Chesapeake Sweetness

On Saturday I had the whole day to myself. The wife and kids were heading up to visit her parents, so not only was I able to hit the beach, I had no time pressure to be back at a reasonable hour. I got to my favorite beach around 8 AM, and found it deserted. Highly unusual for a saturday, but the tide was at full high, and the early birds with their flashlights had probably already left.

The last few times I had been at this beach, the finds were disappointing, but this trip made up for them. I went up and down the productive stretch four times, each time finding some great fossils. The 1 1/8th Meg came first, followed by some nice Hemis. The big Mako, at 1 3/4 inches, came about a half hour later. The best find of the day came right after I found the Mako. The tide was heading out at this point, and I spotted what looked like a flat black rock sitting just below the high tide line. Something about the parallel sides and the regularly curved edge drove me to check it out further. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I realized what it was- a huge Ray crushing plate in beautiful condition! It measures almost three inches wide, and is by far the biggest Ray plate I've ever found. I put it back on the ground in the same indentation I found it to snap the ground shot. The photo may not be a true ground shot, but it accurately shows the plate as found.

After heading back down the beach again, and the water level still dropping, it was time to break out the sifter. After a decent amount of shoveling, the upper I. desori tooth found its way onto my screen. It measures 1 and 11/16ths, and was in near perfect condition when I found it.

I was starting to get tired and hungry, so at about 3:30 PM, I decided to finally head in. On the way back, keeping my eyes glued to the surf line, I spotted a suspicious-looking rock that I just had to grab. It turned out to be the largest tooth of the day- a 2 and 5/16ths Meg. It's a bit chipped and worn, but it was the perfect way to close out a great day! Sob story of the day- I accidentally dropped the desori tooth onto a tile floor when I got home, snapping off a root lobe and dinging the tip a bit. A little Elmers put the root lobe back on, but the sound of that tooth hitting the tile broke my heart.

Good hunting to all, and only play with fossil teeth in a carpeted room!

Tom

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