Rocks In My Head

10/20/13

neglect, ebay, etc.
Yes I neglect this blog. I also neglect my website. Today I took tentative steps to set up a site, not a mirror site but an adjunct, that is more smart device friendly. I'll keep this one as well. Also, I sell on ebay. Take a look at ojhoff218

Posted by oh5/ojhoff at 1:08 PM CDT
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09/30/13

stromatolite
One of the more interesting rock formations I sell in my shop is stromatolite, aka algae jasper. A very popular source is the Mary Ellen mine, now underwater. This past summer a customer took photos of the mine pit and and sent them to me. I told him what I knew, that my family signed waivers to collect specimens so many years ago. He happens to have the same surname as our MN U.S. senator and there IS a family connection.

Posted by oh5/ojhoff at 11:01 AM CDT
Updated: 09/30/13 2:08 PM CDT
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07/17/13

Gathering my thoughts.....
It has been ages since I posted here. So much has happened. I don't think I've ever mentioned that I am now selling Thunder Bay amethyst. I sold a few small jewelry making samples on Ebay and one of my customers said they had gold and copper flecks all through them. I've never seen the flecks but I researched the subject and it's a possiblity. Other metals that might be present are silver, platinum, nickel, chalcopyrite, and bismuth.

Posted by oh5/ojhoff at 1:20 PM CDT
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03/12/13

Erratics

My reading in the subject area of rocks, minerals, and gems has been, for nearly a year, in the area of birthstones. It's a subject that says a lot about human history. But to my way of thinking is somewhat less interesting than geology. So I have gone back to studying the book Minnesota's Geology by Richard W. Ojakangas and Charles L. Matsch. The subject is glaciation. Many terms describe what was left behind when glaciers moved across Minnesota during the Quaternary (2 million years ago to the present). One interesting term is erratics. These stones can be any size from a boulder to a pebble. They were transported from one area to another by the movement of glaciers. They differ from the local bedrock in color and composition, sometimes so radically they have been mistaken for meteors. I take an interest in these because the glaciers dragged in so much material to this local area. Also, I who am not a seasoned artist sold a painting of Finnish erratics to an employee of the Guggenheim, which was a thrill and honor. Since then I've read about erratics at length. Technically, if a rock was moved due to human activity, it's an erratic. By that definition, rockhounds have created a lot of these!

Posted by oh5/ojhoff at 11:51 AM CDT
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02/18/13

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