The theme of this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is RARE.
About twenty-five years ago, I was hiking in the hills of West Virginia when I came upon a rock slide at the base of a cliff. My eyes fixed on this rock which had a slight indentation in the center.

With my fingernail I raised the indentation with a bit of effort, and this fossilized shell appeared.

I was humbled to think that my eyes were the first in the history of our world to see this unique fossil. That, I think, qualifies as RARE.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/rare/
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About johnvic8
John Viccellio retired after 24 years in the U. S. Navy and began to dig into gardening when he could finally land in one place. He completed the Master Gardener course in 1992 and has since designed and constructed two of his own gardens. He wrote a monthly garden column for ten years and was a regular contributor to Carolina Gardener magazine. John published his first book, Guess What's in My Garden!, in 2014.
He lives in a retirement community in Matthews, NC.
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Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How fortunate that you were compelled to pick at that indentation.
My grandfather was a fossel-student, as it were. During the Great Depression he built a gigantic fireplace and chimney veneered with local petrified wood. He would have enjoyed your find. The fireplace could hold a five-foot log and the chimney was twenty feet tall. I guess I inherited a bit of his interest, the way I’m carrying on 🙂
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Thanks for your comment, Scott. Sometimes it pays to pay attention to what is around us.
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I bet he’d be happy to know that you’d inherited a bit of the same interest! 🙂 What a very cool story; Scott and John! 🙂
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Thanks.
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That is a great rare find.
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I’ve asked myself: why did I look down at that moment? Why did the indentation catch my eye from a distance? Hard to answer, but you understand why it was a pleasing discovery. My grandkids love it.
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Fossils are fascinating to the child in all of us.
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Lucky find!
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Lucky, indeed. Thank you for visiting.
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That really is rare, John.
janet
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Thank you, Janet.
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For sure rare.
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Thanks.
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A Very special moment indeed. I’ve searched unsuccessfully for fossils on Chesil beach, but to find one ‘by chance’ as it were must have been wonderful.
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It is a great memory, and….keep searching. Thanks, Christina.
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This is really amazing 🙂
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I agree. I was most fortunate to see this one.
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A very special find…fossils are so unique.I have some from Oman and I treasure them.
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I think all finds of fossils for us amateurs is special. Keep hunting.
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Wow – what a wonderful find. We lived in an area known for fossils when I was a child, but I was never lucky enough to find one. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier 🙂
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Thanks for you kind words.
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Change is the only constant…it’s interesting that the bottoms of seabeds tower over us.
I used to find fossil bits in washed away areas of creek beds back in Iowa. It’s cool to hold history in your hand.
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Yes, I found this fossil in the hills of WVA… a long way from the ocean. It is cool, indeed.
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No doubt it once lived in the mighty Inland Sea…
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That is really neat, good for this week’s challenge.
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Thanks, I was fortunate to find that stone.
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Such a cool drive.
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Thanks.
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not only such fossil rocks are rare….finding it on a walk in woods is rare too!
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I agree. It was fortunate.
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That is a great example of a rarity and you get to cherish it every day – very precious!
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Thank you, Liesbet. It is a special treasure.
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I’m on awe! What an amazing find. It must have made your day or week.
I’d have just stood there with it in my hand and said “I have lived.”
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You have imagined well how I felt. It was a long time ago, but I am still thrilled when I look at that shell.
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What an amazing find!
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fortunate indeed
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Wow! you really have very sharp eyes and your finding is great.
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It was a great find, but it was just good fortune.
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Collected fossilized clam shells from gravel in Miami, Florida.
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