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Sometimes You Have To Whack It !!


Nimravis

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Tonight I did not “Whack” these concretions, but I “tapped” some more of the ones that I froze outside, over the Winter. Nothing special was found, just four Essexella asherae Jellyfish from Pit 11 and one Flora piece from Pit 4, I believe it may be Stigmariodes, but I could be wrong. If anyone has a correct ID, let me know.

 

C213935D-9AEE-462C-8FF8-4E58744AA5E1.thumb.jpeg.83984569cf306532df900363b298dfab.jpeg

 

1A2C7B11-A9E6-4646-B2DC-1F7DA8A99476.thumb.jpeg.89bedf4ee7e5ded001d95be4b1dc2b07.jpeg

 

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20922A99-B559-4C98-A46A-7159BC75A06B.thumb.jpeg.fe0c5d3cc9ccfa57694960869bacdc9d.jpeg

 

AF3B0B52-63C9-4BAD-B812-CFC239D1AC94.thumb.jpeg.9589a2498e1c97010958960b3fea74e5.jpeg

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Tonight I tapped a few more concretions that were freezing over the Winter.

 

This first piece is something that I am not sure about, but the only thing that I believe looks similar is the seed Rhabdocarpus sp. 

 

73D4B962-76CB-4135-8841-F3068494D772.thumb.jpeg.06de0041af7d077f4cd68ccd884aa334.jpeg

 

30D3E45D-FC9C-4626-80FB-A4ED57F4C4BF.thumb.jpeg.88e32d8bead2fb70e2ca56b02a2653d4.jpeg

 

9AAD5792-389D-4538-87CA-D1C76197BBF2.thumb.jpeg.bfc7c197574e0f47582f0a89392b27ed.jpeg

 

A nice Neuropteris also popped open from Pit 4.

 

C66D45F3-5A2A-471D-98CA-E3F2CD2A0DDC.thumb.jpeg.355ad03e41ea67adeec463d3d5eb26f8.jpeg

 

A very poor Pecopteris also broke apart.

 

BF46CF8E-34DD-4D35-88CB-8E7942FF3260.thumb.jpeg.8844600bcac25e2afd412795dff5c1ce.jpeg

 

From Pit 11, two Essexella asherae Jellyfish opened up, one is a poor example and the other is very large and in my opinion, very pretty- Though they are common, I love Essexella asherae.

 

2CA57A39-5901-4DF2-8AAC-4F00D52FEACC.thumb.jpeg.3b785bc2dbd35a721b90c09e97511d38.jpeg

 

E18EF0D1-BBE7-43AE-B6B6-F14033CCF27C.thumb.jpeg.ac895b7c8ca424b94ba2226bd0f8cab6.jpeg

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2 minutes ago, Nimravis said:

Tonight I tapped a few more concretions that were freezing over the Winter.

 

This first piece is something that I am not sure about, but the only thing that I believe looks similar is the seed Rhabdocarpus sp. 

 

73D4B962-76CB-4135-8841-F3068494D772.thumb.jpeg.06de0041af7d077f4cd68ccd884aa334.jpeg

 

30D3E45D-FC9C-4626-80FB-A4ED57F4C4BF.thumb.jpeg.88e32d8bead2fb70e2ca56b02a2653d4.jpeg

 

9AAD5792-389D-4538-87CA-D1C76197BBF2.thumb.jpeg.bfc7c197574e0f47582f0a89392b27ed.jpeg

 

I think you are correct.  I think that is a seed.  Nice one!

 

Although I give many jellies away, I still get a little excited when they open.  In Pit 11, they can also be an indicator that at least some fossils can be found in the concretions you picked up.  Not a fan when after processing, I find out my whole bag was full of jellies.  Concretions are heavy to haul out of the depths of Pit 11!

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

 

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4 minutes ago, stats said:

Concretions are heavy to haul out of the depths of Pit 11!

That is the truth Rich.

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Nice seed, that's very interesting 

And I agree, the big jellyfish is lovely. :b_love1:

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Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

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

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  • 3 weeks later...

Today I decided to try and whack open the +200 concretions that I collected at a new site on March 27th. This is an area that is most likely a part of Pit4 and was probably on the border of the Essex and Braidwood biota.
 

 

I was really hoping for a high percentage of fossils in this group, something similar to the site that I call “Across From Pit 4”, and it is about 1/2 mile away.

 

Here are pics of what opened-

 

This piece looks like a “Tummy Tooth Worm”, Didontogaster cordylina.

 

213237B4-FEA8-407A-BAE2-55B96BA341E0.thumb.jpeg.b1c075ab3d51315e36039020e927a76c.jpeg

 

After cleaning with water.

