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Pre-Season Warm-Up Close to Home


Kane

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As it is a sunny day, this morning I decided to take a walk out back beyond my house to my little reliable spot of imported lower to mid Devonian fill. I wanted to see how much had weathered out since last season, and to try out a few more rocks that span from Bois Blanc Formation up through the Dundee Formation. As always, I was on the look-out for trilobites.

 

The scene from near the base of the hills:

img-4582_orig.jpg

 

The pit still has a bit too much snow to bother with, so I stuck with probing the hills and its gullies. A lot of the rocks were still frozen into the ground, so hammering a few out was necessary.

 

img-4585_orig.jpg

 

A sure sign that spring is imminent. Here in southwestern Ontario, usually the first plants to come out (even before crocuses) is this dandelion mimic, Colt's Foot (Tussilago farfara). Only a few isolated clusters were appearing today, but by a week these hills and many other locations with scrabble will be full of these.

 

(continued)

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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A typical collection of brach hashes to be found. The rocks usually break out in chunks rather than thin layers, pending their origin. In this mix are some nicely mineralized/coloured Leptaena sp., a few spirifers, and a big strophomenid. Not pictured were, well, several other species that I really need to document better. There were plenty of interesting corals and finely laced bryozoans I regret not snapping pictures of, but... next time. It is quite literally a ten to fifteen walk from my backyard, so I usually come here quite often throughout the year.

 

img-4583_orig.jpg

 

And another nice little hash + impression. Sitting on my hammer is a plump and inflated brach that I popped easily out of some matrix:

 

img-4584_orig.jpg

 

(continued)

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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I was already finding quite a few trilo-fragments, but nothing I wanted to bother taking with me. It wasn't too long until a lucky tap of the rock revealed this pygidium of Anchiopsis anchiops with some shell preservation.

 

img-4586_orig.jpg

 

Among the other stuff I brought home (not all pictured) were these two pieces. The one on the left looks like Eldredgeops rana ... but on the other side of the rock was the impression of an Anchiopsis anchiops. I might have to give this phacopid cephalon a bit of a keener eye. On the right is a tucked in tail of possibly another Anchiopsis (or maybe Crassiproetus... only prep will tell).

 

img-4587_orig.jpg

 

And, finally, a new find for me among the mixed materials at this location. My eye was able to pick out this ~3 mm long piece in a somewhat busy brachy matrix. It is the cranidium of a Calymene of some sort, and I do know they are reported in the Bois Blanc Fm. Determining the precise genera and species will be part of my homework. :P 

 

s20180318-011.jpeg?1521391868

 

So, all in all, not a bad little 2-hour jaunt and warm-up. I'm hoping it bodes well for a long and productive season to come. :) Thanks for tagging along virtually!

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Well you now have at least 2 hours more collecting than me this year.... Maybe friday if we are lucky

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3 minutes ago, Malcolmt said:

Well you now have at least 2 hours more collecting than me this year.... Maybe friday if we are lucky

So far, the weather is looking better each time I visit the Weather Network. Fingers crossed that we can get out there this Friday!

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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1 hour ago, Kane said:

I was already finding quite a few trilo-fragments, but nothing I wanted to bother taking with me. It wasn't too long until a lucky tap of the rock revealed this pygidium of Anchiopsis anchiops with some shell preservation.:)

Among the other stuff I brought home (not all pictured) were these two pieces. The one on the left looks like Eldredgeops rana ... but on the other side of the rock was the impression of an Anchiopsis anchiops. I might have to give this phacopid cephalon a bit of a keener eye. On the right is a tucked in tail of possibly another Anchiopsis (or maybe Crassiproetus... only prep will tell).

And, finally, a new find for me among the mixed materials at this location. My eye was able to pick out this ~3 mm long piece in a somewhat busy brachy matrix. It is the cranidium of a Calymene of some sort, and I do know they are reported in the Bois Blanc Fm. Determining the precise genera and species will be part of my homework. :P 

So, all in all, not a bad little 2-hour jaunt and warm-up. I'm hoping it bodes well for a long and productive season to come. :) Thanks for tagging along virtually!

Glad to have done so. 

As you say, pretty good for a couple of hours work. :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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1 hour ago, Malcolmt said:

Well you now have at least 2 hours more collecting than me this year.... Maybe friday if we are lucky

Well Malcolm, it looks like you have some major catching up to do with Kane's enormous two hour headstart. 

Maybe like the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, he will stop to do push ups or something and give you the opportunity to gather a few extra items.

 

 

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Will be a bit as I am supposed to go out with Kane  on Friday weather permitting

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Wow - beautiful brachiopods!!!  I am :envy:

 

Good luck getting out on Friday - I'll keep my fingers crossed for you guys :fingerscrossed:

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Thanks all. :) A nice first foray to find 3-4 species of bug in a short time, and in sometimes parsimonious rocks that don't give up their secrets easily. :P 

 

Last year, my first time into the field was also at this location, on March 26, so a gain of 8 days on the front-end. :D Although I did try four times to get out earlier this winter, and this resulted in getting skunked twice, having to abort mission, or just an idle river-on-campus sifting. Up here, when you push the season, it has a habit of pushing back. 

 

This little trip officially kicks off spring and the collecting season for me, and I couldn't be more thrilled. And Friday is looking pretty good so far. :fingerscrossed:

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Good Luck Friday! Here, we are getting another 4-8" of snow. No collecting locally for a bit longer. :( 

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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7 minutes ago, Shamalama said:

Good Luck Friday! Here, we are getting another 4-8" of snow. No collecting locally for a bit longer. :( 

Thanks, Dave. :) It would be great to have you up here again - you were a bit of our lucky charm (although you hogged most of that with your stunning Eldredgeops southworthi find :wub:). 

 

We'll have our work cut out for us. The exposure has slumped badly, burying all of last season's work. How the bench looked when you were there, and what it looked like this January: IMG_4200.JPG

IMG_0073.JPG

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Man I wish I had a productive formation in my back yard... (:envy:)

 

Well, I still have the Conasauga bugs to brag about! :P

Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such.

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On 3/20/2018 at 7:53 AM, Kane said:

Thanks, Dave. :) It would be great to have you up here again - you were a bit of our lucky charm (although you hogged most of that with your stunning Eldredgeops southworthi find :wub:). 

 

IMG_0073.JPG

Are those hard layers the Limestone of the HH or the bench that you were working on? The perspective is funky.

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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1 hour ago, Shamalama said:

Are those hard layers the Limestone of the HH or the bench that you were working on? The perspective is funky.

The bench is the darker band near the top of the picture (or what is left of it), and those massive blocks are about 2 feet tall. Those blocks are that erosion resistant stuff that is at the very top of the cliff, and near the top of the Widder. Just glad I wasn't working the bench the day those bad boys came down!

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Went back to the same spot today for a few hours. Waded through a zillion brachs, brought home only about 6 or so interesting pieces (including a few mysteries) and of the stuff I am more sure about, a nicely formed bryzoan and my first rostroconch at this particular site. Both these specimens came from the same rock.

IMG_4614.JPG

IMG_4613.JPG

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Peat Burns said:

Rostroconch: :envy:

 

That's a bucket-lister for me.

 

1 minute ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

A couple of really nice and more unusual finds. :)

Thanks, gents. :) 

 

I might be setting aside some items for future mail-out. ;) 

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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