An Unforgettable, Spectacular Sight

The solar eclipse has come and gone, receding into history and lodged in our memories. What an unforgettable, spectacular sight that was.

I made a few notes as the eclipse began and grew. I made a few pictures too–nothing as grand as those you probably made, but I did make a stab at it.

colander shadow showing shape of the sun

I’ve heard that the temperature was different in parts of NW Arkansas but here at my house, on the back deck, at 11:50 yesterday morning, the thermometer registered eighty-six degrees. At 1:19, it had dropped to eighty-three.

At 12:15, the light was beginning to look murky. Grabbing my eclipse glasses, borrowed from Dawn, I looked at the sun. It looked as if someone had taken a bite out of the upper right part.

I thought Nemo might want to go out each time I did and didn’t relish trying to keep him inside the house, but that was no problem. He evidently knew something was amiss. Each time I went onto the deck, he’d stand and look at me, ears perked up, but he had no desire to go out into his newly unfamiliar back yard.

leaf shadows of eclipse

My friend Jeannie suggested looking at the shadow of the sun through a colander. I did this and thought the results were pretty interesting. Another neat thing was the pattern the leaves made on my deck with the partial sun shining through them.

Inside, my house was definitely on the spooky side. The dining room, without its overhead light shining onto the table, looked positively gloomy.

my dining room during eclipse

But, wait! What a wonderful back drop for a cozy mystery. You can see that Ned McNeil’s newest adventure teamed up with a candle, went wonderfully well in that dark room. Now, that looked mysterious.