Friday, June 13, 2003

Good morning. The weather - about the same as it has been this week, breezy with some clouds drifting across the dale. This morning the clouds are not quite so dark as they have been, so perhaps we won't have our mid-day downpour. Actually, compared to previous years, the weather has been remarkably mild and we have had comparatively little rain. I think it during 2001 that at this time of the year, the quarry was still mostly under water. This year our little pond, which normally goes dry by August is already gone.

Yesterday I spent the morning trimming more specimens and making the selection for what to carry back home with me in my luggage. It's going to be a heavy bag this year as we seem to have more good material right out of the starting gate than in years past. If I'm going to have problems, I guess they could be worse.

After a while of this, I left the saw to Jonina and headed to the mine. Dave had gotten the difficult portion of the West Cross Cut mucked out and timbered to the point that it looks safe to work in again. The guys had also pulled all the rail and points up to the mine landing and Dave had assembled the points for the interchange where the east tunnel reconnects with the west one. While Dave busied himself laying this in, Byron headed back into the newly stabilized section of the West Cross Cut and began digging. Specimens started coming out in short order, and I wrapped as Byron handed them out, mucking out waste rock and mud in between finds. There were several real nice-looking specimens, which will undoubtedly complicate the packing chore today. Today's photo is of Byron in this area, along with a rather small bit that had come out of the ceiling.

Had dinner with Bob and Mary last night, along with their friends Vernon and Dorothy. As things were getting underway, David showed up to pay for his last batch of specimens and pick out some more, so in the interests of commerce I had to leave the party for a few minutes. He says that he is close to closing on the sale of his crystal shop in Barnard Castle and may soon be living the life of an itinerant mineral dealer. If the final details don't keep him tied up into the evening, he's said he will be back for more bits today.

In yesterday's e-mail I mentioned the story of the Hartlepool monkey and directed everyone interested to a report from a few years ago. Well, to save you the trouble of having to re-read all those old reports, a friend who seems to live on the internet found and forwarded to me the following URL for the legend:

http://www.thisishartlepool.co.uk/monkey.shtml

Today will be packing and getting organized for the trip back home. Things seem to have gotten off to a good start this year and should be running smoothly. As a result, this will be my last report until returning in August. Jonina will, hopefully, be carrying on the story-telling as time allows, and any and all reports will be posted on our website. I will be traveling to the Ste. Marie aux Mines show in Alsace, France with some of our newly minted specimens. Anyone attending who is interested in seeing the green stuff can find me with our German dealer Jurgen Margraf, who will have a tent at the show.

A Bientot,

Jesse, Byron and Jonina

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