Thursday, June 19, 2008

- Rough Opal, Sunsets, Pelicans and Thanks

Cunnamulla, QLD Australia

(updated)

Thanks for all of your emails. I'm sorry I have not been able to respond to every one immediately. There is a possibility I will be able to use another miner's computer and internet connection in about a week, which would mean I'd have much more time to respond.

A handfull of updates:
We have been finding good, cut-able opal almost every day. Some seasons the color seems to appear almost effortlessly. . . we are digging and sweating, I promise you, but we are finding a nice amount of very pretty rocks. I have set up my cutting equipment and expect to be slicing and cutting some of the material tomorrow. Yes, in about a week I should have some available for sale.

A few days ago, while sitting in my shed, a peculiar shadow glided across the ground. i went outside to see what caused it and saw something I've never seen before. . . several flocks of pelicans . . . hundreds of pelicans overhead. Australian pelicans, at least these black and white birds, are much larger than the brown pelicans I see in Florida. The American version is often seen in small groups / flocks of 5 to 10 flying in a line just above the water, rarely far from the coast. The Australian version will fly inland along rivers and spend time in and around large lakes. I was told the pelicans we've been seen here are in the process of migrating. The flocks I saw contained from 12 to 50 or 60 pelicans, gracefully flying like our geese in a V shape, yet the shape was dynamic, almost constantly changing and reorganizing. A few of the flocks did a bit of a ballet as they circled around above my mine while they reorganized their structure. To simply say it was beautiful would almost be insulting.

Moments ago, I looked at the sky to the west . . . the sun is just behind a rather fluffy cloud on its way toward setting and is a beautiful sight. Only about 9 out of 10 of the sunrises and sunsets here are incredible. The sky is amazing here - 24 hours a day.

more later, must run. . .


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