Chuck Norris and Fossils

Been at that age the last few yrs where

I started seeing stars, actors and actress from

my generation, passing on.

 Although you never like hearing

that stuff, this one hit hard.

I have always had a soft spot for

Chuck Norris.

Gone at the age of 86. Matter of fact I 

think he just turned 86.

Watched several of his older 

movies back in the winter.

These are the actors that the next

generation will not know.

I have not been getting out and about

much as of late. Leading what I would 

call a boring life right now.

So, with that said, no pics of our and 

about.

BUT, I will share what I have come upon

lately in the yard.

This is what I found, when walking around

the yard and just looking down.

A spot I have searched before but with rains

more appear. No, its not raining fossils,

its washing soil away and unearthing 

the fossils.

This is part of a stem to a

Crinoid, a living creature from millions

of years ago when Tennessee was covered

with a warm sea.

Crinoid AKA Indian Money.

First time I ever found one of these and 

asked mom what they were, I was told 

Indian Money. I went through life thinking

that Native Americans used this as 

money. It was not until about ten yrs ago I 

learned what they really were.

Crinoids, like most living creatures then 

and now have different looks, grouped

in the same category but look different.

Here are what crinoids looked like.

And this is a whole fossilized cronoid. 

Most times you find small tiny pieces

of Crinoid. Like what I found the other day

in the yard.

One side.

The other side.

Just a handful I have found in the last few

weeks.

Keep in mind that Crinoids grew all sizes.

These I am pretty sure are single individual 

"disc" for a better word from the stems 

of the Crinoid tentacles. 

 

Now, keep this in mind, you can't

walk out into my yard without 

finding these..

If you notice the dark spot in the disc,

that is what you would normally

call the hole or center of the Crinoid. 

I guess, that would be where the 

nerves, spine or whatever ran through

the Crinoid stems.

I have found these from little 

to as big as the palm of my hand.

I have also found the pieces of 

Crinoid squished before forming into

a fossil. 

I have also found pieces of Croniod that don't 

look like rock or fossils. The forming on 

a fossil has to do with the conditions of

the environment at that time. Most black

stones you find are rock/stone formed

from volcanic ash, so I think this 

Crinoid was fossilizes by volcanic ash.

 

No, we do not have volcaneos around

here, but apparently at one given time

we did. 

Most of the time

when I find them not in the form I have

showed you before, they are more in a 

polished form, the fridges are gone,

I am assuming this is from yrs of

water rushing around them and instead

of wearing grooves or holes in them, they

polish them down. You still see the center

discoloration 

 

But, there is a smoothness about them.

This one is even more smoother

cause I put it in the rock tumbler.

You don't always find the single or

a series of disc that have fossilized as

one, you find them rolled in 

with other minerals that have made

a rock.

The rock below has fossilzed Cronoids 

embedded in it.

We apparently did not have sharks, 

whales or the bigger things here

but Crinoids and several other

unusual creatures thrived in the 

warm seas over TN.

There was also coral.

 If you break one of these open

you will find crystal like partaicals.

This one below is a honey coral.

 

The ones below here are horn coral.

So, with all this shown to you,

I will tell you this, I don't go anywhere 

these days, esp my yard that I don't have

my head down looking as I walk.

Not sure how these rocks form but

they do have a name. 

These are called 

Wishing stones, you will know if you 

found one when the line goes all around the

rock meeting where it started.

I have also found rocks, that have so many

fossils showing in it that you usually have

to chisel them away. If they have different

types of fossils in the same rock, 

they are called fossil soup.

I think I missed my calling. Maybe this

is what I should have studied and went

to college for this instead of working

in the printing industry like I did.

HAHA...with that said, when working

in printing, I handled pieces and pages of

books that were printed and put together 

by the Department of Conservation and 

Envoriment AKA DCE. Books that talked about

all this stuff, and of course, I 

paid no attention to it then!

I might have to do some more

studying cause I just jumped over

to the TN website and DCE and it appears

those books are on line.

OMG!

This is your lesson for the day,

sorry I have been slipping and 

not schooling y'all of late.

Go out and find a nice fossilized

rock,

Pam

 

 

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