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Hey Everyone! I’m Valerie, I live in central Michigan. I mainly collect fossils from the lake my family lives on… as well as the driveway! Haha. I started collecting crystals a few years ago because I thought they were pretty and mysterious. Then early last spring, I was on the shore in my yard rinsing out a plant pot, and saw something really colorful in the lake. I was convinced it was some something valuable because I had just never looked down and saw a stunning rock like this on the ground. I thought they were boring and dull. Needless to say I posted a picture of it, and a friend told me how his mom loved collecting rocks and would go look for them around the Great Lakes all the time. I started gathering stones by the bucketful from the lake to sort through, and little did I know, there would be more surprises!! FOSSILS!! So now I love collecting all three (crystals, rocks, fossils) as my absolute favorite hobby. I’m getting into trying polishing and working with cleaners like acid too. And I love learning about them just as much! I had taken basic Geography in college, but I couldn’t tell you one thing I’d learned. I joined several social groups for rockhounding, mineral and fossils, etc. to get started on help with identification. Now, I am much more knowledgeable and recently have been doing a lot more in depth research and making my own ID charts and reference notes. I’m super excited to share some of my backyard finds with people who enjoy the same! I’ve always got things I can’t identify, or would like confirmation with, and am looking forward to getting tips and more information from everyone here! Hopefully I can be a great help and support also

Hiya. After moving away from Clearwater Beach back to Tampa, the last place I expected to find anything so amazing was the backyard. I guess you could say I live in the suburbs, but it's literally the last house before a very large industrial area. The yard is pretty standard, lots of room, some interesting plants here and there, and I didn't think much of it at first... imagine my surprise to find a large, perfectly halved Meg tooth (I really want for it to be a Meg, but it's quite likely it isn't. Maybe I can get some insight on these photos) just outside the backdoor one day, while noticing a serious over-abundance of shells out there. It's Florida, not too surprising. That was my initial thought. And then I found another one. And another. And you guessed it, another, along with some seriously interesting bones, more teeth and even raw stones-carnelian, jasper, agate, quartz, and there are more I haven't even identified yet. The last 2 months have been a whirlwind of dirt, stifling heat, and I love every second. My pockets and home are full of teeth, stones, fossils, and bones. There is no surface that isn't a history lesson waiting to happen. Unfortunately, I haven't got many friends, so maybe I'll find some like-minded dudes. To clarify-girls are dudes, guys are dudes, everyone is dude, It doesn't matter to me, I just wanna talk about these awesome finds with cool people who aren't bored 5 seconds in. I have lots of pictures, but they aren't great, and I'm a little hesitant to post them. I'm not sure how in the world I could be self conscious about the coolest thing ever, but I am, a little, lol. Anyway. These are some of my nearest and dearest finds so far. I've got a suitcase full, and a LOT of questions, so I can't wait to put a name to these amazing finds. This seems to be the place to get all the info I need