Happiness is a bag of dirt
GREETINGS! Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? But, last Sunday afternoon we were “mining”
so to speak. My husband had purchased bags of dirt when we were visiting Sapphire Valley,
North Carolina for New Year’s. (Yes, it was the trip with the grand daughter who got car sick,
as narrated in January, but let’s not think about that right now.)
The Wyndham Resort had skiing, snowboarding, tubing down a slope, an indoor pool, an
outdoor pool (closed), restaurant, work out room, a little park, golf, tennis, horse back riding
and gem mining--okay, it was panning. Terry got very excited after admiring the gem display
in the lobby showing local finds. (He wanted to become a gold miner the first time we visited Dahlonega, GA.) But, he was very disappointed when he learned the gem mine wasn’t
open for the New Year holiday. The woman bearing the bad news consoled him with the
offer to sell him a bag of dirt to take home. At only $5, he bought two.
So, the dirt has been here & untouched for six months (after transporting it 500 miles).
Not sure if it was in the garage or precious enough to be stored in his office. Last weekend,
our grandson who also loves rocks was here, so they hauled out the dirt bags. They seemed
to be finding some interesting stuff, so I joined in. We had our own colorful beach buckets,
sand shovels & colanders. The screened porch got a bit messy, but it was well worth it.
I guess part of the fun is NOT knowing what’s in there & imagining that it’s something really
good covered in red clay. Being on the verge of discovery. They give you a chart of the
rocks to look for: ruby, garnet, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, peridot, quartz, obsidian
and many more lesser known stones.
These are my three best rocks. I found this really cool huge opaque & translucent
green stone. Probably a 50 karat emerald....or not. But, it was a great time of shared
expectation, hopes, dreams & adventure. So, I have to admit that a bag of dirt made us
happy and was well worth the price tag.
PHOTOTIP: Rocks make interesting subjects. Great texture, color & shape.
Some even look like paintings. When taking pictures of rocks, try to get angled light
to accent the texture, then a good contrasting background to show off the colors & shapes.
Late afternoon or early morning sunlight works best.
BLESSINGS!
1 Kings 19:7 - 13
See more pix
Go the my home page
Facebook connection
email:artisticimagesbypc@me.com
so to speak. My husband had purchased bags of dirt when we were visiting Sapphire Valley,
North Carolina for New Year’s. (Yes, it was the trip with the grand daughter who got car sick,
as narrated in January, but let’s not think about that right now.)
The Wyndham Resort had skiing, snowboarding, tubing down a slope, an indoor pool, an
outdoor pool (closed), restaurant, work out room, a little park, golf, tennis, horse back riding
and gem mining--okay, it was panning. Terry got very excited after admiring the gem display
in the lobby showing local finds. (He wanted to become a gold miner the first time we visited Dahlonega, GA.) But, he was very disappointed when he learned the gem mine wasn’t
open for the New Year holiday. The woman bearing the bad news consoled him with the
offer to sell him a bag of dirt to take home. At only $5, he bought two.
So, the dirt has been here & untouched for six months (after transporting it 500 miles).
Not sure if it was in the garage or precious enough to be stored in his office. Last weekend,
our grandson who also loves rocks was here, so they hauled out the dirt bags. They seemed
to be finding some interesting stuff, so I joined in. We had our own colorful beach buckets,
sand shovels & colanders. The screened porch got a bit messy, but it was well worth it.
I guess part of the fun is NOT knowing what’s in there & imagining that it’s something really
good covered in red clay. Being on the verge of discovery. They give you a chart of the
rocks to look for: ruby, garnet, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, peridot, quartz, obsidian
and many more lesser known stones.
These are my three best rocks. I found this really cool huge opaque & translucent
green stone. Probably a 50 karat emerald....or not. But, it was a great time of shared
expectation, hopes, dreams & adventure. So, I have to admit that a bag of dirt made us
happy and was well worth the price tag.
PHOTOTIP: Rocks make interesting subjects. Great texture, color & shape.
Some even look like paintings. When taking pictures of rocks, try to get angled light
to accent the texture, then a good contrasting background to show off the colors & shapes.
Late afternoon or early morning sunlight works best.
BLESSINGS!
1 Kings 19:7 - 13
See more pix
Go the my home page
Facebook connection
email:artisticimagesbypc@me.com
Posted by Pamela at 6/23/2011 5:14 PM 
Categories: America, Personal, FUN, Photography tips
Tags: rocks gems emeraldruby obsidion amethyst texture stone color angled light contrast background sunlight afternoon shape opaque translucent Dahlonega Georgia mining gold
Categories: America, Personal, FUN, Photography tips
Tags: rocks gems emeraldruby obsidion amethyst texture stone color angled light contrast background sunlight afternoon shape opaque translucent Dahlonega Georgia mining gold
Wow! Pamela, it looks like you both hit pay dirt--literally. There is nothing wrong with dreaming and having an adventure. Isn't that what being an artist is all about? Great post and lovely pictures.
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