Maddie's Jungle

This used to be my view most
days. We played a lot of Marco
Polo; it's surprisingly easy to get
lost in the corn fields.


Maddie's Jungle

Corn fields are good for survey
because dirt gets turned-over
so often by the plow that
artifacts can be found
just waiting on the surface!


Maddie's Jungle

We would stick these flags in
the corn where we found
artifacts so we don't lose them.


Maddie's Jungle

Playing with the GPS.










A Close Encounter

Not an artifact, but very pretty ♥


Open Fields

Pretty Wildflowers ♥♥


Sunshine

It's a beautiful day.





Searching for Gold

A beautiful day to dig a hole.


Big Foot!

Muddy boots got very very heavy.


Striking Gold

Faith found something!


Striking Gold

Bug net on to protect
from the Cicadas.






The Hunt is On!

We used this giant drill
to dig our deep cores
and do analysis of the soil.


The Hunt is On!

Survey right along
the Rock River.


The Hunt is On!

Huge root going straight through
the middle of our unit


The Hunt is On!

Ginormous root Calvin and I
had to carefully chop out
of our excavation unit.


The Hunt is On!

The president of the company
took this picture of me
getting pelted by hail.


♥♥ The Hunt is Over ♥♥

Comfy seat.


The Hunt is Back On!

Calvin and I catching
frogs and snails at
Arrowhead Lake Forest Preserve.


♥♥ Fellow Huntsmen ♥♥

Meet Trinty

Trinity and I found this
huge biface in the feature!

Hey Calvin

Taking a selfie of Calvin
in Bachelors Grove.

Howdy Faith

My buddy Faith and I
stretching our legs.

Me, Faith, and Calvin

Faith, Calvin, and me at MackTown,
the first pioneer town in Illinois.

Back at Home Base

Me and my buddy Calvin
goofing off instead of
writing reports like
we’re supposed to.

On the Job!

Trying to stay warm
in the leaf pile.

On the Job!

Never give up.



Archeologists at Work



Archeologists at Work

So satisfying to clean out
the loose dirt.



Archeologists at Work

This was a Phase 2 Survey
in McHenry County.



Archeologists at Work

Digging with Trinity.



Archeologists at Work

I got to see a lot of
my old coworkers there,
which was really fun.



Archeologists at Work

It was a big project, so
we called in reinforcements
from Champaign!



Archeologists at Work

Excavating an old farmhouse
on the side of the road
in Oswego.



Treasure

Very pretty blue transferwear.


Treasure

Happy Hunter


Treasure

Coworker Clete approved.


Treasure

We kept finding more pieces
and fitting them together.


Treasure

Found so much of this plate
I was hoping I’d be able
to put the whole thing
back together but not quite.


Treasure

I thought these two pieces
were extra pretty ♥♥


Treasure

Big piece of a teacup!


Treasure

No idea what this is a
piece of, but the angles
are very cool. Maybe a
pitcher or jar of some sort?


Treasure

Just me in my element ♥


Treasure

Another teacup piece!
Its a bird!


Faith

It fits!


Treasure

It fits!







Road Trip

My typical uniform.


Road Trip

Emerson Bromo Seltzer bottle.


Road Trip

Happy Hunter


Road Trip

A bunch of junk we found
in a farm field from
a long gone farm house.


Road Trip

Clay pipes, probably Kaolin pipes.
You can tell approximately when
they were made by checking if
there is a seam on the side.
That seam means it was
made in a mold.


Road Trip

Pretty glass in the junk.


Road Trip

My buddy Tyler helping us
sort through the junk.


Road Trip

A horse tooth!


Road Trip

This right here was 90%
of my view for the past
2 years. All the dirt I
dug up would get sifted
through this screen.


Road Trip

That’s what an expertly
dug shovel test pit
looks like ♥♥


Road Trip

We found a bunch of Morel
mushrooms in the woods.
Delicious!


Road Trip

I found this old
Civil War era button.


Road Trip

Great get!


Road Trip

Historic items from a
19th century farmhouse in
Cook County. This is a
display we would use
for public outreach.


Back At Home Base

My coworker Ken is an
expert flint knapper. He
made me my very own
tool kit as a parting gift.
Notice that they're all
made with pink chert!



A Fine Farewell

Trinity cleaning up
the walls of this feature.


A Fine Farewell

Calvin's gnarly farmer's tan.


A Fine Farewell

Survey at the Carbondale Airport.
It was over 100 degrees!



Maddie! - Archeologist Extraordinaire
 from May 2023 to May 2025