AusBonsai

I was at SGS today getting some gravel for mulch to discover that they are closing down at the end of June this year Stock is low so had to make sure they had what I wanted. I will be sad to see the place go, it will mean alot more travel & also base purchase costs to my gravel needs & I use lots!!!

I saw the owner & being a rock hound I took the opportunity to ask about some of the landscape and sculptural pieces I have spied in my semi regular visits... I was allowed to wander round, see if anything particular took my fancy... what does any rock hound in a gravel & stone suppliers do but jump at it.

Ute long loaded & loader gone back up top, I had 2 handfuls of large river stone to bring home and went back up to discuss a few bits & pieces, some were already spoken for, others...... all in good time.. for now heres my new babies to explore there potential. All will be allowed to patinate outdoors for a time and it will allow me time to really look at them... ones already in the fish tank .. how many more Edit:- spelling

ooops wrong button The big orangey pink one has already made its way into my tropical tank, a few more may end up there too. The rest have dried now so i can have a good look and take some more pics . The big piece of conglomerate needs to be turned almost on its head & a few are going to take some time to find the best viewing angle. While most are river stone, they have been dulled by the screening process in the gravel yard. Is there anything I can do to restore some of that buff, short of sitting them back in a flowing river?

These are a nice change from my usual stone finds, collected on shape & form but more importantly for me the lichen varieties & patternation displayed and its interplay with the stone, all of which need full exposure to the elements & most importantly dew!!! Some of these will eventually have a timber diaza made, when I find time to learn how

I am still learning about traditional stone appreciation so would love to hear others thoughts on potential amongst this lot.

Matt

I usnd that many famous suiseki have been rubbed by hand over long periods. The natural skin oils and the rubbing give a smoothness and lustre - 'patina'. a similar effect can be achieved by applying a vegetable oil and rubbing the stone with bare hand or with a cloth.