That’s a great photo.

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I just assumed that you were related to Popeye: “I'm strong to the finich, cause I eats me spinach…”

These are excellent. Keep at it!

The bladed crystals are rather unusual for astrophyllite from MSH. Nice photo.

Wider view of the same location. The crystals formed from sublimation are considerably different in habit from the more familiar blocky crystals of Sicily or Maybee, Michigan, US or Conil, Spain. While relatively common as an element, its high reactivity makes native sulfur fairly rare.

I’m only posting here now. Twitter still has areas of content that I don’t see anywhere else. And not all my colleagues have shifted, so there’s that. But as a user, I have only good things to say about BlueSky.

Mastodon, but I found the content limited and interface unfamiliar.

Hawaii is a rare place where one can literally watch rocks forming in a (mostly) safe manner. People ask how it smells. All the volatiles have long since left. The flow is nearly silent, save for crackling noises when rain hit the surface and causes the semi-solid surface layer to shatter. (3/3)

It's fresh and flowing directly toward me. The finger at the bottom is only feet away when I took the photo and was inching closer. The surface is cooler and pliable. The feel when applying pressure is reminiscent of bread dough. (2/3)

While there is disagreement about the method of formation, a biologic origin is generally favored and has been demonstrated in the laboratory. For a general review, see this article. (3/3)

‘Desert Varnish’ is a loosely defined coating formed on rock outcrops, often dominated by iron and manganese oxides (e.g. birnessite) intermixed with clay minerals (e.g. corrensite), with a typical thickness less than 1mm. (2/3)

I can tell that your priorities are correct!