There are a few things happening today. Have a few books for each, along with little stories. Let’s start with Old Rock Day. Are there any young rocks? Well, maybe. The rock on the top Left (dark brown) is a piece of pumice from Mt Fuji, Japan. I found it when visiting several years ago. Carried it all the way back down the mountain. The last eruption of Mt Fuji was in December of 1707, so probably this rock was made then. The drawers of this cabinet are filled with rocks, minerals, fossils and shells from around the world. With family and friends, I have collected from California to Virginia, from Door Co. Wisc. to Key West, Florida, from Missouri to Michigan, even Rome, Corsica, and Barcelona. But brought nothing back from Hawaii because I remember Greg Brady’s tiki bad luck. My grandkids handle rocks every visit. Also, my brother-in-law Phil handmade this cabinet. It is quite the piece of art.
Ps. The bottom right rock is a triceratops vertebra.
Other than books, rock and fossil collecting is my favorite hobby. I have bunches of resource books, but these three are nice. First two, Lake Michigan Rock Picker’s Guide, and the Complete Guide to Petoskey Stones are important as I grew up near Lake Michigan (one mile by bike), and lived in Michigan for while and went Petoskey rock hunting with my son. (those are soft rocks and difficult to polish with tumbler-should do by hand.) The third book I really enjoy, ”Gems and Gemstones by Lance Grande and Allison Augustyn 2009. I love it because it is all about the Hall of Gems at the Field Museum. They have rough gems next to finished jewelry. It is a wonderful highlight exhibit.
Today is also Charles Addams birthday-January 7. This book “The World of Charles Addams” was published by the Charles Addams estate in 1991. While not all of his drawings, these show his artistic development through the years.
The Addams Family were “creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky” but this last book “A Letter by Dr. Franklin to the Royal Academy of Brussels” printed 1939, by The Blue-Behinded Ape press is equally “ooky”. Other’s know this as “Fart Proudly”. Today is National Pass Gas Day, and Franklin wrote this book about flatulence while living in France.
So whether finding opal glass, or Addams crassy sass, or just passing gas, remember there is a book about it. Keep on reading.
Librarytomes 