 

6ECDEC7A-B62B-429D-A8AA-1FE92078EA84.thumb.jpeg.c330f018074b2395f81a6579467f1717.jpeg

 

23223ADB-1E3C-4FAE-A3A1-0E81C772AE89.thumb.jpeg.470b563986b1acfc246246f2b0eb3616.jpeg

 

I had also found Myalinella meeki clams when I was out there. Here is a small piece that opened today.

 

A13FB7E4-A805-4E03-9E6A-645C9E370AEB.thumb.jpeg.a1a746e0fb216c0ed9ae2323c95bd850.jpeg

 

This is a piece of coprolite that contains multiple Myalinella.

 

8338BAB8-65A9-459D-9676-62B531929024.thumb.jpeg.2a3e204c314e262643b74514839f0400.jpeg

 

 

Pecopteris

 

E7332E30-A0BC-4E38-94A6-045115AAFDCC.thumb.jpeg.b01a37c1a76c6994e71925c8e04eacfd.jpeg

 

 

Asterophyllites 

 

060A214A-6C0B-49D8-9723-E3AC453A1E94.thumb.jpeg.ad606bf44cf2973fb21be6a78fa8ef4e.jpeg

 


Annularia 

 

E1BEC4F3-C476-4C06-B670-79D9C900043F.thumb.jpeg.a9ee23a844bc048eb020ecee100a3e5a.jpeg

 

There were many pieces that contained pyrite.

 

F060ED73-7731-464C-8506-9B40382C3A5B.thumb.jpeg.75fe8dceb3e632857f507fb1196b0916.jpeg

 

DEB3894E-549F-4CC0-B90D-C3364381EE54.thumb.jpeg.0d95e7d521c08555da78217e5c6c2cae.jpeg

 

323246EA-3847-4677-BD90-D2536B7759DF.thumb.jpeg.3e96db7a2ee27c9229a2ea7c9f023bdd.jpeg

 

Misc plant material-

 

E219A3C3-EDF7-40CC-8456-32703D299D97.thumb.jpeg.61a5881dfd93fccf64724b192733f30b.jpeg

 

DA1526DF-128F-471F-B5EA-C53A1B4F0B98.thumb.jpeg.428c2c996c280952f44686a1cc38f34c.jpeg

 

I really liked the shape of this concretion, so I decided to put it in the freezer rather than whack it.

 

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1460C7B5-EF50-406B-96C5-0E82B1987767.thumb.jpeg.8eedbe7c7f4d2db8a7a8f043b003705d.jpeg

 

 

I decided to dump these remaining concretions since I was not having much luck. I would guess that these pieces would be void of fossils, but when hitting a new site, I grab any concretion that I see so I can test them out.

 

 

6A8D7F19-8336-4CA5-836B-55D86DAC1E09.thumb.jpeg.1464a1433782cf2dc7409d502d1a96f3.jpeg
 

 

This is a site that I probably will not visit again.

Edited by Nimravis
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Interesting, Ralph.  I agree!  The first time you visit a site it's good to do a survey and pick up a variety of shapes.  Although, the diagonal concretions are typically bad, I'll even grab a few of those.  I even do this in Pit 11, when going to a new area.  You have to find out which ones are likely to have good fossils. 

 

Sorry about your luck...  You had some very good looking shapes!  I have heard that Pit 4 had a good diversity of fossils.

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

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2 minutes ago, stats said:

Interesting, Ralph.  I agree!  The first time you visit a site it's good to do a survey and pick up a variety of shapes.  Although, the diagonal concretions are typically bad, I'll even grab a few of those.  I even do this in Pit 11, when going to a new area.  You have to find out which ones are likely to have good fossils. 

 

Sorry about your luck... I have heard that Pit 4 had a good diversity of fossils.

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

Pit 4 does, and like you, I grab all complete concretions at Pit 11.

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I was going to go out and do a little fossil collecting today, but decided against it. Instead I pulled out a couple small containers of concretions that I have been freeze / thawing for about 35 sessions. These were just a couple that I decided to place in the freezer. After 35 sessions of freeze / thawing, these pieces did not pop, so I decided to give them a whack.

 

25977C41-8234-42F3-BA47-805146D4C286.thumb.jpeg.2875fc64a6f6aa9f3389bb6baa034745.jpeg

 

The majority of these were void of fossils, but here is what I found, nothing special, but it still nice to find something.

