Geodes and Agates

Geodes are defined as “essentially rock cavities or vugs with internal crystal formations or concentric banding.  The exterior of the most common geodes is generally limestone or a related rock, while the interior contains quartz crystals and/or chalcedony deposits.  Other geodes are completely filled with crystal, being solid all the way through.  These types of geodes are called nodules.”    Another source states,  “Geodes are spherical or oblong rocks filled or partially filled with minerals.  When a geode is broken the minerals inside are revealed.  Most geodes are completely filled with minerals, most often quartz.”  We here in Kentucky are in one of the few areas of the U. S. where geodes are found in abundance.  The kids pick them up on a regular basis.  They generally look like any other rock, although they most generally are fairly round.  It is when they are broken open that the beauty is revealed.  Most that are found are hollow and thus feel quite light in weight when picked up.

The photo above was taken from an internet site.  This one was fairly large.  They have been found as large as two feet across.  In Ohio the largest in the world has been found and can be toured as one would tour a cave.

Here is a very small geode that I found sometime ago.  In the next photo I will show you what was inside.  It didn’t feel hollow and when opened it proved not to be but was full of crystals.  Some are much prettier than others.  One geode hunter commented that out of about 100 he picked up he kept only 6 that were quite nice.

By clicking on the photo you can see somewhat better the crystal formations.  Below is a picture of one that was partially hollow, although not especially pretty.  Again, it is quite small.  Most often geodes are found in the small streams in the area.

In Eastern Kentucky, in 5 or 6 counties, solid geodes are found that contain agate.  Agate is a “waxy variety of cryptocrystalline quartz (chalcedony) in which the colors are in bands, clouds or distinct groups.”  Agate is used quite often in jewelry.

To the left is a photo of an agate geode that has been cut and polished.  No two are alike and the colors vary greatly.  Although they are not considered a precious gem stone they still fetch a bit of money.  I recently found a solid geode that was broken across and I thought maybe I had found agate.  I even found a photo of a piece of agate that looked somewhat like it.

Here  is the photo from the internet.  Of course this geode had been cut and the face was smooth and polished.  In the picture below is my find, not so smooth but with much the same color.

I watched a very interesting couple of videos dealing with finding agate, cutting and polishing it and making it into jewelry. The individual high-lighted in the videos gave his e-mail address so I sent him a note along with a couple of pictures.  Sadly, he informed me that I hadn’t found agate at all, but my geode is macro quartz.  Just the same, I think it would be pretty neat to get it cut (which has to be done with a diamond blade) and maybe use it as a paper weight.

Anyway, come on over and we will go hunt up some geodes.

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A Bit of Fun!

I found this on another website and enjoyed the challenge—thought you might as well.

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A Bird In Hand

We have had very warm temperatures for the last couple of days and have not needed a fire in the wood stove.  Monday afternoon Connie told me that she and Malchiah had heard noises within the stovepipe and suspected that a bird might have gotten into it.  I listened but heard nothing.  Yesterday I opened the stove up and raked some ashes off of the top of the oven but saw nothing out of the way.

It cooled off over night and I decided that we needed some heat this morning.  When I opened the door to the firebox a puff of ash dust blew out at me.  That was most unusual and made me wonder what was happening.  I got a flashlight and looked into the firebox and discovered a bird.  I wasn’t sure just how to catch him.  I tired putting something over him to no avail.  Then he flew right out of the door almost into my face and began flying around the room.  All of this activity got both Snickers and Precious, our cats, quite excited.

I opened the front door and propped it open, thinking maybe the little bird would fly out.  But, it couldn’t seem to see the opening.  After a bit it landed on top of the kitchen cabinets.  I pulled a chair over in front of the cabinets and stepped up onto it.  The little bird was just sitting there, perhaps quite worn out by the ordeal of being in the stovepipe and stove for 36 or more hours.  I reached my hand over it and was able to capture it.  I quickly took it outside and released it.  The “bird in hand” quickly took flight and was soon gone from sight, hopefully wiser about getting into chimneys and stovepipes.

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Sassafras

A springtime “ritual” as I was growing up was to dig sassafras roots and make sassafras tea.  I remember I dug roots, cut them into small pieces and sold them to earn a few dollars.  Recently I was visiting with a cousin on the telephone and we got to talking about sassafras.  He also remembered digging sassafras roots and he also sold them.  He said that he no longer had any sassafras trees on his small acreage but would enjoy having some sassafras roots to make some sassafras tea.  So, yesterday afternoon I walked down the hill and located a sassafras tree and dug a root for him.

Here is a photo of the root I dug for him sitting on our kitchen table.

For those who are unfamiliar with sassafras it is a tree of the Laurel family.  It is found from small bush size to a height of 50 to 60 feet.  It has many slender branches and the hairless leaves can be of three different types (a smooth oval, a two lobed and a three lobed leaf) sometimes all three being found on the same tree.

  The bark of the roots, formerly one of the ingredients in root beer, contains volatile oils, 80% of which is safrole.  The FDA banned its use as an additive in 1960, as safrole was found to cause liver cancer in rats.  The root bark extract and leaves are now treated commercially to produce a safrole-free product.  It isn’t possible to make a safrole free extract at home.

The root bark has long been used medicinally by native Americans, and this knowledge was passed on to early settlers.  Sassafras was one of the earliest American plant drugs to reach Europe, having been used medicinally in Spain as early as the middle 1500’s.  The early settlers also fermented the roots with molasses to make beer.  During the Civil War sassafras tea became quite popular. 

