OldTractorHag
Newbie
Hello! I am so excited to be included in your membership! I consider myself to be a complete newcomer to prospecting, because, although I have been hunting for beautiful and precious things for about 7 years, I am completely self taught, and have had no one to tell me if I am doing any of it correctly. I have collected so many amazing rocks! I have my suspicions about what many of them may be, but no way to confirm these notions. I post photos to FB groups, and that sort of thing. But, I do not think that, even if I had a decent camera, and the skill to use it, (I have neither) it would be possible to reliably identify my specimens from photos. I believe this largely because I study photos of rocks and minerals constantly! Yet, still I am unable to compare those images with actual specimens, and identify them. I hope, one day, to compare notes, and examine various samples, with an actual, knowledgeable, human! My trouble is that, I live in rural northern CA, and do not drive. Though I have sometimes invited rockhounds and prospectors to visit the property where I live (a fairly large ranch, that was once a river bed) to collect rocks, and peruse my collection, I always feel like a weirdo, asking them to come see my etchings, lol! I guess the rockhounds get that image, too, because no one ever takes me up on it. But, this group seems more focused, and serious. I have high hopes that, by reading your posts and replies, and asking lots of questions, I may yet become more confident in my assessments of the things I find. One thing I have noticed about rock and mineral folks online, is that they seem prepared to do anything rather than tell a person what they know that person hopes to hear about their discoveries. For instance, I have almost never seen someone declare that a fellow prospector seems to have found an excellent chunk of gold ore, no matter how many characteristics it may display, that support such an ID. The specimen is always said to be pyrite, or mica, or galena, or plastic. Of course, no doubt, often the sample is something other than gold. But, even when the thing seems to be a textbook example, no one ever seems to say, "Fantastic! Congratulations!" I wonder why this is. I hope that, on this site, people are a bit less discouraging to one another. What I would find immensely helpful would be, for instance, in the foregoing example, if the proponent of, say, an ID of pyrite, would explain what makes them think so, instead of simply saying, "looks more like pyrite to me." I have dreams of finding a way to make a living in this field. I do not yet know how, but I am happiest when I am gathering, washing, sorting, photographing, and talking about rocks. However, in my family, I am the only one with any interest at all in geology. I can only pester my folks so much with my passion for these things. Well, that is a long way of saying, I am excited to be here among people who have the same interest; and I hope to learn a great deal, and hopefully, contribute to the various discussions ad much as I am able.
Thanks again!
The OldTractorHag.
Thanks again!
The OldTractorHag.
California
