jamesp
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Post by jamesp on May 20, 2017 18:01:23 GMT -5
That agate on the right looks like speckled chalcedony, almost like the nodules you can find here in southern KY locally. Great stuff to find out there in that alien desert landscape. You can't drag your eyes a foot without picking up a fine rock out there. Insane collection of silica gems. Get in a boat and hit the shores of L Falcon.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on May 20, 2017 22:04:05 GMT -5
Nice, more cool rock pics. Got to say though, I'm still chuckling over James' " Midnight Wood" porn actor name. We could have a pic of James unloading rocks from his truck after the Rio Grande trip and title it, " Getting your rocks off with Midnight Wood" *S*....Mel
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notjustone
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Post by notjustone on Jun 4, 2017 16:32:58 GMT -5
hmm I think I just put that top right 1 in my tumbler a couple hours ago.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 4, 2017 17:28:03 GMT -5
Nice, more cool rock pics. Got to say though, I'm still chuckling over James' " Midnight Wood" porn actor name. We could have a pic of James unloading rocks from his truck after the Rio Grande trip and title it, " Getting your rocks off with Midnight Wood" *S*....Mel I think Garage Rocker referred to @shotgunner as Midnightwood Mel. "Midnight wood? I thought that was your stage name, $hotgunner." Read more: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/76502/jamesp-favorites-rio-grande-2?page=39#ixzz4j4j3VGl5Scott is a lady's man after all.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 4, 2017 17:48:34 GMT -5
hmm I think I just put that top right 1 in my tumbler a couple hours ago. That is a hard hard rock. Rarely a crack in it. can be about clear and rarly has a fracture. It will polish well for you. I was out there today reducing Rio cobbles into tumbles. First time playing with the rocks in a while. There was a big cobble of that dendritic stuff in the pile. Big one in middle, heavy dendrites has it black. I remember knocking a window off in the field. Bleach white patina not representative of guts. Those are the clearest rocks on the Rio. Look for them when the sun is low, you can see the light making them glow when hitting at a sharp angle. They can be 4-6 pounds. Some similar to Montana agate. More(over cast, bad glare): chipping stool w/lapboard. Put 18" X 12" board in lap and cover with the 1 inch foam pad. Use a long handle 8 ounce ball peen, flat side, annealed soft. Soft steel propagates less fractures. Long handle develops high velocity. See mushroomed face on flat side of hammer where snake is wrapped below, soft steel. Found this snake. @shotgunner rockpickerforever Sabre52 help on ID. It looked different than anything I normally see. Very young. Diamond-ish markings. Made me nervous. Treated as if poisonous.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 4, 2017 18:28:14 GMT -5
Waiting for Scott on this one so I don't look stupid. Can't even find it in my Texas snake books and I've never seen one like it before *L*. Of course, none of my books are strong on juvenile snakes either. Got to find me a better Texas snake book...Mel
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Post by rockjunquie on Jun 4, 2017 20:48:31 GMT -5
jamesp, I'm just gonna say that I love the whole thread. It will save me a lot of clicking on like. I hope you don't mind. Saw lots of eye candy!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 4, 2017 20:52:11 GMT -5
Waiting for Scott on this one so I don't look stupid. Can't even find it in my Texas snake books and I've never seen one like it before *L*. Of course, none of my books are strong on juvenile snakes either. Got to find me a better Texas snake book...Mel It whipped me Mel.
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Post by captbob on Jun 4, 2017 21:16:14 GMT -5
Note round pupils on snake. In North America, that means nonpoisonous. Don't know if you got close enough to check pupils when snake was on your hammer!
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 4, 2017 21:43:32 GMT -5
OK, lets see if Scott will agree or not. Been looking at a lot of Texas snake pics and my best guess is ( only a guess) a juvenile Diamondback Water snake? ?? Scott? ?....Mel
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jun 4, 2017 21:48:13 GMT -5
Looks like an eastern garter snake to me. Lots of variety in color.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2017 22:37:44 GMT -5
OK, lets see if Scott will agree or not. Been looking at a lot of Texas snake pics and my best guess is ( only a guess) a juvenile Diamondback Water snake? ?? Scott? ?....Mel Storeria
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Post by captbob on Jun 4, 2017 23:01:06 GMT -5
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 5, 2017 4:59:02 GMT -5
Thanks @shotgunner. First impression was natrix natrix, the grass snake without the ring around the collar. They are water lovers too.
captbob's link said 7-12 inches. This one 16 inches. For some reason my property has snakes that are bigger than what the books say. A 54" and 55" copperhead. Several others over 50". I should have called the county extension agent and had him document that 55 inch copperhead. King snakes over 6', one 6' 6".
