The first thing I noticed were the birds...As the eclipse began the
birds in the trees began softly calling to one another. There were
Chickadees, goldfinches and a few I didn't recognize. Then suddenly
there were flocks of them winging across the skies as the moon covered
more of the sun. The air became noticeably cooler and the light was
strangely dim.
There was a squirrel who decided he was quite interested in all the humans watching the sky. He sat on the fence yelling at
us, then decided better of it and disappeared.
Shadow the Dog stood
behind the humans who were staring at the sun and looked over at me as
though to say--could you make them stop that? Toez the Polydactyl Cat hid in the closet and Bootz the Humongous Cat found his way into the back of the shed.
The colors of the flowers became luminous and vibrant in a way I've
never seen before.
The shadows of the leaves were crescent shaped with
the points downward. Just before the eclipse was complete, the ground
wiggled, just like they said it would--VERY strange! Little waves of
light covered the ground.
Then the moon covered the sun
completely. The air was cool and soft...a strange twilight that seemed
magical. There was a luminous ring around the sun--it was so
beautiful...not something I could completely catch with my camera. We
could actually see faint stars--or maybe they were planets.
The
most lovely part was when the sun suddenly peeked over the edge of the
moon, creating a stunning diamond ring. It was only for an instant--but
WOW! SO lovely. Our friends who are here visiting had set up a camera
and actually caught a GREAT pic of that exact moment. I'm SO glad.
As the moon uncovered
the sun little by little, more waves of light scuddled across the
cement. Then we noticed the crescent shadows made by the leaves were
now pointed in the opposite direction--like little smiles covering the
ground.
I was amazed at how quickly the light and heat of the sun
returned--even though the sun was still at least a third covered! Of
course, Mumsie and I stayed and watched as the sun was revealed
completely. It was the experience of a lifetime.
