This is Black Opal under a microscope at 250 magnification. This is one of my favorites one. It looks like scales and and acrylic paint mixed together.

I got these at World's View in Nyanga, Zimbabwe (ft. giant rose quartz rock below and a clear quartz behind)

We got this geode breaking kit from the toy store. It’s a National Geographic STEM toy, but it’s really just an awesome way to smash stuff with a hammer. I’m still a kid when the inside of a geode is revealed. It literally makes my heart skip a beat. Wow! Look at all the crazy crystals in there! Even they’re not super remarkable, it’s so cool these things just naturally form. Check out my 6 year old making papa proud and investigating her new geodes 🥹

Quartz (SiO2 or silica dioxide) is the most ubiquitous minerals on the planet. It’s a simple compound that has thousands of practical uses for humans. I could go on forever. You should really watch this video if you’re interested: https://youtu.be/A41wVJaYnRU?si=T8JkEUrFcDD8RXVm Anyway, I like mundane rocks. Sometimes the most beautiful interesting rocks are just hanging out in planters beds in a strip mall. It’s amazing how many people pass over what I interpret as pure miracles of millions of years of geologic activity. This little guy was probably just on the sidewalk or something. I don’t remember where. But I found broken like this. When did it break? A year ago? 5? 100? Who knows!