk dust irritant. What did I learn from this? Well, probably nothing. I'm kind of dense, apparently. But hopefully others will learn to wear a dust mask when working with this kind of material.