Snakes and Stones

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Rock python? :rofl:

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Hahaha! Thank you! I'm surprised it took 39 snakes before someone made that joke. :)

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Hahaha! Thank you! I'm surprised it took 39 snakes before someone made that joke. :)

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Well this is the first one that really appeared to have the stone as part of his body. ;) Sorry I kept you waiting...:D

Photo #40
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ubyhxnrusv.jpg
Quartz-tumbled-backlit with LED flashlight.
Collected (by me) from Ruggles Mine, NH
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...s52wahg6r7.jpg
Photo of my gf taken just before the mine closed to the public.

Looks like a pretty cool place to explore. :cool:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Looks like a pretty cool place to explore. :cool:

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Definitely! My dad used to take me there as a kid in pursuit of rocks for my sisters tumbling habit--there were very few restrictions at that time and I had a good working knowledge of the mine shaft network.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...f1ibhh0lws.jpg
Unfortunately over time more and more people had found ways to hurt themselves so they were forced to block off some of the passages.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ylct9umcus.jpg
Still enough areas left to explore in the later days though.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...k8r4rqm1cy.jpg
The last time I was there I also found it quite amusing that the cliffs held a large collection of raven nests. They are quite talkative.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ok68o8enzv.jpg
Bones of their victims could be found everywhere littering the ground--giving it a bit of a creepy vibe (especially if you are there in a small group). :)

Looks like the kind of places I'd be attracted to as well, lol. Sad when some ppl ruin it for others though. Ever find any snakes in there? -Maybe the ravens ate them all though?...:(

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Looks like the kind of places I'd be attracted to as well, lol. Sad when some ppl ruin it for others though. Ever find any snakes in there? -Maybe the ravens ate them all though?...:(

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I never found any snakes. As an adult I would visit in the colder fall months. When I was kid my family would visit in the summer there were would be a lot of people mining...I imagine the impact vibrations would make any snakes hide.

Photo #41
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...oavb2xat6m.jpg
After a while I can start to identify stones that are unlikely to tumble/polish well...I still take a shot at them, I get lucky every now and then.
These are not the lucky ones.
I photograph all the stones I tumble (good and bad). The better ones will be shown in Photo #83. :)

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Photo #41...

After a while I can start to identify stones that are unlikely to tumble/polish well...I still take a shot at them, I get lucky every now and then.
These are not the lucky ones.
I photograph all the stones I tumble (good and bad). The better ones will be shown in Photo #83. :)

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They're all still interesting though- whether it's stones, snakes or even humans, we're all "diamonds in the rough" with unequal gifts- how boring it would be if all were the same. :cool:
And we don't all see them the same way anyhow.

Photo #42

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...rxhzuc54gz.jpg
Lepidolite: the stones may look rough in the photo, but, are in fact completely smooth. :)