jamesp favorites-Rio Grande #2

[HankRocks]

I have several pieces of wood from the Terlingua Ranch area in Big Bend that were cut and very strongly resemble the wood in #2,#3 and the one in #6. Almost like it came from the same log. Wonder if they from the same types of tree laid down at the same time and conditions?

H

[Sabre52]

That's the one all right Bob. Now stop being a tease. If you do cut it make sure and cut down through those flowers. The flower forms may be the exposed tops of some fancy multi-colored plumes if they are not orbs.

That type of wood does seem to be a dominant form in the George West region too. I've heard some call it snakewood but it's not what I know as snakewood....Mel

[jamesp]

Nov 10, 2016 19:34:14 GMT -5 HankRocks said:

I have several pieces of wood from the Terlingua Ranch area in Big Bend that were cut and very strongly resemble the wood in #2,#3 and the one in #6. Almost like it came from the same log. Wonder if they from the same types of tree laid down at the same time and conditions?

H

2-3-6 by far the most common dead solid wood I could find Henry. Especially 2 and 3.
I found 2 and 3 often with vivid knots regularly. Telling it is wood and not palm.
6 is obvious with detailed grain preservation-wood.

Those were the obvious woods.

[jamesp]

You guys stay on captbob. He has some of the best trophies. Such as the the above, and many more.
I never found anything like that one Bob. Orb types totally escaped me.
You would have heard me hollering a mile away had I found that one.

[jamesp]

Nov 10, 2016 19:18:52 GMT -5 Sabre52 said:

OK first off that palm rootlet thingee is super cool! Never seen one quite like it but I think bog is a good guess.

I find some of those too black too dense plumes when I cut too. Just not enough contrast to make them good ones.

Finally, don't those Texas woods make you want to pull your hair. I've got a real fine, and I might add uber expensive, wood ID book and believe me, nothing in there looks like those odd spotty Texas woods. I think either you'd have to slice them super thin and put them under a scope, or maybe, they are just too replaced for the cell structure to be easy to view. I have a very good scope here on my desk but need to find time to try for some super thin sections.

Anyway, keep the pics coming. This is a real treat....Mel

The palm bog is cool. The big densely plume fill is interesting.
The Texas woods 2-3-6 are quite common, and the red version of 2-3 (no. 1) happens occasionally.

It is the other vast variety of wood skinned rocks with crazy fills that confused.
Many with what looked like a jasper fill. Others with a shrink wood or petrified mash of wood.

Example 1

Found wood skinned rocks with this cross section, wood ? not wood ?(late day sun made it more red). Shrink wood possibly ?



Another similar



Example 2

Wood looking skin with what looks like this tumbled stone. I collected it as jasper but too many of them had a wood skin.
I guess my question is, can a wood be replaced by jasper ?

[jamesp]

On a moss and plume and jasper side note.
I sat at the 'Texas biscuit grinder' last night and skinned bleach white coatings off of a few last night.
The big one is baseball sized. These prepped for tumbler.

Texas biscuit grinder. Sumatra flame agate single handedly wore a curvature in this wheel. One hard rock.
The biscuits much softer. Curvature fits the contour of biscuits well.



Ready for tumbling, about half moss and half jasper.
Scrutinized collecting color and small high grade biscuits.

[HankRocks]

Should be a very nice batch out of the tumbler.

I have been wanting to try a few larger rocks in my 15lb rotary. Have been hesitant but now that I seem to have the hang of the proper slurry I am going to give it a try soon.

Your pictures are also motivating me to take a trip to the Lake Falcon area after hunting season is over. Feb or March maybe.

H

[captbob]

Got a boat?

[jamesp]

Nov 11, 2016 9:34:50 GMT -5 HankRocks said:

Should be a very nice batch out of the tumbler.

I have been wanting to try a few larger rocks in my 15lb rotary. Have been hesitant but now that I seem to have the hang of the proper slurry I am going to give it a try soon.

Your pictures are also motivating me to take a trip to the Lake Falcon area after hunting season is over. Feb or March maybe.

H

Henry, those Rio stones about indestructible in the tumbler. One reason I collect them.
The batch in the photo above with a baseball and cig pack size rock will be tossed in together with a minimum of smalls and all rolled together.
They are pre-ground to remove bleach coating but essentially the same size as the were found.
In a 6 inch barrel, so fairly small diameter. Thicker slurry is going to help protect them no doubt.
However, they will be finished in a 14 pound vibe with lot of pea sized media.

[captbob]

[jamesp]

Nice captbob. I think that is a plume/moss biscuit, and top of the line.
Digital camera loaded to computer and photo blown up shows detail beyond aging eyes.
Nothing but grade A agate with no junk or cracks.

[Sabre52]

Ooh the colors, the colors! Awesome nodule Bob! So complex it would be hard to even put it in a category. I guess I'd call it super fancy flower garden plume with moss and orbs. *L* That cover enough range? Definitely fantastic color and pattern not unlike a super Wingate plume. Great find indeed! You've really got the eye and the good luck....Mel

[jamesp]

Never thought about flower garden. Most of the flower garden I find at that location were in the 3-4 inch size.
Found about 3 last trip. Maybe none this trip.

[Sabre52]

Yeah, flower garden is kind of a broad category to cover those types of plume that are not the well defined big tree or feather like structures. They tend to be fans or brush shaped structures composed of tiny little plumes or filaments. Sometimes look almost blotchy unless you look under magnification. Tend to be much more multicolored than the more defined plumes too. I actually think it's one of the more pleasing forms of agate to come out of Texas. Used to be big boulders of it at Woodward and other west Texas sites so it's not unexpected to find it in the Rio gravels but it's not nearly as abundant as moss agate. Matt Dillon's site has some outrageous examples of flower garden...Mel

[jamesp]

The 3 color flower garden at Woodward is hard to beat Sabre52.

[jamesp]

I cropped about 150 field photos and complied them into a flickr link for a closer in view.
Please enjoy

www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/30898153916/in/album-72157674976072711/

[Fossilman]

You both are popping the eye balls out of our skulls!! Keep them coming!! LOL
That green and gold rock is just killer!! Thumbs up

James,can I share this link on my rockhounding,F/B site

[jamesp]

Nov 12, 2016 9:43:15 GMT -5 Fossilman said:

You both are popping the eye balls out of our skulls!! Keep them coming!! LOL
That green and gold rock is just killer!! Thumbs up

James,can I share this link on my rockhounding,F/B site

Of course. I took photos of a tiny percentage of my finds. Kinda scary how many pretty rock I dragged home.
You are in a state of deep concentration trying to remember all the skins tones and textures of those damn rocks.
Been decompressing for a few days.

[jamesp]

I am a dunce. Been artifact hunting for years.
Jumped for joy when I found this obvious palm like rock in my pile today. Palm was not common at this spot.
Was sorting today and noticed this one is a classic turtle back scraper.
I suppose our Native friends were palm lovers too, again palm was not so easy to find here.

Then it hit me that I found two more turtle back scrapers not 100 feet from this one. That makes 4 for the whole trip covering a lot of territory.
The spot was flat and close to the river, guessing it was at a camp and me not focused on artifacts.





I did take a thin window



Rock on Native dude, ya got good taste.

[Fossilman]

SCORE!!!!