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HiHello everyone, My name is Sean. I’m 39 years old and I’m a carpenter/contractor living in Milford NJ, USA. This is my story about how I went to work, found some strange rocks, became obsessed and ultimately, ended up here. I was working for a client, building and installing her custom “dream office”. The location was on a private property in Stockton, NJ and was previously part of a large farm. Half way through the install, tragedy struck and a storm caused a flood on her property and in her new office. It was only 6cm of water for a short period of time but thats all it takes. Fast forward a bit and I’m installing a drainage system to prevent the incident from recurring. I’m familiar with digging in NJ and it is never an easy task but this was ridiculous. It was more picking up than digging. After installing the drain, I offered to take the displaced soil and rock and it wasn't until unloading that I noticed how unusual they looked (images below). This was the spark that set off my curiosity and led to a binge of research and skill development, trying to determine what these were. I didn't want to know, i needed to know. I began with a web search for stone tools for image comparisons, then over to fossils and the local laws that accompany them. I contacted the curator of natural history at our state museum, worried that I might have carelessly disrupted something of historic value but also excited, like a child on Christmas. So worried/excited that i didn’t consider how difficult it would be for a professional to identify fossils that were still covered in matrix and dirt. He generously offered to take a look in person, which I intend to have him do. I’m sure the experience will be knowledgeable and help expand my network. That brings us pretty much up to date. Im developing my preparation skills, collection of books/tools, storage, and work area. Reading when I can and experiencing the high and low emotions that occur during preparation. “Thats the head! No, it’s the tail! Oh, it’s a sponge.” Often, it’s crystalized manganese oxides or concretions but I think some of them are beautiful and just as fascinating as fossils. I hope to become a valuable asset to this community. Until then, I’ll probably be asking for a lot of answers and advice. So, thank you in advance! Best Regards, Sean The rocks and trench that started it all. I’ll have a universal ruler and higher quality photos in the future.

I was doing an initial cleaning of this piece to categorize, label and store for future preparation. I do this by brushing the loose dirt off with a natural bristled paint brush and then a quick cleaning with my dust collector to pick up some of the finer particles. This time, while using the dust collector, a little surprise popped out. My first thought was tube worm, well preserved and free enough for the suction to pull it out. Thankfully it didn’t detach! I was wondering if this is a common occurrence. Has anyone else experienced this? And do you agree that it’s most likely a tube worm? thanks! -Sean apologies for the standard measuring tape. I’ll get my act together…