Shiny? Well eventually!

This is my first by request post (and sadly the request didn't even come in to me it came to Lisa...). Apparently a few folks wanted to 'put eyes on' some rocks...

 

Well, that was easy! By the way some of this may be in the reunion mix. The request actually had a lot to do with "What will we find at the reunion?" There will be some more pics of what you might find, but first the educational part of the program.

Vocabulary: we need some language to talk about rocks...so here are some terms that you might hear Lisa and I use...

Sean rock:

Basically these are rocks I tend to pick up... some of the common characteristics tend to be greens, reds, yellows. Pattern wise the more Sean rocks you see the better you understand.

Lisa rock:

The one on the left is a Lisa rock... Pink and purple tend to be more common here and patterns that look more like fabric patterns. But it mainly just means the rocks Lisa is more likely to pick up.

The rock on the right is actually both a Sean rock  and a Lisa rock . The real name for this one is a Moss Agate. It has green parts and clear parts and a few are in the mix for the reunion. Possession of these stones may result in favorable trades or hand to hand combat!

Now to make it a bit more confusing...
This is a Lisa rock:

This is a Sean rock:

 Now both of these are petrified wood, so how do you tell them apart?

Here is the Lisa rock on top of the Sean rock:

This time the difference in terminology comes from the fact that Lisa tends to like little things where as I am more likely to pick up the rocks sized as catapult shot... Note I still do pick up small ones, but Lisa really specializes in it.


Ok this next term is important for parents and others that have to deal with a rock hounds...

Leaverite:

Sorry no picture for this one...because I'm taking pics of rocks we brought back and the primary characteristic of a leaverite is you see it and say, "Nope, leave it right there."

Ok, educational portion done...Lets see a few fun things you might find at the reunion

This is carnelian... No, not a diamond but this is a really fun red/orange stone that is what kings and queens in Europe would wear as the stone in their signet ring.

This is Fluorite. Definite Sean rock here. Easy and pretty carver. It also glows under a black light. Why is this one cool?

Maybe this slice makes it a bit clearer...

Speaking of clear... this is that last slice held up to a light, with my hand in the picture for scale...

Using my lined paper backdrop again, this is citrine. Most of what you find in the mix will be cutable into a jewelry sized stone! Colors run from pale orange to oxblood (deep orange almost red). There is also a material called ametrine which has purple (amethyst) and orange (citrine) in the same stone, but I'm not aware of any of it in the reunion gravel. 

If this hasn't whetted your appetite...

 

Our last stone of the day is apatite... as you can see these little fellas are smaller than the citrines (they are also softer stones) but they are cutable none the less, and a color you don't see that often in nature. And yes you might see some at the reunion, but look carefully these little guys can hide!

Well, this has been some of the rocks in the reunion mix, a bit of vocab and a couple of treasures I'm hording for my self...

Next week... is a week away (or is it?)

Two weeks from now... more rocks as we finish the tumbling batch I introduced a few weeks back.