Visiting the Seaman Mineral Museum is always a treat. Their Fluorescent display is shown.
The Keweenaw Peninsula always amazes us. We have had the most wonderful couple weeks. Business has been robust, with loads of lovely ladies sporting our jewelry made from local Copper Country rocks. We pulled into our new campsite at Lake Linden last night, and while I was talking to the campground
The Pink Petoskey Stone and the Favosite I donated to the Seaman Mineral Museum.
host, I told her I sold my jewelry at Copper World. She said “Are you the guy that makes that amazing wire wrapped jewelry”. I admitted that I am and she told me that someone was in the campground who had a new Lake Superior Agate necklace she had bought at Copper World. It is so nice to get complements like “I could not believe that was wire wrapped jewelry, it was so perfect.” How nice is that? Coffee and a complement first thing in the morning–a great way to start the day.
Bonnie chats with some customers checking out some earrings in a mirror at the Eagle Harbot Art Fair.
I expect since it is a perfect day, I’m just going to relax and make some jewelry in my lawn chair.
This last week we started digging a hole in some hard rock ledges south of Copper Harbor, and we struck the mother lode of Ledge Agates like I have seldom been seen. This is a special type of Lake Superior Agate not as well known as the traditional fortification (or banded) agate. I was finding this agate in seams rather than in nodules, or single rocks.
Here I am "slamming" agates out of a ledge. I call these SISU Agates, because they are so hard to get.
The normal Ledge Agate is a dull brown or pink/white, non-banded, drab agate, but some of these are bright red, some with white Quartz. I have been literally working my meals off in this hole. I have a special “slammer” tool my buddy Chris made for me. I cannot imagine how much harder these would be with a chisel and hammer. I did dig this hole: bend and twist, sweat and ache. I saw color and from a deathlike state I come back to life and kept beating at the rock. The local Finns have a word for going above and beyond your ordinary: SISU. I am definitely in SISU working on this hole-struggling above and beyond. I hereby dub these SISU Agates!
Agates in the hole.
I guess I am in the Agate Greed mode right now, so we will go get more the next couple days.
A whole bucket of SISU Agates.
Finally the Monks at the Jam Pot had a full supply of their famous Muffins and other goodies.