The Choctaw Indians first used the dried ground leaves as a seasoning and thickener, and today the dried leaves are used to make file’ powder which is used to thicken and flavor soups and stews in Creole cooking.  You may remember the words to the old song “Jambalaya, crawfish pie, file’ gumbo.”  What is referred to is this file’ (pronounced Fee-Lay).  It is said to impart a delicate flavor somewhat similar to that of thyme.  A spoonful or so thickens stock into the kind of rich gravy that genuine gumbo must have.  One source states that it is a sin to eat gumbo made without file’.

If you are able to obtain fresh sassafras roots here is the way to make sassafras tea.  Cut the root into small pieces and put 5 or 6 into a pot of water.  Bring the water to a boil and keep it there for only 10 minutes.  Then, cover the pot and let it stand for 3 or 4 hours.  After this “sit” the tea is ready to drink.  We reused the roots 2 or 3 times before throwing them out.  The tea can be drunk as it is brewed or with sweetening and/or cream (or milk).  Sassafras tea  is renowned as a Spring tonic and blood purifier as well as a household cure for a wide range of ailments such as gastrointestinal complaints, colds, kidney ailments, rheumatism and skin eruptions.

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Nobob, Kentucky

Shortly before we moved here to South-Central Kentucky a friend, whose grandmother was born and reared in this part of the state, told me a story about a nearby community called Nobob, Kentucky. I have since seen various versions of this story which tells of how the community got it’s name.

One story, which gives more details than some of the others, states that, “Little remains of a once thriving 19th century village on the present KY 839, 10 and 1/2 miles S.E. of Glasgow. The name was first applied to the creek on which it is located, a branch of Skaggs Creek. The creek may have been named for one Robert (or Bob) Todd, a hunter for a party of Virginia military land grant surveyors that had made camp near the site of the future settlement. According to tradition, Todd failed to return to camp one night, and for days his companions searched for him only to return each night to report ‘No Bob!’ " All of the stories indicate that Bob was never found.

Nobob is located in Barren County, just a few miles from the Metcalfe County community of Summer Shade. “As the crow flies” we live only 6 or 8 miles from Summer Shade, so Nobob is almost “right next door.”

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Making Maple Syrup, part two

Our plans are to wrap up our maple syrup making today.  We began by collecting sap on Thursday and Friday last week.  Then on Sunday we began the process of “boiling down the sap.”  We worked at that again Monday and Tuesday.  Due to some cold weather the sap wasn’t flowing and we got caught up with our “boiling” on Tuesday.  Wednesday was much warmer and the sap began to flow again.  We collected sap that afternoon and started the evaporation process that evening, leaving a good fire burning under a evaporator pan filled to capacity, about 50 gallons of sap.  We collected again yesterday morning and a bit in the late afternoon.  Our plan is to collect this morning and then help Gill take down all of the jugs and pull out the spiles.  Our weather has warmed up—to be near 70 degrees today and over 70 the next couple of days, so there isn’t going to be much more flow.

Connie has been “finishing” off our syrup.  Here are a couple of photos.

Here the concentrated sap is “boiling” on the top of the wood burning cookstove.  There are a few different ways of knowing when it is ready to be taken off the stove and put into jars.  Some use a candy thermometer to check.  At about 218 degrees the sugar content is what is looked for.  At about that temperature the syrup begins to really foam.   Also, one can dip a spoon into it and when it is poured off the spoon there will be some that tends to “cling” to the spoon.

Pictured here is 5 pints of syrup from the first batch we did.  There was about 1/2 pint more that isn’t pictured.  I “had” to make some pancakes for our supper Wednesday evening so we could try some of that fresh syrup.  Ummm!  It was good!

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Making Maple Syrup

For the last several years we have been involved in making maple syrup.  Our good friend, Gill, who lives a few miles from us, has set up quite a system for collecting and evaporating down the maple sap.  He has been quite generous in helping us in previous years and again this year has extended to us his complete set-up.  He said he had made all of the syrup he wished to make and since the sap was still flowing he said he was glad for us to collect it and evaporate it down, using his equipment.

It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.  The excess water must be evaporated away, leaving the sweet maple syrup.  We are still in the process but the following photos will show you what is involved.

Each maple tree has had a small hole drilled into it and a short plastic or metal spile is driven into the hole.  Onto this spile is hung a gallon plastic jug to catch the sap.  The sap flows generally when the night has had below freezing temperatures and then warms up the following day.

Gill has mounted a poly tote onto the back of his tractor.  It is driven into the woods when sap collection is done.  The jugs from each tree are taken down, the sap poured into a plastic bucket and when the bucket is full the sap is poured into the tote.  Note the old milk strainer on top which is used to strain out any debris that may have gotten into the sap.

The sap is transferred from the tote on the tractor to this one which is on a metal stand.  Due to the weight of the sap the tote on the tractor can not be filled completely full.  This holding tank can be filled completely full and since it is on the stand sap can be put into the evaporator pan by gravity.  The transfer of sap is accomplished with the use of a small electric pump.

Pictured here is Gill with his evaporator.  The bottom section is a wood burning furnace.  The evaporator pan sits on top and holds approximately 40 gallons of sap.

  Sap is flowing into the evaporator pan from the storage tank outside the building.

    Evaporation is underway.  As you can see it gets a bit “cloudy” in the building and occasionally even “rains.”  Condensation on the underside of the metal roof drips down and it seems to be raining.

Due to several factors the evaporation is not totally completed in this evaporator.  Today Darryl and I processed about 60 gallons of sap and ended up with about 5 gallons of concentrated sap that still has to have the final evaporation done.  This we are doing in stock pots on top of our wood burning cook stove.  Once it reaches the point of syrup it will be put into jars and sealed for future use.

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