Lake Esmond, Canadian, Victoria
Updated 28th March 2021. Lake Esmond is like an extended front yard for us. We live right on its edge […]
Me and this blog
Hi there. My name is Steve, and I am a husband, father and grandfather. My youngest granddaughter refers to me […]
Monthly Mineral Chronicles Volume 3 Issue 10
Monthly Mineral Chronicles vol 3 issue 10 is now available. This month, in this 53 page full-colour issue, we have […]
September Snow!
Almost at the end of the first month of Spring and we got a nice dusting of snow in the […]
Moh’s Hardness Scale and Early Zoom Bonus!
I was up early this morning for an early Zoom call. The Russell Society session started at 5am my time. […]
Mineral of the Week…
…over at MeWe, the new Mineral of the Week is wulfenite! Header photo is wulfenite from the Jianshan Mine, Ruoqiang […]
2021 Mineral Calendar now available…
Looking for a mineral-themed calendar for the year following the year we all want to forget? I have mini wall […]
Reverting back to previous lens…
I am finding that I am not getting the best, sharpest results with some specimens using my newer super macro […]
Holey Moley!
Now that I have some (ahem!) spare time, I decided that I would pull up the weed mat around the […]
One has to have imagination…
…in all things 😁 Can you see what I see? A Genie released from its lamp?
Mineral of the Week…
This week’s Mineral of the Week over on MeWe is prehnite. A poll has been set up to choose the […]
No Label! Found it!
Edit: There was a label. But it was one label for half a dozen specimens. At least I know the […]
Zoom. Just one look and then…
Two Zoom sessions today, both international! The first was the fortnightly Micromount Club Zoom meeting (number eleven!) with Steve Rust […]
Another Package…
Another package arrived today. Sent from the US in early July, it took only a couple of weeks to reach […]
New Species Arrived…
A package arrived today with three new species for my collection. One of them is lavoisierite, named after French chemist, […]
Mineral of the Week…
This week’s Mineral of the Week is chalcopyrite. Photo: Chalcopyrite, Clara Mine, Rankach valley, Oberwolfach, Wolfach, Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. […]
Copper Inclusions in Gypsum…
Been capturing details of specimens in boxes, but not necessarily cataloguing and photographing. Took time out tonight to photograph this […]
Calm Before the Storm…
Enjoying a bit of sunshine before a storm that’s on its way hits us. Appropriately listening to Sound Storm radio. […]
Nuked the Roses…
All but one anyway. They were old and haggard and rotting near the bases. So out they came. Planting natives […]
Six Months In…
This weekend marks six months since I stopped work in the year to remember to not forget to remember to […]
Mineral of the Week
This week’s Mineral of the Week (MotW) only at MeWe, is cerussite. “Chrome Cerussite” from the Magnet Mine, near Waratah, […]
Floor Surgery…
So we screwed down all of the flooring before laying new carpet, but there was still an annoying noise in […]
Monthly Mineral Chronicles Volume 3 Issue 8…
…is now available here – https://sorrellpublications.mineralcollective.com/index.php/2020/08/13/monthly-mineral-chronicles-volume-3-issue-8/
New Masks Have Arrived…
With the number of active cases creeping up in Ballarat (another four yesterday), the arrival of my new abstract design […]
The MeWe Mineral Collective is Growing…
Getting quite a few people interested and posting on MeWe already. This after a few short days. This is a […]
Blue Screen of Death…
Had an unknown cause Blue Screen of Death twice in the last three days. Doesn’t seem to be a problem […]
Mineral of the Week…
This week’s Mineral of the Week (MotW) is rhodochrosite and in a new home. Now on MeWe.
From Facebook to MeWe…
Given the issues I have had with Facebook recently, I have set up some mineral-related groups on a good FB […]
Slow News Day…
I feel so single-celled today… I’m sure there should be one called Alan. Today’s Farside comics…
Spring Around the Corner…
The lockdown starts in a few hours. Spring will be here in four weeks. Lockdown scheduled to run for the […]
Snow, Hail and a Broken Water Heater…
A few snow flurries this morning (see video below). And hail around lunchtime (see photos below video). Oh, and our […]
Australian Marshite!
And not from Broken Hill! Marshite is a rare copper iodide mineral, originally found at Broken Hill. There is one […]
Back Into Lockdown…
Victoria has gone one further than declaring a State of Emergency (that we have had for a few months already). […]
Snow on the way?
Apparently, July is normally the coldest month of the year here. But the July just gone was warmer than usual. […]
Mandatory Masks from Monday…
The Covid numbers in Victoria are still not good, half way through lockdown number two. The whole of metropolitan Melbourne […]