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My husband and I like to go on walks along the wooded dirt trails behind our home. Last winter, we stumbled upon a particular stretch of path. It was constructed using refractory bricks smack dab in the middle of the woods. It wasn’t until recently when we decided to revisit the area. One does not simply stumble upon an old brick path in the middle of the woods. It had to have once led somewhere. We did, in fact, find an old stone well nearby. Across from the well, there’s the foundation of a house that’s nothing but rubble. I also found an A&W Root Beer can amongst the rubble. It was the 1968 to 1995 A&W logo. Most of the bricks were branded, but I could hardly make out the wording. The name Louis was clear as day on quite a few of the smaller fragments, but the more intact bricks had lettering that was harder to read. I managed to find a single brick that wasn’t so weathered. I knelt down to read what was branded on it, but this little coral fragment caught my attention. It was wedged between the bricks in the center of the path, almost as if it were placed there intentionally. I don’t see how else it could have gotten there. After further inspection, the coral (a honeycomb coral) appears to be fused to an unidentifiable species of mollusk. Fossilized oysters and clams are common finds in my area, but this is the first fossilized coral I’ve found. FullSizeRender.MOV

Hi From Michigan! I had a great time finding fossils along the Northeast shoreline of Lake Michigan (in the Leelanau Bay, just outside of Charlevoix) this summer. Along with my usual haul of horn corals and crinoids (and two intact bivalves!!), I found these two pieces interesting. Fossil A is a real soup, and I'd like help identifying pretty much anything you see in the picture, especially the thing that looks like an insect. I'm not sure if Fossil B is actually a fossil or a geological formation; otherwise, my best guess is a type of coral? Thanks in advance!

Found in WNY (Brocton) on land, in the woods , about 4 miles away from the shoreline of lake erie.

Greetings! Each summer I visit a small, secluded town in the Northern lower peninsula of Michigan. This beach in particular is just loaded with fossilized corals and shells, and I always come home with some beautiful finds. The area is known for horn corals, petoskey stones, and a related coral fossil known as the Charlevoix stone. Take a look! *Note: the last jpeg is two pictures of the same stone.*