9/11/20 Report - Bigger Surf Coming Soon. Sackets Harbor Battle Artifacts. Treasuring.

 Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

I'm paying a lot of attention to the predictions this morning.  For one thing, the surf will start building, reaching up to eight feet, according to the predictions by late Monday or Tuesday.  Five to eight feet could definitely cause improved beach conditions.  Of course that depends upon more things than just the size of the surf, but it is a welcome change.  We have been in summer beach conditions for months now with very few changes.

There is a string of tropical storms and waves to watch now.  Most important is the one that is farthest from us right now.  It is just coming off of Africa, but has the best chance of being the one to bring a hurricane to the Florida neighborhood. 

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Paulette and Rene are not supposed to affect us.  They will stay out in the Atlantic.

We'll get some effect from the local waves, but just some increased surf.

Looking 9 days ahead, both the GEM and GFS models put a hurricane very close to us.

Below is the GEM wind speed model output for Sept. 20.

GEM Model for Sept. 20.
Source: Ventusky.com

That is something that will be getting our attention if it turns out to be accurate.  An additional day would put it very close to us.  

I'll be watching that.

In the mean time, keep watching for an increase in surf, and hopefully also some improved beach conditions.

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Musket Side Plate and Military Buttons Found on Horse Island.
Source: See wwnytv.com link below.

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWNY) - The historic battle of Sackets Harbor in May of 1813 started with British troops making landfall on Horse Island. More than 200 years later, researchers are searching for new details about what happened there.

It’s a small island with some big history - something researchers from University of Binghamton’s Public Archaeology Facility are working to uncover.

They have found shell fragments, dropped musket balls, a side plate from a musket and buttons from military uniforms...

https://www.wwnytv.com/2020/09/07/archaeologists-find-war-artifacts-horse-island-near-sackets-harbor/

It looks to me like the $50,000 federal grant for this project added very little information to what was already known of the battle from first hand reports.

See https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/historical-significance-horse-island for accounts of that battle.

Not also the clues such as the one found in the following paragraph.

During that retreat, the invading troops pillaged “Camp Volunteer” with tents full of arms and baggage as well as “some excellent whiskey which they quickly drank to quench their parched throats and gain fortitude.” But, in their haste they accidentally or purposely dropped or threw away equipment to lighten their load in the water. They took one of the abandoned brass six-pounders.

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It is amazing how many interesting micro fossils you can find in some beach rocks.  I mentioned that yesterday, and only began to introduce the topic.  

The trouble with micro fossils is that they are so small, and require good magnification to study.  Some more than others, of course.

The other problem with them is that they are difficult to extract.  One common method is using acetic acid to dissolve the matrix, but that can take months.  You have to be careful to not use an acid that will dissolve the fossils along with the rocks.  It is a tricky and time consuming process.

I've tried crushing the rock, which worked fairly well, but I do not know microfossils well enough to identify most of them.  But that is how I am with many fossil finds.  I just tr y to learn as I go.

If you pick up clumps, rocks or conglomerates containing small visible fossils, the chances are very good that you will also find microfossils hidden in the same clumps.

I always say treasure hunting can involve almost every field of study.  If you are curious about what you see, you will always be learning.   Treasure hunting can be an excellent way to excite curiosity and introduce the methods of scientific investigation to students of almost any age.  

I never get bored.  I don't have enough time.

The word treasure can be a verb as well as a noun.  Learn to treasure and you will discover more precious treasures.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21.

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I think most of us can think back and clearly remember the events of 9/11/2001.   What lessons did we learn?

TreasureGuide@comcast.net