METEORITES
Wisconsin Fireball April 14, 2010
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend three weeks in Wisconsin to hunt and recover fragments from the April 14, 2010 fireball. The best part about meteorite hunting are the adventures and friends you make along the way. Shortly after my arrival in Wisconsin I had the pleasure to experience the hospitality of the locals.
Many of the land owners would invite you into their homes and grant you permission to hunt for meteorites on their land . I had the opportunity to see first hand, ranching, farming and Dairy farming.
Below are a few of the photos from the Wisconsin meteorite hunting trip.
Mineral Point, Wisconsin
The Dairy farm above is owned and operated by James & Karen Parish. I had the opportunity to spend a few days hunting the farm for meteorites and experience dairy farming. A normal day begins before sunrise and ends at sunset 7 day a week. The holstein cows need to be milked twice a day.They spend the rest of their day depending on the time of the year, tending to crops, sowing, growing and harvesting the fields and occasionally talking to meteorite hunters.
The Holstein cow lying at the end of the barn, had been paralyzed while calving durning the night. The outcome was uncertain. When I returned the following day the cow had made a full recovery.
James giving instructions on milking . “ Ok you want me to grab that thing and do what! “
Brix taking a break from hunting.
The strewn field was changing daily. Many of the fields were already plowed and planted days after the fall. The alfalfa fields were already 10-12” tall.
James and Karen holding two of my Wisconsin meteorite finds.
16.8 gram Wisconsin meteorite in situ and with scale cube
Wisconsin Meteorite April 14 ,2010
photo credit Arlene Schlazer
110 gram meteorite in situ
I had received permission to hunt a large piece of land South of Yellowstone lake. The farm was made up of numerous fields in various stages of cultivation. The field that I wanted to hunt was in direct line with the fireball. There were rumors of a large stone being recovered from this area.
While I was climbing over one of the many fences I noticed a day old calf lying next to trail. The calf was covered in flies laying almost lifeless. As I approached the calf the only movement he made was with his eyes. I begin wiping the flies away from his mouth and eyes. I could see tracks in the mud from numerous cows but none in sight. I decided to call the land owners and inform them of the situation .
The land owner decided to have one of her sons drive out to the farm and check on the calf. The owner said it was possible something may have happened to the mother. As I started to walk away, the calf bellowed and tried to get up with no success. I thought to myself now what, leave the calf only for a coyote to come along. I decided it might be a good idea to hang out until the owner arrives. I could still hunt along the fence towards the road while keeping an eye on the calf. As I started to walk toward the road the calf stood and started to sway side to side as he tried to follow me.
