Rock-giving November

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families and friends from the Masonic Care of New Rochelle.

Since our last communication, a few things came together quite nicely!

Let's start with a shipment of minerals from Europe that was almost a James Bond mission.

Difficult loopholes and hidden “fine print”, but they eventually arrived!

(These specimens will be on display in New Rochelle through the holidays)

Some additional shipments from Asia also arrived, and the packaging was exquisite. Everything arrived in perfect condition.

This is a perfect “mold" of smoky purple phantom fluorite !

And a huge dark green calcite point.

Our printer is doing a great job printing lots of labels, thankful for the ability to print in-house. With all these new specimens arriving, can you imagine having to run to Staples every time?!

As specimens were getting arranged, oh no, a light fixture was out in one of the cabinets!

After an unsuccessful diagnosis and several Amazon parts, a master electrician had to intervene to fix the stubborn issue and save the day.

Thank you for a difficult fix!

While rearranging, New Rochelle got a makeover. Beautiful museum grade lights were wired, furniture moved around, and a new cabinet donated!!

While we work on the new donation, check out the rest of the room. Looking sharp!

In between mineral shipments, an opportunity popped up to visit Howe Caverns in NY state.

An awe inspiring labyrinth of caves complete with massive stalactites and a river you can float on! In a boat, of course. Just watch your fingers! The boat weighs hundreds of pounds and yes, it “rocks”. You don't want your fingers caught anywhere, trust me.

A cool thing I learned at Howe: touching the calcite formations makes them turn black, almost as if our hands halt the process of formation and “spoil” the pureness of natural beauty.

Despite the complete and utter darkness, there is also plant life down there! Several tiny hair-like moss species line the walls in many places, full of determination to live in this harsh environment. “Howe" cool!!

Howe Caverns are child-friendly, but a reservation can be made in advance for the “pro level tour”.

Either way, definitely no touching.

Another trip report this month: a recent discovery of dodecahedral pyrite in Pennsylvania! The crystals are small but with a clearly defined habit and high luster. More study is needed for these, and better tools for extraction.

Another lucky find were these gorgeous iridescent calcite plates also from Pennsylvania. Beautiful bladed phantom gemmy calcite with a colorful iron coating, these can be easily extracted and hold up well.

Available and currently on display.

During that same collecting trip, check out this gorgeous blue botroydal chalcedony from a different PA location. This material is limited but a lot of fun to collect, hopefully this was just the beginning and there will be more.

And talk about fun to collect!

Anatoly ravaged Graves Mountain in Georgia and took home the prize: huge quartz crystals with a festive iridescent turgite coat! Congratulations Toly, what a fabulous specimen. Contact Natalis Gems for purchase options.

Julie has been a busy girl as well, here is a new batch of her handmade jewelry. These pieces are all wire wrapped by Julie herself with flawless grade A Herkimer diamonds collected by her!

I have a ring from this collection and let me tell you… it has been though many things and still holding up.

These would be a perfect holiday gift, so reach out.

Congratulations to Fred are in order, for his successful presentation on Greek minerals and a great display at a symposium he attended.

See that large gray slab on the table? That is a gigantic Lepidodendron fossil from Luzerne county PA that became a traveling display and important teaching tool. I can proudly say I was there for the discovery and helped Fred haul the massive piece to the car... in one piece! And now its leaving kids with their mouths open in amazement.

Fred teaches at Baltimore Community College and his science lab is where the magic happens. Thank you Fred for the difference you make with inner city kids.

A non rock related shoutout also goes out to our very own Eli, who recently decided to forge a good path and become a mason!

Congratulations new fellowcraft of PA Lodge 413, welcome to the brotherhood.

This wraps up the Thankful Edition of our holiday rock news. We are very grateful to be able to report so many good things.

Next month we will host a Christmas extravaganza giveaway in honor of our first mineral Christmas, so be sure to stop by and stock up on presents.

Next open house is December 7th from 10am onwards, save the date.

Bring a friend. Inspire someone to slow down, maybe not “smell the roses” but definitely slow life down and “look down” more often.

Remember. All is free. All the time.

Dig on.

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RocksRus 29 Castle Pl Bldg 2 Mooney Floor Mcnr New Rochelle, NY 10805-2330 USA