Eclipse and Deluge

 Two Events of Nature this week.  One expected, one not.

The first was the eclipse.  I like them.  I don't think they indicate anything (other than that the moon is passing in front of the sun), or expect the rapture, or the end of the world, or whatever.  They're interesting.

The day of - I realized that I hadn't grabbed any eclipse glasses.  I've never needed them before - Bob and I would trade off wearing the welder's helmet.  But in the early part of the Great Barn clean out a couple of years ago I gave the welding equipment to a friend who was learning.  Oops.  So no direct watching of the eclipse (except for a quick glimpse while wearing sunglasses and squinting).  What I really like doing during an eclipse is just to watch how the light changes, and how all the shadows seem strange.  And take picture of the shadows.

I also played with the idea of using binoculars to focus the image.  Taking the picture took a little maneuvering (it's suggested to fasten them to a tripod but I didn't plan far enough in advance to rig one up).  I ended up holding the binoculars in one hand, my phone in the other, and trying to cast a shadow over the background with my body.  Despite all the inherent wobbling the picture came out surprisingly well.

 

Michael took the whole thing a step farther.  Where he lives there would be about 94% totality.  He decided that wouldn't be enough.  I remember for the 2017 eclipse he was really waffling about whether he wanted to fly somewhere to see it.  He got as far as almost buying airline tickets.  Problem is - he didn't want to get there only to find that weather rolled in (I'm thinking of all the people in Texas who couldn't see a thing).  But this year, totality would be *only* 180 miles away.  On the morning of, he decided to go for it.  Fortunately he left early.  Normally it would be somewhat under a 3 hour drive.  He allowed 4 hours, which would give him time to find parking, and a place to view the entire eclipse, and eat his sandwich.

It sounded like a good idea, and would have been if a few thousand other people didn't have the same idea.  The drive took 7 hours, but he still was there 20 minutes before totality.  And it was worth it.  He said that pictures can't capture what it actually looks and feels like, or the midnight blue color of the sky, or the "diamond ring" as the sun begins to emerge again.

The next US full eclipse, in 2045, will be happening right over Tallahassee.  21 years from now.  It's a little unnerving to think that I might still be around for it.  I'm not going to think about that.

The second even was a major deluge Wednesday night.  The rain started around 9 p.m. and didn't let up until after 4 a.m.  We're not talking a gentle benediction from the heavens - this was arc-building weather.  The thunder would roll on so long and so loudly that at times I wondered if it was a tornado and stayed towards the center of the house.  It was impossible to sleep - the rain hitting the roof so loudly, and the thunder that was rattling the windows, and the lightening strobing like a disco.  I moved to the couch - it's farther from a window than my bed, and I don't trust that stupid flat roof in the bedroom (just because the ceiling has fallen in three times . . .)  I kept the weather alerts on, so my phone kept giving notifications (flash flood warnings, but no tornadoes)

And at times like this I really miss Bob.  It was a long and lonely night.  I tried not to worry about what could happen (tree fall on the house, maybe?).  Whatever would happen, I could deal with it.  It would have been comforting, though, to have him here, if only to have someone to talk to during that sleepless night (he would have had the TV on and checking the radar every few minutes).

But it finally wore itself off, and I got a few hours of sleep.  I fared much better than a lot of people because the house is on an elevation.  Some areas got 10 inches of rain; there was a lot of flooding of property, houses, and cars, and many roads damaged or in some cases washed out completely.  At least one family had an alligator show up in their yard.  

But it has been followed by some more beautiful weather and I'm spending as much time outside as I can.  I think (hope!) I'm done with the chicken coop - I put a plate of tuna in it tonight to see if any raccoons get in.  Fingers crossed.  The chicks are getting bigger, so I'll be needing it soon.  (I'm also starting to suspect that a couple of them are rooster - oops.