Kane Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 When you spend several hours in the field, you are bound to encounter challenges, disappointments, and irritations. It isn't enough to deter most of us as the thrill of a good find outweighs the small nuisances. I thought I'd set up this topic thread to list some of our irritations. Add yours! 1. When the rock splits and ruins a good specimen 2. The sudden onset of a torrential downpour on what was an otherwise cloudless day 3. That perfect specimen lodged in a slab too large to haul away, set in a matrix that would require a jackhammer. 4. That perfect outcrop right next to a hornet's nest. 5. The site you've been collecting at for years has been built on. 6. That very promising rock is just a little too much out of your reach 7. Accidentally planting your hand on a shard of broken glass 8. Getting stuck halfway up a cliff and having dropped/forgotten your tools 9. That collecting friend who has all the luck! 10. The great specimen that just fell apart in your hands 11. That great specimen that you accidentally dropped and can't find again 12. Losing your focus and concentration / getting distracted by too much at once 13. Sundown 14. Angry birds (not the game or the movie) 15. Sinking up to your knee in muddy water and spending the rest of the trip wet. 16. Forgetting to reapply sunscreen 17. That great piece from a promising strata that you spent half an hour breaking through only to find nothing 18. DEET-resistant Deer flies and black flies 19. Winter 20. Impossibly deep overburden. 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 From a South Florida perspective, I proffer the following: 21. El Niño messing with Florida's "dry season" and keeping the Peace River flooded for much of the (no very) short hunting season--it's up another 4 feet in the last 2 days. 22. Alligators. 23: A flotilla of a dozen canoes lashed together side to side into a large "raft" that floats down the river forcing you off your spot as the rap music on their boom box plays at full volume and the occupants who've managed to get fully drunk at 9:15am sing out of tune, shout and scream at the top of their lungs shattering the peaceful quiet. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exasperatus2002 Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 I often will find one in a farmers field when walking to my hunting area, but God forbid, when I stop to look for them intentionally, I should find something! No! Of course not, but should I be carrying my day bag, rifle/bow while looking for wild game or resting while dragging a deer back to the parking lot - I find them by accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 ...ummm...topics about pet peeves ...when there are so many other positive things about collecting in the field, researching finds, sharing trips with friends, exchanging information, setting up a collection, documentation and photography, etc. For me, any preoccupation with 'irritants' or setbacks just sucks the life out the positive motives we have in all these activities. They add to the depth of the experience. 1 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Kane , I found my best trilobites and my best pyritized ammonite in winter. Never let the weather deter you. I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 (edited) Some of mine: 1. Sweat bees landing on your extremities and giving you a sting when you bend your arm. 2. Fire ants floating down the Peace River in droves, crawling on you, and then stinging you. 3. Scorpion popping out from under the rock you turned over, giving you a startle. 4. Seeing what looks like a really good weathered-out fossil sitting on the surface, only to pick it up and realize it's half of a good fossil. 5. Half of a nice Meg tooth. 6. That Permian Dytomopyge trilobite that you misplaced...forever. 7. When your kid pulls out a nice juvenile mammoth tooth and you reluctantly have to declare that it belongs to him...and then he moves away and takes it with him... 8. Having to stop hunting because you know you have a long drive ahead of you to get back. 9. When you have an unproductive day and declare "I'm leaving now" and it still doesn't scare up any good fossils. 10. When you really have to leave and suddenly find a cache of nice fossils that you need to leave behind. 11. Hauling a rolling tub full of raw shale heroically back up the hill, thinking all the time that you must have at least 80 pounds of rock, only to weight it at home and realize it's about 40 pounds. Edited May 20, 2016 by prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 My main pet peeve is garbage. People tossing their trash around and not cleaning up after themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 23. The ranch sells to a new owner who is not as fossiler friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPS Ammonite Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 In response to JohnJ's comments above I'm starting a new topic about hunting trips with happy endings or why I’m thankful for a trip. Stay tuned. 1 My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned. See my Arizona Paleontology Guide link The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Despite any pet peeves, none ever stop me from doing what I love--hunting for things. They are fun to gripe about and often in the field can bring on what I refer to as "Situationally-induced Turret's Syndrome" (or uncontrollable cussing a blue streak like a sailor). Some of the setbacks and annoyances only add to the heroic nature of the story as it is recounted again and again at a later date. I'm taking Kane's idea for a topic in a more light-hearted way and not in a truly negative way. True fossil hunters are driven to the point (usually just a little past sanity) where we push ourselves more than we normally would for the joy of the next great find (and the related fame and glory when we share it here ). I do agree with Lissa though in that people can be real slobs and we spend each fossil hunting trip cleaning up after those who have left behind more than they should have. Looking forward to a happy endings topic as I have many instances of that. