The suicide squad

Whew! That was a long week - sorry to be down so long, but I just switched hosts and it took forever to get the domain thing right. Now, we're set, though. I got the call last night from Indiana that the guys did some more digging out on the new pond, and that it was my duty to check it out. I arrived to find a hole 25 to 30 feet deep with nearly vertical walls. All digging was difficult because not only did we have to clear away the fallen debris to uncover the layer, but we also had to create a ledge to walk on. As if that weren't enough, we also had to worry about the precarious overhang all the way around the new dig. The edge was collapsing all around, just not where we were right at the time. I had one close call, but all my non fossilized bones came back unbroken. I had nearly given up hope digging - the layer was really lousy. It was a grey sand with a black gravel layer at its base, just above the Chandler Bridge. Its loaded with bone, but all the teeth are beaten up badly. On the most dangerous edge of the pond, I had cut a path about 12 inches wide to walk on, and I leaned over to dig to my left as I balanced myself above the gaping hole. I poked at the layer to reveal what I dismissed as a small, broken megalodon tooth. I picked it up with my shovel and examined it a little closer. It was pathologic, not broken! Mere seconds after I gave up on that spot and moved on, nearly 4 cubic meters of dirt collapsed and tumbled past where I had just been. I was lucky! Of course, I couldn't leave after something like that. I had to examine the newly exposed layer ;-) I did it quickly, though, because the edge was due to collapse again any second. The overhang was even more pronounced than before. I don't know if it ever collapsed, but I'm sure when it does, it will be really cool to see!