As the water has continued to recede from the Conestoga River I have continued to explore the different strata that become exposed. Since these layers are best visible from the river, this weekend I ventured to climb into the river itself and get the best vantage I possible could for collecting my rocks. The spring-time water is still very cold, and I could only last about twenty minutes before I needed to climb out and warm up my feet, but the results were well worth the effort.
The little rock I’ve posted here is very, very soft and I suspect that if it was left in the water for very long it would wash away to nothing. It is wonderfully bright in colour, and if you make your hand wet it will draw a streak of ochre across your palm.
With the hope of finding other such treasures to lure me, I’m afraid that I will be standing the the river quite often in the next little while looking for these little lumps of pigment before they wash away.