Glauconite Maybe?

So, I went out to the farm to go run today (because I've been very bad and not getting out enough in the last week) - but I arrived about the time my Dad came back from his little walk down in the canyon. He wanted to find out what kind of mineral/rock/deposit he'd spotted in the layers of soil and sediment near the creek. So I, always willing to go hiking down in the canyon got in the four wheeler and joined him. My Dad always has something that he is interested in. Right now he has all of the current oil wells being drilled in the area mapped out on his own grid. He's also trying to learn all he can about the geologic formations in the area.

Why do I always post photos of my Dad, and not my Mom- well she wouldn't appreciate me following her around taking photos. But, I will try to take more of her now that I think about it. So I was going to go run, I didn't. I always think there must be something interesting and important on this land to learn. So, maybe learning geology is a way to learn the history of the land. I've never thought about how the rocks and sand can tell us something. I've never thought about how what plants we find might tell us about what people could have lived here.

The rocky creek bed. Everything is monotone in the winter, shades of brown. Shades of brown that are shades of red and yellow, the green is in hibernation waiting on the warmth of spring.

I amped up the colors in this shot, because this is how I imagined it. If you want it how it is...you come photograph it. Also I wanted to do justice to the mint green color of this glauconite. Well, I believe this is glauconite, it has a similar composition to what I read about and texture. It also makes sense since Oklahoma was once a vast inland sea. Now, I want to see the sea shells in the strata (my inner sense of adventure has kicked in).

My Dad said that "Sometimes I get tired of mechanics." One thing I like about my Dad is he always is interested in something, whether it's Genealogy or antiques, he's always learning about something or doing something. He stays at home a lot but he keeps busy, as you can see above in the photo.

But the world is an interesting place, even a 120 acres of it.

My mind's eye wanted this saturated. It wanted me to turn this clay like mint green mineral into jewels, it wanted me to make it pop out of the surroundings like it is something waiting to be found. Maybe it was waiting to be found, maybe it was found not to be as exciting or as interesting as it was. But from what I've read Glauconite is found in anaerobic environments and where seas once were, so it makes sense. It is a sandstone formation in thie area, within the edges of the Arbuckles and not far from the Wichita Mountains. Old geological formations, running through the land for millions of years. Now, I'm wondering if there are fossils beneath this, is this where you find the evidence of the seas of evolution?

Glauconite is used as a fertilizer, it is rich in potassium and iron. It was used as a pigment to make paint.

Days like today - I grab my camera and go out the door. Grey and ridiculously ugly outside, late January, nothing living, just boring drab earthy colors. So when I come home and load the photos I know I can take something boring and ordinary and make it look as I imagine. I can color this picture for you to see. I think writers do this. They create these worlds inside of their heads that are far more interesting and exciting to us, the readers. They make characters we feel for and believe in, they tell their own stories with flair and with passion. They make us believe. I know screen writers do this to, and actors. They make people believe in something, whether it is a reality or not. So, no glauconite may not have been an Indiana Jones type adventure down into the canyon in the back pastures, but it is a learning adventure. A google quest to find out what this substance is and why it was sandwiched between the iron rich layers of clay and sandstone.

I think my parents give me hope for growing older, they are both extremely active (more active than I feel often). To be continually interested in things even if it is in your own back yard is a great way to live.