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Sept. 30, 2004 In the area of the country where I live in Virginia there are several gemstone mines that offer fun and adventure to all ages. I have found several mines that will allow you to dig your own gemstones such as amethyst, amazonite,topaz and many varities. The mines that we located after much trepidation from maps drawn from memory presented quite a few gems. I am not just speaking of some of the beauties that we found. In one dig I found a 25 ct. topaz as well as nice ametrine, amethyst and a beauty of an aquamarine stone at least 30.ct or better. But I enjoyed the school children that came to the mine. They entertained me with intelligent question and a few taught this old head some things. These children were allowed to get dirty and still have fun. Can you imagine not allowing a child to get dirty while doing something productive. One little boy found a amazonite stone which is named after the Amazon river. He shouted to us. "Look mommy I found kryptonite!" These children are in my opinion little diamonds in the rough. Some day these youngsters will sparkle far brighter than the stones they found. The owners of the mine expect people to appreciate nature and they require that the land be treated with respect. In fact that is one thing that you notice the quietness and the peaceful atomosphere. The owner would not let anyone go down the shaft in spring because a bird had mad its nest on top of the mine opening. Therefore people waited until the nestlings had hatched. At one mine the owners who are Mennonite request that you wear long sleeves and pants plus a hat. There is to be no drinking there. They had a little golden colored Pomeranian named Teddy that delighted us with showing us where to dig and we found nice goshenite along with garnets and moonstone. The dog reminded me of Topaz. Each of the owners would be a gemstone as well. The last place we went to belonged to a friend of mine that attends the same church that I go to. She is a retired, eighty-eight year old teacher of Bible. What a gem of wisdom she turned out to be. I never did ask to go to explore the beryl or blue aquamarine stones. I was enthralled as was my husband by her stories. She gave me a copy of her poems that she had written about the Grand Canyon. She gave me a very large piece of beryl that is in my collection. So I in turn wrote a poem for her and signed it. This lady is a Pearl true and pure. She is the character by that name in my fourth book The Power and The Glory which I am now writing. However I want more people to encourage children to learn about the gemstones in their life. There are so many and I am glad I found a few that are keepers in my time allowed here on this earth. ------------ About the author Judy T. Lloyd: I have written my first book which is published through PublishAmerica it is called The Twelfth Of Never and it is about one man's reaction to his wife and unborn son's death on September 11, 2001. Email: nancyl@kinex.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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