Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Geodes: The Dilemma

Randall brought me these geodes yesterday.  He has had to confront 'poachers' on his land looking for these monsters. They are each about the size of a human head.

Inside each there will be a treasure cave of crystals. What to do?
1) Allow the imagination free play?
2) Break them open to reveal their hidden beauty?
Nature loves to hide.
Man loves to reveal.
Is it a virtue (reverence, respect?) to leave them be? Would we not be better off if we had not split the atom? Here is an image of an opened geode. They are not all so pretty.

http://www.rikoo.com/ProductImage/2800897/Agate-Amehtyst-Geode-Crystal-Ball-03.jpg


"Geodes are spherical rocks encapsulating a hollow cavity that is lined with crystals. They begin as bubbles in volcanic rock or as animal burrows, tree roots or mud balls in sedimentary rock. Over time the outer shell of the sphere hardens and the interior fills with hot, mineral-rich liquids.
Over centuries the liquid evaporates and crystals form of varying shapes and colors that can only be seen when the geode is cracked open."


What to do? Open one of them? Usually they are (just) quartz.