Fossil Hunting On the Jersey Shore?

Yep! As crazy as that sounds, that's exactly what I've been doing... The past four years we have vacationed in Cape May, New Jersey, as a family. One week in July, every year. And the first two years, my daughter was so little and required so much attention, that I didn't really even collect any seashells, which as many of my friends know, is my big weakness. I am an avid shell collector. 

Well, last year, E was 2-1/2, and finally playing with Nana on her own two legs. And I had a chance to sift through the pebbles and shells along the shore... a couple of things caught my trained eye as possibly organic in origin, though they were currently stones. So I picked them up and put them in my little pile of goodies, consisting mainly of Cape May Diamonds (quartz crystals worn smooth by the sea,) pretty colored stones, jingle shells, scallop shells, other bivalves, and a growing number of "interesting looking" stones. One of them turned out to be a fossilized marine mammal tooth! A mosasaur, to be exact!! I identified it by comparing it to Fossil Guy's photos and descriptions of his less-worn fossils found in New Jersey. So exciting!! (Edit: after putting my finds to The Fossil Forum, I was called out on my "mosasaur tooth" and must bow to the pros on their consensus: It's actually a Rugosa Coral, aka Horn Coral. Thanks, guys!)

Rugosa Coral at right

After I got home, I got out my daughter's little stereoscope to view my finds more closely. That's actually when I realized that I had a lot more fossils than I'd thought... mostly fossilized sea sponges, corals, and bryozoans. But a few other things that I had to research on the web, and discovered were possibly dinosaur vertebrae, based on the pattern of the mineral replacement.  (Edit: the two pieces on the bottom left are oolites.)

Coral fossils and possibly bryozoans

Dinosaur vertebra? (Edit: or honeycomb coral)

So this year, with my daughter actively playing in the water with her Nana, her great aunt, and her dad, I sat an "excavated" the beach for more fossils... and I found a few...

I think these are rugosa corals, or "horn corals" from the Permian Era

No idea what this was!

The photos above are a few of my favorite finds, though I actually have a small container full of what I have determined to be fossils of one kind or another. A lot of sea sponges and corals, for the most part. I also found lovely agates, and a few semi-precious gems, but they are so small and worn, that I just put them all into a little clear bottle, grouped by colors. So pretty! 

I will have to post soon about the other fossils I've found here in Pennsylvania, while hiking near creeks and rivers.... but that's for another day!

I hope you're all well. I know it's been ages since I've posted, and you might not even be out there listening anymore. If you are, Hello! If you're not, I hope to have you visit soon.

Blessings

Obsessions

We all have our things that we are passionate about, don't we? You might love to collect photos of birds, or botany. Someone else may collect baseball cards or Matchbox cars. In the movie, "Amelie", one of the main characters collected discarded photobooth photos, and recordings of funny laughter! As for me, I have a few different passions... one might say "obsessions", and one of them is for seashells. 

Moon snail shells from New Jersey

I find their forms to be fascinating... the shape of each one, the colors, are all vivid examples of Mother Nature's infinite creativity and glory. I cannot be sad or despondent when I am shell collecting. Even a visit to a natural history museum with a shell collection makes me insanely happy! Every time I find a seashell, it speaks to me. It tells me that there is so much to wonder about on this earth. It tells me that there are other creatures on this planet that have the ability to create and make beautiful designs that will hold us in thrall. They don't even have to think about it, either, as humans do. They are made to create wonders, as a form of protection, for their homes. The variety of shells in the world makes me buzz inside with a weird kind of electricity! I would like to be able to see every kind of shell in person, holding it in my hand. This is obsession.


Which brings me to another of my obsessions: bird's nests. For the same reason that I find seashells fascinating, I find bird nests fascinating.... they build sometimes only for a home for their eggs to become chicks, but other times to entice mates! They build not only for function, but for form. The variety of nests is amazing... from the tiny little hummingbird nests (see below)

Hummingbird nest (with a butterfly inside)

A nest found in my camellia bush, abandoned. Egg is wooden.

which are made from tiny bits of moss, twigs, animal fur, human hair and other soft bits and held together  by spider's webs to the flamboyant displays of the bowerbirds of New Guinea, which go to a massive scale, including towers of plants & twigs, or piles of same-colored stones, flowers or even human debris, used for it's color and texture... the bowerbirds are true artists, whose motivations are to lure a mate in and create a family. They go to great lengths to show their individuality and creativity to their potential mates! Watch this video of David Attenborough, where he shows a bowerbird bower. It's the most basic reason that anyone does anything, isn't it? To find love, a mate, someone to share your world with. To find someone who sees things similarly to the way that you do. The bowerbirds and humans... looking for love. :-) Other birds may have other reasons for their nest building techniques, and they are all extremely fascinating to me, although the bowerbirds make the most amazing display. I fell in love with them after seeing an article about them in National Geographic. These are gorgeous examples of what bowerbirds create, and opened my mind up more to the idea of why we make art. See how your obsessions can take you different places? It's wild!

So what are YOUR obsessions? Where have they taken you? I have a feeling that mine will take me to New Guinea, Florida, and a return to the Bahamas... as well as other places! I hope you'll share some of your obsessions with me!