Fossils!
Andy took his students out to the causeway today to collect fossils for lab. Jayne had said earlier this week that he needed vans, so I figured that's what was up. I went into school today thinking I'd try to tag along. When Jayne went to get the keys, she had to tell safety who the drivers would be, so I told her to put my name down. Who knew if Andy had any drivers.
When he was done with class, we walked by my office to drop off the projector, walked back by to go to his, but before he went into his office, he took two steps back and came into mine with this grin on his face. "You.." he said pointing before his face fell. "You have lab this afternoon don't you." To which I quickly said, "Nope, I'll drive for you!" Not sure if he was surprised that I knew what he was going to ask or not, but he was quite happy.
Why did I want to go so badly? A few weeks ago when I took my class, I found a lovely lovely Isotelus. He was just a baby, but he was pretty much whole. A WHOLE Isotelus. I couldn't believe it. How freakin' lucky am I!?
Here's the deal, Isotelus is a giant freakin' trilobite. I mean giant. One that got donated to OSU just before I left is 14.5 inches long (and worth $15,000). Pretty big. Again, mine is just a baby (1.5 inches maybe). Anyway, Isotelus is big and fragile. Super fragile. We can find bits and pieces of it all over the place, but other than maybe a spine or a hypostome (the mouth piece, which I also found) you don't get any more than that. Andy has always offered up a free A to anyone who finds a whole Isotelus and gives it to the college. I would have gotten that A (if I was a student of his AND if I gave it up, but I'd never do that). That's how COOL it is.
Anywhoo, I wanted to go back, see what else I could find. No fun Isotelus (at least not whole. I think I found one that, had I time and patience to pull out all the bits and put them back together, I'd have one), but I did find some nice Flexicalymenes (trilobites that are all rolled up like pill bugs), snails, and a nautiloid. I've found other nautiloids there before, but only mud infills. This one has hardparts. So, good day!
Andy did one better though. Jerk face. He found a crinoid. A crinoid! This one has a very delicate stem and the theca is present but no arms. I've no clue what it is, but I can't wait to figure it out. I asked him if I could keep it and he said "Could I say no?" Hahaha
It was a great time, even if I lost a lot of time to work on things. I should have been thinking about my paleo test next week (I've got to give them some idea of what to study tomorrow...at 9) and finished grading my physical tests...but you know? Fossil hunting is amazing and good for the soul. I've no regrets :D
When he was done with class, we walked by my office to drop off the projector, walked back by to go to his, but before he went into his office, he took two steps back and came into mine with this grin on his face. "You.." he said pointing before his face fell. "You have lab this afternoon don't you." To which I quickly said, "Nope, I'll drive for you!" Not sure if he was surprised that I knew what he was going to ask or not, but he was quite happy.
Why did I want to go so badly? A few weeks ago when I took my class, I found a lovely lovely Isotelus. He was just a baby, but he was pretty much whole. A WHOLE Isotelus. I couldn't believe it. How freakin' lucky am I!?
Here's the deal, Isotelus is a giant freakin' trilobite. I mean giant. One that got donated to OSU just before I left is 14.5 inches long (and worth $15,000). Pretty big. Again, mine is just a baby (1.5 inches maybe). Anyway, Isotelus is big and fragile. Super fragile. We can find bits and pieces of it all over the place, but other than maybe a spine or a hypostome (the mouth piece, which I also found) you don't get any more than that. Andy has always offered up a free A to anyone who finds a whole Isotelus and gives it to the college. I would have gotten that A (if I was a student of his AND if I gave it up, but I'd never do that). That's how COOL it is.
Anywhoo, I wanted to go back, see what else I could find. No fun Isotelus (at least not whole. I think I found one that, had I time and patience to pull out all the bits and put them back together, I'd have one), but I did find some nice Flexicalymenes (trilobites that are all rolled up like pill bugs), snails, and a nautiloid. I've found other nautiloids there before, but only mud infills. This one has hardparts. So, good day!
Andy did one better though. Jerk face. He found a crinoid. A crinoid! This one has a very delicate stem and the theca is present but no arms. I've no clue what it is, but I can't wait to figure it out. I asked him if I could keep it and he said "Could I say no?" Hahaha
It was a great time, even if I lost a lot of time to work on things. I should have been thinking about my paleo test next week (I've got to give them some idea of what to study tomorrow...at 9) and finished grading my physical tests...but you know? Fossil hunting is amazing and good for the soul. I've no regrets :D