Nimravis Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 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. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 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. A nice Neuropteris also popped open from Pit 4. A very poor Pecopteris also broke apart. 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. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 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. 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 4 minutes ago, stats said: Concretions are heavy to haul out of the depths of Pit 11! That is the truth Rich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Nice seed, that's very interesting And I agree, the big jellyfish is lovely. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 (edited) 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. After cleaning with water. I had also found Myalinella meeki clams when I was out there. Here is a small piece that opened today. This is a piece of coprolite that contains multiple Myalinella. Pecopteris Asterophyllites Annularia There were many pieces that contained pyrite. Misc plant material- I really liked the shape of this concretion, so I decided to put it in the freezer rather than whack it. 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. This is a site that I probably will not visit again. Edited April 4, 2021 by Nimravis 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 (edited) 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 Edited April 5, 2021 by stats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 WOW! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 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. The majority of these were void of fossils, but here is what I found, nothing special, but it still nice to find something. Annularia- Macroneuropteris- Myalinella meeki - Misc Plant Material- I have to get back to whacking open concretions, I still have about 15 5-gallon buckets to open. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted April 12, 2021 Share Posted April 12, 2021 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 Waiting for more good stuff. Got my fingers crossed. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 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. 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. Here is a fern that opened in pieces. I still have about 15- 5 gallon buckets to open and hopefully I can get through most of them this year. Stay tuned. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) 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 Edited March 16, 2022 by stats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) 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. Edited March 16, 2022 by Nimravis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 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 MotM August 2023 - Eclectic Collector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 2 hours ago, Yoda said: Wow, that is a lot of concretions Was a lot. Lol - I am glad that most are gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 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? 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. 1 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 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? 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) 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 March 18, 2022 by Mark Kmiecik fix grammar 2 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stats Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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