Stay-at-Home Day Twenty-Seven, Tuesday 21 April 2020: Stone Twenty-Seven

Stone Twenty-Six.

Stone Twenty-Five.

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Stone Twenty-Three.

The same close-up with more “saturation”.

Yesterday, our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the last day of Alert Level Four in New Zealand will be Monday 27 April. That means that Stone Thirty-Three will be the final one in this current “Stay-at-Home” series. New Zealand will then move to Alert Level Three, for an initial two weeks before review. This is still a very restricted Level – most people will still be staying-at-home, and businesses can operate only under strict social distancing rules. So I will run an Alert Level Three series of Stones of the Day during that period.

Stone Twenty-Seven is a dark red quartzite I found at Birdlings Flat, that I finished polishing two days ago.

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Stone Twenty-Seven.

One side of Stone Twenty-Seven.

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There is an amazing complexity to its patterns of colours and lines.

Stone Twenty-Seven, angled view.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven, angled view.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Edge view of Stone Twenty-Seven.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

As with many quartzites, there are “floating” patches of colour, and veins of clear or cloudy silica. Some of these veins appear to run through fault planes, where the stone has been subject to pressure and small movements. Some of the veins are very thin, others are thicker. 

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

Stone Twenty-Seven detail.

It’s like looking down on the surface of a nearby planet.

The next Post in this Series is Stay-at-Home Day Twenty-Eight, Wednesday 22 April 2020: Stone Twenty-Eight. The first Post is Stay-at-Home Day One, Thursday 26 March 2020: Stone One.