 

Annularia-

 

0E2FFFAC-C017-45AB-9DF5-0FF7FEFCB401.thumb.jpeg.5c6f05f876d430ec9e5e45055556d6af.jpeg

 

Macroneuropteris-

 

F3191C5F-BA5F-4998-B771-3F5259F3B726.thumb.jpeg.c25349cc78f4777ef9a30b9614d0a05f.jpeg

 

 

Myalinella meeki -

 

D009671D-96E1-4781-9F73-05E37B6571D8.thumb.jpeg.2ac413f9c9ba9cddb066caf812fda8f9.jpeg
 

BA880129-EB2A-4F3B-9E32-B0E6FC145ADD.thumb.jpeg.e6257abbc07946bb80b0811ac66d0878.jpeg

 

AA69CDBC-4B27-4483-AE9A-B5A97672F99E.thumb.jpeg.b0b30912068aef7e0a4ec10b699f8ddd.jpeg

 

A83A3AE6-B009-4469-A150-6332729637C2.thumb.jpeg.35a3fa2d53addcb4b72c0ffca1c992fc.jpeg

 

Misc Plant Material-

 

FC96CC5B-B0A0-465A-8775-4E64FF2BE67B.thumb.jpeg.875772d958831437d699076737b93469.jpeg  9167DDFE-4945-4D9F-92CD-E16BF446B4E3.thumb.jpeg.0377f4206c3e6819130ba573cab24f53.jpeg  6800B744-92DD-47BD-B851-61B9D45483AD.thumb.jpeg.4409f9e4685c4d6293f614f49a3d4079.jpeg
 

5F45C51F-5D10-4637-AF97-0476EB2DDA38.thumb.jpeg.bce86c60c8dad57e8139d060df15ea12.jpeg

 

6162144A-23C4-4B10-8751-F2EEAF58AB5C.thumb.jpeg.85afbbf22e25b97aab0062ed06b2d698.jpeg

 

I have to get back to whacking open concretions, I still have about 15  5-gallon buckets to open.

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Nice!  A day with fossils is always a good day!  Sorry, some were blanks, I guess that's just the way the concretion crumbles...

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Waiting for more good stuff. Got my fingers crossed.

 

 

Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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  • 9 months later...

It has been quiet a while since I have posted on this thread and I think I need to get back to whacking open concretions. Now I know that it is not the preferred method, but when I started collecting, it was. 
 

Though you can, and I do damage some nice fossils, it is a risk that I am willing to take. I do freeze buckets over the Winter, but the numbers that pop open are very limited. I only freeze the best looking concretions, in the hopes that something will open, but again, most do not.

 

Here is a couple pictures of some of the concretions that I froze over the Winter.

 

BE77E7EE-A7A7-4B2D-908C-3B070E5BB78E.thumb.jpeg.7c271a97f9782cff4ccf28e6d99d59ec.jpeg

 

70C0FCA7-DF29-442F-94AC-2CB9A4687AEE.thumb.jpeg.b7e4c0e984e16b2e8e54399bce7b5633.jpeg

 

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4DB04CA2-C92D-4E28-84E2-39428E1B2B82.thumb.jpeg.23306f1ca0ec8c18a4bb9ce6cdfce041.jpeg

 

Here one that that split that contained nothing and another that just broke apart. I will try to spend some type over the weekend checking the concretions and tapping them to see if anything pops.

 

2A305B14-05CB-4408-913D-55FA2F13E821.thumb.jpeg.94f6c4ba52fa5b1000614d6c2fedb5cc.jpeg

 

4109A993-50C7-4B2B-AE9C-5C8FCC1DE018.thumb.jpeg.31ac0634ba022d8d2b4c4e8aca21e1e1.jpeg

 

Here is a fern that opened in pieces.

 

73F2174B-E164-40E9-8070-13AD39650B11.thumb.jpeg.bd52c3aa1b42e1e9bd03f1b162052720.jpeg

 

I still have about 15- 5 gallon buckets to open and hopefully I can get through most of them this year. Stay tuned.

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As I'm sure you know, freeze/thaw only works well when you do it continuously cycle after cycle.  It is a slow process.  I have some that have been in the process for a few years before they open.  This is not a criticism of your methods.  I suspect that using a hammer might be better with some concretions.  Sometimes, freeze/thaw causes them to slowly flake away.  A friend calls them lottery tickets.  Unfortunately, you only get one chance with each concretion... pick your method and take your shot.

 

I enjoy these posts immensely.  Great to see this thread is back!

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

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1 hour ago, stats said:

As I'm sure you know, freeze/thaw only works well when you do it continuously cycle after cycle.  It is a slow process. 

I agree with you Rich, unfortunately, the wife does not like me taking up room in the freezer with concretions, so I will always put a couple buckets out over the Winter and might get 5-8 cycles of freeze / thaw over that time frame, again, depending on the weather. As you know, I started this thread with about 110 5-gallon buckets of concretions and there is no way I can freeze / thaw them. I do keep about 5 buckets full of the best looking ones for freezing, so I will have enough for a few years of that process.

