Because I’m too damned tired to write anything of substance, I’m going to chuck a couple of pictures of geology in action at you and run away.
I’ll have a recap of the trip and tons of delightful photos up soon. First, though, a very long flight home and a coma.
So Evy’s busting up rocks in sandals a few months after writing a huge big blog post on wearing proper protective clothing in lab?
She is wearing eye protection. That’s the one essential.
Touche, Chuck. I guess I live life on the wild side where hydrofluoric acid is not involved. Normally I do wear boots but this was just a little baby rock that I was breaking with a baby hammer :-)
Recalling that your previous post was in respect to being in the vicinity of dinosaur tracks, you can imagine my initial reaction to the images of hammer-wielding geoblogesses…THE HORROR…THE HORROR!
How comforting to realize that the hammer swinging was not directed at or around said tracks. Phew, crisis averted.
I was, however, a bit dismayed to note the use of what appears to be a standard claw hammer as your chosen implement of rock destruction. Surely a classic Estwing leather-grip rock pick (pointed tip) or chisel edged rock pick would be more appropriate.
Anyway, as someone who has been know to smash one rock against another when hammerless, I can relate to the need to improvise.
It’s the practice hammer. ;) *
Breaking rocks with other rocks is how I got started, circa age 5, and also how I began my journey through finger-bandaging techniques. I didn’t know there were even such things as geologist’s hammers until much later, as I’d never read anything about fieldwork.
*It looks like it has a fiberglass handle, which reminds me of the first time I saw and used one. A friend wanted to hang something on his basement wall, and I had fluted masonry nails. He said he had a hammer. I get there and take a whack at the first nail, which was about eye level… The recoil was a killer. I refused use of fiberglass hammers for years until I found out they were not all designed so poorly.
HEE HEE, “practice hammer”…good catch F.
Yes, Dana and I did have to improvise with the hammer. All of my rock hammers & other supplies have been moved to South Africa, and I didn’t bring them back with me to defend my thesis. When we wanted to break some rocks, I stole one of my dad’s hammers… hopefully we didn’t damage it too much.