Knew it was not a baby copperhead. I have experienced baby copperheads, they are devils and willing to bite. Look much like adult copperheads with worse attitude. When disturbed they come boiling out of the nest like hornets. Better get out of their way.
Copperheads a constant threat working outside on this farm. They bite a lot of people in this area. I once picked up the end of a 4 inch pipe and pinched a ~40 inch copperhead between pipe and my hand. It was cold that day. I just happened to have his head in my grip. Caught them with a stick on many occasions to relocate. Man can they strike fast and repeatedly.
After years of moving them I mainly see King snakes and a few Rat snakes, Racers, Garter's, Ring necks here on farm in Georgia. Other than common water snakes, mostly King's. Never a Moccasin except maybe once. I could not begin to ID Florida snakes. Many varieties. Lots of Pygmies and Moccasins, lots. The Pygmy is obnoxious, the one to look out for. Biggest Moccasin was 61 inches. Pee Dee river, South Carolina. Probably the most fearsome looking snake I ever ran into. I caught him. He hardly struck.
A well delivered bite from 55 inch copperhead or 61 inch Moccasin would be a bad day.
A man got his lure stuck in the alders on Jackson Lake here in central Georgia. His buddy moved the boat close to shore to let him retrieve his lure. A Moccasin struck him on the jaw and broke a fang off in his jaw. He was dead before they could get him to the boat dock. Bad spot to get bit.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Jun 5, 2017 6:08:20 GMT -5
Dude! I thought that was a pic you took while hunting agate in Texas, not a Florida pic. Brown Snakes in Texas look nothing like that. They actually have a stripe like Garter snakes. No wonder I couldn't match it to anything in my books. Well the time was not wasted. I know way more about our local snakes now *L*....Mel
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 5, 2017 7:11:55 GMT -5
Dude! I thought that was a pic you took while hunting agate in Texas, not a Florida pic. Brown Snakes in Texas look nothing like that. They actually have a stripe like Garter snakes. No wonder I couldn't match it to anything in my books. Well the time was not wasted. I know way more about our local snakes now *L*....Mel That was here in Atlanta Mel. Sorry about that. Central Florida and North Georgia are two snake worlds apart. Lol, Texas too. The fall line is a break in reptiles. South half of GA is sand country, ancient ocean bottom, all the way to and including Florida. Travel 100 miles south of Atlanta clay country and cross over the fall line and the reptilians change. South Georgia is a zone of crossed snakes. Florida/Georgia crosses. Even the Brown snake has a FL/GA cross in S Georgia. Above fall line, no gators. Below plenty of gators. Same w/Diamondbacks, others. Florida has all kinds of Kings and Rats and Crayfish snakes. Others, makes ID tricky. Good range of territory for you reptilian experts to study. Never knew this: " Georgia is fortunate to have among the highest biodiversity of snakes in the United States with 46 species. Snakes can be found from the mountains of northern Georgia to the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast. The rich diversity of snake species makes Georgia ideal for observing and learning about snakes." Read more: www.georgiawildlife.org/GeorgiaSnakesA surprise, figured Florida have many more varieties: "Florida is home to 46 species of native snakes, only 6 of which are venomous. Venomous snakebites are rare and can often be avoided; however, responding correctly to venomous snakebites is important." Read more: ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/snakes/florida.shtml.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2017 10:55:47 GMT -5
Natrix is a European genus. So shouldn't be in your yard.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jun 5, 2017 11:01:38 GMT -5
Natrix is a European genus. So shouldn't be in your yard. LOL, makes perfect sense. That Brown snake may be the first I have ever seen. I thought they were common. Maybe the Kings ingested them all. Saw a big King the other day. Fat almost full length by almost two diameters. Pregnant ? Digesting another snake ? Sure is good to have you expert snakers
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2017 11:03:56 GMT -5
Natrix is a European genus. So shouldn't be in your yard. LOL, makes perfect sense. That Brown snake may be the first I have ever seen. I thought they were common. Maybe the Kings ingested them all. Saw a big King the other day. Fat almost full length by almost two diameters. Pregnant ? Digesting another snake ? Sure is good to have you expert snakers Fat full length sounds like either simply fat (they do get obese sometimes) or full of a big water snake.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2017 11:13:53 GMT -5
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