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 Just to clarify, I am intending this thread as just light-hearted kvetching. If the hunt wasn't fun and rewarding, I wouldn't do it! I had to laugh at prem's #s 4 and 9 as having happened to me far too often! And I also echo Lissa's peeve. Seeing rubbish lying about is very frustrating. ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prem Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Related to my #4 above, I don't know how many times I've said "I'm leaving now" and right then find the most awesome fossil of the trip...but you have to really mean it...fake-saying "I'm leaving now" has no effect whatsoever. Here's another one...12. You do find a spectacular fossil on a large chunk of rock (that is almost carryable if you expend a good amount of energy trying to trim down the outer edges of the rock) and it is all the way across the friggin' quarry from your vehicle...you realize just how many hills and rills and gullies there are between you and your vehicle while carrying that gigantic rock. You finally arrive and your arm muscles are frozen in place for a good ten minutes. ---Prem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 When there are thousands of some kind of fossil that happen to very closely resemble the fossils I'm actually looking for. A notorious example is the inoceramid clams in the Kansas Cretaceous. When these break up, they resemble vertebrae, jaws, long bones, among other things. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 When there are thousands of some kind of fossil that happen to very closely resemble the fossils I'm actually looking for. A notorious example is the inoceramid clams in the Kansas Cretaceous. When these break up, they resemble vertebrae, jaws, long bones, among other things. That can drive you nuts. Having a good search image you can focus on to be able to spot the faintest hint of a fossil you are searching for makes hunting not only possible but fun. I enjoy it when I'm "tuned in" and can spot fossils that are playing hide-and-seek. Having a bunch of "fakers" that give off false signals and masquerade as the fossils you are looking for dilutes the signal-to-noise ratio and keeps disappointing time after time. On the plus side, these "counterfeit" fossils can help you sharpen your search image even more and may make you a better hunter in the end (or it will make you lose your mind). Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 #1 When parents let their children run willy nilly at a potentially dangerous site, because they are to more concerned about finding that cool fossil. I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 When you decide that there are no mosquitoes so you don't need the repellent, and then hike 2 miles out, and are suddenly attacked by thick swarms that make you run back to the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Oooooo, what's this?! ... [rabbit 'pellet', hackberry seed, beetle carapace, etc.] Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 And ticks... Especially the lymes disease carrying deer ticks around here. We've already had a couple incidents just in the last 3 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exasperatus2002 Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 And ticks... Especially the lymes disease carrying deer ticks around here. We've already had a couple incidents just in the last 3 weeks. I had lyme disease back in august but luckily I caught it early. But for those who ignore the signs and think they just have a cold or something else going on double check with the doctor my doctor said that everyone he determined was positive with lime they all had different symptoms I had the rash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Trash left by others. Ground bees and wasps. Fire ants. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 My main pet peeve is garbage. People tossing their trash around and not cleaning up after themselves. Trash left by others. I too hate littering, but I do have to admit that discarded cups have come in handy as collecting containers on a number of occasions. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 "Pet Peeves " vs. "Happy Endings "... The Peeves are winning, four to one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pocock Posted June 6, 2016 Share Posted June 6, 2016 Broken nodules that have been smashed and discarded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 I can appreciate having a kvetching topic, since I like to do so, and it helps me to realize that I'm not the only one who goes thru a lot of snarge while collecting that has me contemplating quitting (Sometimes I wonder, when I see other people's riches, they must have it pretty easy, but maybe not). The material I have to work with is very crumbly/splintery. The peeve that comes to mind is when I lose a piece, and when I try to search thru the debris I can never find it, especially if it is small but still large enough to really affect the quality of the specimen by its absence. I sometimes don't even notice there is a piece missing until I try to reassemble it at home, even thought it was solid and complete when I found it. I would add anything that causes sites to be closed, such as development / change of ownership / abuse by hooligans / etc. but to me these are more than just 'pet peeves'. About site access, recently I went with the rockhounds to check out a 'crinoid' site up a logging road near Port Alberni, but the gate was closed. The gate on the opposite side of the road that led to a chert/jasper site was open. Apparently that's how it is on the weekends, and it's the other way around on weekdays but you'd have to negotiate logging truck traffic then. No rhyme or reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Im with Lissa318. My biggest pet peav is trash. I would love to take that trash and put in the persons own living room!!!RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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