I put hay in the feeders and sat on a rock to listen and watch. It was a half hour before the apex of the eclipse. It was only a partial eclipse on the farm, but I was still interested to see how the animals would react to it.
I wished Jon could have been there with me, but he had a doctors appointment right in the middle of it all.
As the light started to dim I got curious and wished I had gotten glasses to look at the sun. Moments before the sun was brighter than it had been in months, now the world around me looked drab in comparison. Soon I felt as if I were looking through amber colored glasses. Everything had an unnatural tint to it.
Our shadows grew sharp edged and dark. And I felt a chill for the first time all day.
The peepers got louder, the birds were quiet. There were even fewer cars on the road. Two gunshots like celebratory fireworks, echoed from a neighbors house.
I looked for the crescent shadows, in the shadows of the trees and barn, but didn’t see any.
But the donkeys and sheep kept eating their hay. The hens rested under the lilac bush, Zinnia gobbled up manure, and Fate ran circles around us all.
It was Zip who behaved unusual by not coming out to be with us. I found him in the barn, napping in his bed.
I looked for those crescent shapes too. I remember noticing them when there was an eclipse a year or so before we left Seattle. Like you I noticed that it got quiet, partly because there was almost no traffic but it reminded me of the hush after a blizzard. I think birds were a bit confused, making dawn chorus sounds. Cocks crowing but I know they do that when they feel like it. Your pictures show that same almost brown light and like you I wished I’d got the glasses. I think all the hype put me off!
Ah, the hype can do that Carolyn. I didn’t notice the dawn bird song, but I can’t really distinguish it like you can. It makes sense thought. Wish I could listen again. I was glad to get the color in my photos. That’s so much a part of it that is rarely talked about.
We had 85% cloud cover so it was just a cloudy day at our house. The only bit of sunshine was to the west over the mountains towards the end of the eclipse. I was lucky to experience the eclipse in 2017 with my pin hole viewer but would’ve loved to see this one with the cool glasses.
Oh sorry you missed it Josie. Next time there is a partial eclipse if I am around I will try a pinhole viewer. Someone I know took a lovely picture of the the eclipse through one. A big soft gray ground and a sliver of light.
I was in the totality zone and when the moon totally covered the sun the bats began to fly around. We were on Lake Champlain so I didn’t hear the peepers. That would have been awesome.
Oh bats! That’s very cool Lois! I never thought of bats coming out.
We were in the so-called “path of totality.” We had the glasses, however, it was cloudy through much of the time so we didn’t see too much. It was when the darkness rose up from the horizon to cover the sky at the moment of total eclipse and then receded as the moon moved away from the sun that gave me a sense of wonder. And then things returned to normal, but just for a minute there was a glimpse of the knowledge that our supposed control over nature is an illusion and a reminder that what we think of as our power is naught but pathetic posturing.
That does sound magical Laurie. And I think you’re right about nature. IT’s a big dramatic way of telling us who is really in charge.
Maria I love “eclipse sheep” with Zinnia frozen mid charge!
For the future – you can see the phases on an eclipse perfectly if you have a large pot or cauldron on the ground filled with water – it reflects perfectly, and no damage to eyes
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Oh I love that Peg! I hope I remember that. what a wonderful way to view the eclipse. I wonder if it wasn’t there all along in the animals water bucket….