Today is National Fossil Day. Fossils are the result of one process of nature that we are all very lucky to have work as well as it does. Fossilization is when an organism’s remains are preserved in stone. Usually it's actually a molding process, like you do with crafts. What happens is the right dirt molds the bones of a dead lifeform, and then a different material comes in and forms stone where the bones used to be.
One particularly interesting form of fossils is amber. Amber is when tree sap turns into a natural resin gemstone. This gem has two great features. The first is the golden color it is, like it has to be my favorite shade of yellow. The second is that sometimes things get stuck in the resin and preserved: Bugs, lizards, plants, at least one baby dinosaur preserved so well you could see the feathers on it, ect. I have a few good amber gemstones on my windowsill. They are old gifts that are still dear to me.
Whenever I think about fossils, I think of Mary Anning. She was a British paleontologist and fossil collector who made many groundbreaking discoveries, notably including fossils she found in cliffs along the English Channel near where she lived. She was also apparently a fossil dealer, which was once argued to be the basis behind the “She Sells Seashells” tongue twister, although it’s never been solid proof.
I think my favorite kind of fossil is those opal fossils where it's the shape of a shell, bone, claw, fang, ect. in the holographic looking stone