The Rocks Rocked!

As Patrick said last week, I will be jumping back in and doing some of the writing.  I have been doing lots of writing, but that has been more in the vain of homework, dissertation preparation, article summaries, an article for publication (on the first round of edits back from the copy editor!) and a book chapter.  So, now that I feel I can breathe (last coursework concludes on Friday!) you'll get to "hear" from me too.

As we thought about the family reunion, we wanted to share our love of rocks with the nieces and nephews.  If you have been reading, you have seen snapshots of our preparation and some of the cool rocks that were included in the activity.  I know that at least one niece has created something amazing with her rocks.

I did not always like rocks.  Didn't really think much about them.  My dad has a box of rocks in the garage.  I mostly remember the lava rocks with the holes and that they were really light. (And that my brothers hammered some nails into them - as kids that was pretty cool - hammering nails into a rock!) Turns out my great-grandfather had a full lapidary shop and one of the grandmothers on the other side of some of the nieces and nephews is also a rockhound.  I'm not sure if there is a genetic connection, but it does make you wonder.

So, why do I like rocks, now?  I will get some pictures of some of my favorite rocks to better illustrate this in the future (camera took a dive, so no new pictures for a bit).  For now, it will just be words.  As you look at all the different kinds of rocks - agate, amethyst, geode, bloodstone, moss agate, aventurine, jasper, etc. - you get to see all the creative wonders of our world.  Some of my favorite rocks remind me of the pictures of stars and galaxies with all their layers of color.  There are lots of various factors that are required to create some of these amazing beauties and some we still are sure exactly how the water got into the rock to create the beautiful layers.  Petrified wood is also one of my favorites.  My dad is a general contractor so I have grown up around wood, and I love seeing the textures of wood in beautiful agate colors and clear quartz and eval opalized!

I loved watching everyone go through their rocks.  And I think we even surprised some of the adults, as we brought bags for them too!  Rockhounding is definitely a family affair!  There are no age limits, and often the smaller fingers and short statures are better at finding the good stuff!

Sometime in the afternoon, someone asked my dad if he still had that box rocks.  He does.  Perhaps the fact that my mom searched through two bags, indicates that she will maybe let that "old" box of rocks come out of the dark and dusty garage to be shared again.

Here are some pictures we took throughout the day!