America went stark raving crazy over today's solar eclipse. Oh the ridiculous conspiracy theories that abounded over what was, after all, a common and predictable event! We could expect earthquakes! False flag attacks! Biological warfare! Acts of terrorism! EMPs! Civil unrest! Mass zombie behavior! Communications blackouts! Internet down! Martial law! Lock downs! Um, have I missed anything?
Of course, the moment the eclipse was over and exactly NONE of these predictions came to pass ... crickets.
Here in Idaho, we were well outside the path of totality. Using this eclipse website, we would be seeing a bit under one-third coverage.
Last October, during the last eclipse, we really couldn't see it since we didn't have any glasses. However the sun filtered through the willow leaves and cast crescent shadows on our outdoor chest freezer, allowing us to "see" the eclipse (pretty cool, actually!).
This time, however, we have no willow leaves. They've barely emerged from their buds.
Although we had beautiful clear conditions, I despaired of seeing anything since we didn't have glasses. Then, unexpectedly, Older Daughter said she had purchased two pairs of glasses online three weeks ago. Holy cow, really??? I was thrilled! Smart kid!!!
Thus we were able to watch the proceedings. I photographed the sun through the glasses, and here's what I got:
How was your eclipse?
What eclipse? It's been overcast with clouds most of the day at my house . It felt a little darker for a short time. My chickens did go to roost though.
ReplyDeleteMost of those predicting stuff are in it to make bucks.
One young lady doing the weather advised to bring pets in, not because of any real danger, but because changes in weather/atmosphere, can sometimes be confusing to them and inadvertantly cause a problem. I thought perhaps that was good advice and followed it, but it's been such a non-event it probably wouldn't have mattered. Where it was total or near total, maybe it would have.
Here in the Ozarks it was total, and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI’m in the Ozarks, too. We were on the shorter side of totality. Beautiful day. We enjoyed observing the changes and effects of the eclipse like shadow snakes and changes to the temperature and colors. The intricacy and glory of God’s creation is amazing.
DeleteFantastic pictures, Patrice! Thank you! It was cloudy here in Montana so we just saw it get a little darker. But, now I can enjoy it any time I want by looking at you great pictures!
ReplyDeleteIt was very cool here on Long Island. Son was in Indianapolis and got totality. Daughter got some good pix off the Brooklyn waterfront.
ReplyDeleteWe had lots of cloud cover in Western North Carolina, but we did get a brief clearing to see a little bit of the eclipse. One of our work managers brought in boxes of Moon Pies for us to eat while we sat outside waiting to catch a glimpse.
ReplyDeleteWe also noticed our shadows were much sharper at the edges, not soft & blurred like in "normal" sunshine.
We were also promised locusts, but I'll take those crickets instead ;) We had a great view of the previous eclipse, but this time we had thick cloud cover; I didn't notice anything. It wasn't supposed to be much here in NW Montana either, but I'm glad you got so see something over the border.
ReplyDeleteWe were in the path of totality here in our part of Ontario, Canada, and our family got together for an eclipse party on one of our front lawns. We were privileged to have sunny weather and a perfect view. I had thought ahead and bought 10 pairs of glasses to share, and it was fun to see our grandkids marvel over the moon's gradual covering of the sun. We saw the sunset colors on the horizon, felt the big temperature drop, saw the waving shadows on the ground, heard the birds go quiet and saw the streetlights turn on, saw the solar flares that looked like pink or red dots on the rim, and more. It was an amazing and awesome experience. God is a great Creator, and because He has made everything so well, we can predict these things so accurately and be ready to witness and stand amazed. :)
ReplyDeleteHere in Indiana the skies cleared and we got to view the total eclipse. It was amazing! The air cooled and our street lights came on. It was especially amazing to view with my kids and mom.
ReplyDeleteWe had 91% here in SE WI. It was pretty neat. I feel a little bad that my 1st grader wasn't allowed to watch - they probably felt that it was too risky that kids wouldn't listen and would do damage to their eyes. I got some neat pictures, though, taken through the glasses. (Looking back, I got a *really* good picture back in 2017 - near 90% - which is what we got then, too - we got some cloud cover that made it possible, for a time, to look at the event without the glasses, so I got a picture, too!)
ReplyDeleteI read an article by a Native American woman who somehow linked the eclipse to the massive double hatching of cicadas starting any day now. I looked up maps and it mostly looks like the southeast is getting this horde of "locusts", but some maps show more of the eastern half of the US.
ReplyDeleteThis is very important if you garden or have berry bushes. They suck the sap out of things they like including blueberry bushes so they should be covered and tied up at the base. They also like some larger trees. They don't like tomatoes and some other things. Supposedly.
The Native American lady recommended just delaying planting until after they passed. That's probably a good idea if you live in an affected area.
I remember seeing a big "invasion" of these bugs as a child. Bunches of them dead on the ground. The sound of thousands or millions in the trees. They don't bite you, but they can damage vegetation. This year both the 13 year and the 17 year hatchings are converging which is why this could be a big deal for a very short while.
So, heads up, they may come to a lot of us.
My blueberries are covered in green berries so pollination is over and they are about to be covered with some of that lightweight stuff air light and water pass through.
We live in Southern Illinois and got a fantastic show! We sat out back with my 94 year old Mother and when we went to total it was just wonderful. The yard lights all came on, cattle to the barn, my dog was a bit confused but came through fine and Mother said she was looking forward to the next one.
ReplyDeleteWe were on our way to The Ark Encounter in northern KY from central MI. Experienced the worst traffic jam in my 69 years of life, in a red Ford pickup truck pulling a travel trailer, said traffic jam was 70 miles long. We were near Dayton OH and I took many photos out my truck window of an awesome total eclipse. I would totally go again to see another eclipse. But for sure I would leave the travel trailer at home. LOL.
ReplyDelete