Old Man And The Kid Hit The Field

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Rain fell and the boy was ready to play in the mud. I called home to ask if he wanted to hunt fossils after work, and in a flurry of constructive activity out of line for a 6 year old, I came home and found him dressed in his dirt clothes and even had a cooler packed with ice, drinks, and food. We were on the Corsicana site by 6:30, the ground still wet from on and off showers. Weston was first drawn to mud puddles like a moth to flame, and at one point I had to hoist him out of the pig slop (see attached). For a year he has been wanting to find a Dakoticancer crab, probably because I place such high acclaim on these high order fossils.

"Oohh! I found a crab!" Indeed he did find his first Dakoticancer, and I'm glad I was there to capture his proud moment with my camera. Since it was wet and fragile I'm not sure how well it will prep, but I'll do my best with it. I warned him that it may disintegrate but at least we have pictures. He then proceeded to pick off a number of Hemiaster bexari echinoids, bivalves such as Plicatula mullicaensis and Neithea bexarensis, and gastropods such as Turritella vertebroides and one spectacular Striatocostaum bexarense in fading light. He even got cocky and said he had better eyes than I do, especially since I missed his crab. He was crawling while I was walking, so I missed it fair and square. We spent most of the evening shoulder to shoulder crawling up and down the exposure until we ran out of light. He finished up by throwing 5 LB mud balls up in the air and dodging them as they came down. Of course this was very close to where I was crawling and did little to help my concentration, but it was all good just the same.

It was good to see Weston set a goal, stick with it for a year, then have it all come together by his own effort. It sure beat the heck out of letting him lay around in front of the TV watching Sponge Bob. At this point he has done well enough that I told him I'd put together a Riker mount of his own finds, and he wants to hang it in his room.

[Auspex]

Like you said: "It's all good". Wonderful post; thank you.

[jax]

Very nice. Your boy has good eyes. Pretty cool to find a crab. I have only ever found one.

Plus playing in the mud is always fun too. I went out the other day with a few forum members for a mud hunt.

Good job Weston, You did better than your dad did, I didnt see any pictures of his finds. I guess he did find anything

[karnuvore]

That's awesome! My son was 2 when we were in the peace river and he reached down and picked up a "rock". He hands it to me and says "is this a fossil daddy?". Sure enough, it was a portion of a fossilized turtle shell. I still have it sitting on my desk and will give it to him when he's older (he's 4 now).

Good for you. And yes I agree, it's great to see them NOT watching spongebob.

[Jack the Collector]

There is nothing on this earth that I enjoy more than watching life and activities through a childs eyes.It makes it all new and exciting again.I have a 2 year old grandson and I can't wait to expose him to the hobby and live vicariously through him.

[Ordovicious]

That's great! And he has a Cincinnati Reds hat on.

[Metopocetus]

Very cool. Very cool.

[MikeD]

Cool. I hope my grandson becomes that interested in a few years.

[Maryland Mike]

Terrific post. How many kids have Dads who will not only play in the mud with them, but encourage them to do so?

Enjoy these moments, they grow up so quickly.

[JohnJ]

... He even got cocky and said he had better eyes than I do, especially since I missed his crab. He was crawling while I was walking, so I missed it fair and square. .../

...and he does it while acting like he's playing. Great story, Dan!