Dinosaurs and other Saurs (7)

 Friday 30 August 2024

Up early and enjoyed cereal then poached egg and bacon. Off to the dig site where I worked all day on the washing rig getting very wet and muddy.

After our very hot day (36C) in the middle of a very flat paddock shifting dirt around we returned to camp to the welcome smell of roast dinner cooking.

I had a most welcome shower and washed all the suncream off my face. The suncream is great but the mud and dust stick to it quite readily.

We spent an hour or so sitting outside in the cooling air and enjoying the sunset and wide expanse of cloudless sky. The stars after dark are amazing.

Saturday 31 August 2024

Three of us are up early every day and making coffee. John's job is to make sure the urn is full before he goes to bed and Matt makes sure to turn it on when he gets up. It is great to wake to the sound of the urn boiling ready for my coffee.

Another full dig day and a bit of a pack up in the late afternoon. During the week David and Harry Elliott have worked on the dozer to fill the first of the three pits that had few fossils. Our team worked mainly on the second pit and the major finds were given plaster coats ready to be transported to the museum.

My job for the week has been to help wash all the matrix found around the dig and delivered by front end loader to the washing rig where it is tumble washed then hosed off sieved to size sort then hosed again, all the while searching for bits of fossilised bone among the unwanted stuff.

Back home to shower, sort and pack our gear. The air conned kitchen became an impromptu chat circle for Yvana, Caroline, Janice, Francesca, Di and I and of course Linda (our chef). It was pleasant to have a quiet chat sharing a glass of bubbly and some nibbles in the cool.

Dinner was corned beef and veg with a lovely mustard sauce.

Although there was a trivia game out around the open fire, I am not keen on sitting around a fire even in winter, especially not after a 38C day. I collapsed into bed and Dianne also decided she could do with the sleep.