 

Lastly thanks for the comment on the thread,I have been meaning to start it back up.

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1 minute ago, Nimravis said:

I agree with you Rich, unfortunately, the wife does not like me taking up room in the freezer with concretions, so I will always put a couple buckets out over the Winter and might get 5-8 cycles of freeze / thaw over that time frame, again, depending on the weather. As you know, I started this thread with about 110 5-gallon buckets of concretions and there is no way I can freeze / thaw them. I do keep about 5 buckets full of the best looking ones for freezing, so I will have enough for a few years of that process.

 

Lastly thanks for the comment on the thread,I have been meaning to start it back up.

Yep, I know you agree... no excuse needed!   I'm excited to see what you turn up!  Sorry if my tone came across the wrong way!

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

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6 hours ago, Nimravis said:

I agree with you Rich, unfortunately, the wife does not like me taking up room in the freezer with concretions, so I will always put a couple buckets out over the Winter and might get 5-8 cycles of freeze / thaw over that time frame, again, depending on the weather. As you know, I started this thread with about 110 5-gallon buckets of concretions and there is no way I can freeze / thaw them. I do keep about 5 buckets full of the best looking ones for freezing, so I will have enough for a few years of that process.

 

Lastly thanks for the comment on the thread,I have been meaning to start it back up.

Wow, that is a lot of concretions :envy:

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png MotM August 2023 - Eclectic Collector

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2 hours ago, Yoda said:

Wow, that is a lot of concretions :envy:

Was a lot. Lol - I am glad that most are gone.

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9 hours ago, stats said:

Yep, I know you agree... no excuse needed!   I'm excited to see what you turn up!  Sorry if my tone came across the wrong way!

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

By no means did it come across wrong Rich. Freezing is the way to go for them, but I had so many to begin with, I need to get them down before I relocate, hopefully next year.

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1 hour ago, Nimravis said:

By no means did it come across wrong Rich. Freezing is the way to go for them, but I had so many to begin with, I need to get them down before I relocate, hopefully next year.

 

You'll have tons of rocks to move when you relocate anyway. What's another 15 buckets or so? :default_rofl: It sounds to me like you need a dedicated freezer. When I had one it handled about one bucket per week -- but I only had 27 buckets full to start with that came from Cinder Ridge. The concretions from that location popped pretty quickly except the small ones from the extreme west end of the site. They averaged under 10 cycles. They averaged under 5 cycles not counting the small resistant ones. I'm looking forward to seeing more of what you find on this thread. It's been a joyous ride thus far.

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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10 hours ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

 

You'll have tons of rocks to move when you relocate anyway. What's another 15 buckets or so? :default_rofl: It sounds to me like you need a dedicated freezer. When I had one it handled about one bucket per week -- but I only had 27 buckets full to start with that came from Cinder Ridge. The concretions from that location popped pretty quickly except the small ones from the extreme west end of the site. They averaged under 10 cycles. They averaged under 5 cycles not counting the small resistant ones. I'm looking forward to seeing more of what you find on this thread. It's been a joyous ride thus far.

The river ones open fairly readily.  Pit 2, Pit 11, and Braceville seem to take forever....  Sometimes, the Pit 2 concretions shatter into a bunch of pieces.  So, disappointing!  It's got me wondering if a hammer is better for some.

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

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12 hours ago, Nimravis said:

Was a lot. Lol - I am glad that most are gone.

I need to start getting my supply down.  I might have to follow your lead at some point.

 

Cheers,

Rich

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I look forward to your posts firing up again, Ralph! I would say I average one 5 gallon bucket or less of unprocessed material at any given time- I've never been able to dedicate enough collection time to get above that, for better or for worse. :-P 

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22 hours ago, stats said:

The river ones open fairly readily.

 

That's because nature has already put them through at least a dozen or more freeze/thaw cycles each winter before they are found. They exist in an environment that keeps them soaking wet all the way through most of the time. The fastest opening ones, in my experience, are from the Dresden Lakes area and just west of there. Pit 4 open relatively fast as well. Braceville and Pit 11 and Moster/Ponderosa are definitely the most resistant. Also those from the area just south of South Paradise Lakes. I am currently freeze/thawing a couple that are on their 160th or so cycle. Both plant fossils with a little bit of the fossil exposed, trying to tease me into hammering them. They have underestimated my patience!

 

 

 

 

Edited by Mark Kmiecik
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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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11 hours ago, deutscheben said:

I look forward to your posts firing up again, Ralph! I would say I average one 5 gallon bucket or less of unprocessed material at any given time- I've never been able to dedicate enough collection time to get above that, for better or for worse. :-P 

My wife would say better... I would say worse.  You need a supply to get through the winter and hot summer time.

 

Cheers,

Rich

 

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