Got there a bit late so all of the really good stuff was taken. I controlled myself and left a good portion of Amethyst behind for someone else to moon over for a change. We have about 45Kg of Amethyst already if you count all the pieces between the cottage, and our house, and Grandma’s. No shortage of varying qualities of the purple stuff. Makes a good paper weight. I still haven’t gotten a wet tile saw with a diamond blade to clean all these things up. And maybe I never will! We don’t really do enough of it to warrant a $400.00 purchase of a decent saw, and a specific gem stone cutting blade(s), because you know you can’t have just one. Blade that is. Got to have spares on hand. It’s a whole thing.
Anyway, welcome to Tuesday July 9th of 2024. Tonight, and all day tomorrow we will be getting hit by whatever was left over from hurricane Beryl. I have heard some folks say 40mm of rain, others call for 3 to 4 inches, so it’s a pretty good spread of what to expect. Just in time for us to have to drive to Barrie to pick-up Graham. Lovely! Is it an omen? Or just an unfortunate coincidence.
I didn’t really know we were going to the mine today, as I had left our rock hound gear packed away in the garage. All of our cold chisels, rock hammers, mini sledges, and safety goggles, and I think some gloves too. We don’t wear knee pads or steel toed boots or anything like that, but bug spray is a must, same with a hat, and light weight long sleeves (bugs & stone chips/fragments will get you!) That’s how we roll.
Speaking of which, we watch a lot of gem hunting on YouTube done in parks across the states. That looks like fun. A bit messy, but it does look like fun. Some huge pieces get pulled out of the ground on those shows. Now, is it all staged to build excitement? Possibly, but after a few hours of digging & finding stuff, who cares?. It’s the experience, and not the outcome that we are looking for. Does a huge find make things a bit better? Sure does, but getting out in the field, shovels, and chisels in hand, sitting in the mud, and “doing” the thing, now that’s where it’s at!
The above would be a prime candidate for some clean-up work with a wet tile saw, and some polishing, in a effort to get it to look as good as possible. It lacks depth of colour, for sure, but some elbow grease and a few hours you could make it the best it could be. That’s a “just for the fun of it / gain experience” type of undertaking. Get a feel for cleaning this stuff up, so that once you do get a hold of something special, you have the skills and the know how to make it really incredible. Polish enough turds that once you have a better grade item in your possession you can really make it sparkle. Pay your dues on the garbage that no one cares if it gets scratched or marred, so you’re a pro with the quality finds. Noice!
Have a lovely Tuesday. Ciao Bella!
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