Celebrate

A Meeting of Opposites

30 Comments

Life is certainly exciting in Maine. On Thursday, April 4, we had a Nor’easter that brought us twelve inches of wet snow and widespread power outages. By, Monday, April 8, most of the snow was gone, and it was warm enough—60°F!—to sit on the patio and watch the solar eclipse. While we weren’t on the edge of the path of totality, we were close enough for a fascinating view of the moon meeting the sun.

Because the eclipse was, well, an event, we decided it would be all right to have drinks even though we don’t usually drink in the afternoon. Clif had gotten special glasses at our library, which meant we could safely watch the sun as the moon covered it. Nothing like burnt retinas to spoil an eclipse.

Clif swept the patio—the first sweeping of the season—and brought up two chairs and a little table. Here is Clif in his groovy sunglasses, toasting the eclipse.

The yard was a mess—downed branches everywhere courtesy of the nor’easter.

Still it was fine to be sitting on the patio and not need a heavy jacket. In the back woods, I could hear the little stream rushing to the Narrows Pond. A male cardinal sang his spring song, claiming his territory, our yard. Mourning doves cooed, and chickadees called to each other.

The eclipsed started at about 2:48, with the edge of the moon sliding over the sun. First a quarter of the sun was covered and then a third. The light from the sun grew dimmer. As Clif put it, the sun looked like a fat crescent. As the moon continued to slip over the sun, the crescent looked less fat until it resembled a crescent moon.

By 3:05, two-thirds of the sun was covered, and it felt chillier. But the birds were still calling and tweeting. It was not dark enough for them to stop. It was more like dusk. Except it was a little past 3:00, and even in the winter, dusk doesn’t come that early. By then the sun was a sliver, but even a sliver of sun throws quite a bit of light. (Solar power, baby, I’m looking at you.)

One of the loveliest aspects of the eclipse was the way the sun shadows danced on the patio. Over the years, I have seen the patio in shadow and shade, but never like this.

As I watched the eclipse, I thought about how poetic it was for the sun and the moon to come together. One is bright and extroverted; the other cool and introverted.

A meeting of opposites.

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Listening

Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles

Because, what else?

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A  Wee Break

For the next two weeks, I’ll be taking a short break from blogging. Lots to do, including a trip to Boston to celebrate my daughter’s birthday.

See you all on April 29.

 

30 thoughts on “A Meeting of Opposites”

  1. So lovely in Fredericton, NB too! Chairs and tables are out. We loved the eclipse. It felt like such an honor to see it. I love your analogy with the extroverted hot sun and the cool, introverted moon. 🙂

  2. I didn’t have the glasses, or a total eclipse, but it was a lovely day to be outside and observe the strange afternoon light as well as the odd shadows. Onward to springtime!

  6. This is a very interesting photograph of the shadows on your patio. I feel happy that you decided to make a celebration of the solar eclipse 🙂 Enjoy your break and best wishes for your daughter’s birthday!

  11. A real good insight: “As I watched the eclipse, I thought about how poetic it was for the sun and the moon to come together. One is bright and extroverted; the other cool and introverted.”

  14. I love your idea of toasting the sun–it deserves to be celebrated given how essential it is to our existence. And I love the eclipse shadows on your patio–sun and moon creating beauty and poetry together.

  15. Lovely happy post Laurie, the sun sure is an extrovert here in Canberra…. Sometimes too hot and sunny, but always loved.🌞🌞 Have a lovely time in Boston with your daughter & take some photos of Boston.

  16. The shadow picture was most intriguing. I am glad that you got to see the sun, it was clouded over for us so we never got to see out tiny bit of eclipse.

  17. To be honest, shadows like those you showed are my favorite part of an eclipse. Well, except for feeling the sudden cool down and the rising wind. I’ve seen the shadows several times, but it the wind increased a good bit this time: a new effect that proved not every eclipse is the same!

    I thought of you at work today when I looked over the rail of the boat I was working on and saw that the fender covers bore the name “Maine Point” and a location of Southwest Harbor, Maine. I found it’s up near Acadiana, and they do various sorts of marine embroidery. Why the boat owner ordered from them I don’t know, but they did great work, and it was fun to find a Maine product here on the Gulf Coast.

  20. I love those shadows on your stones, Laurie! I didn’t pick up any special glasses, so I hunkered indoors with Monk. It was his first eclipse, and I knew he’d be more agitated than usual. We had almost-100 percent totality here, and it was something to behold. Lots of traffic, and boy, did the temperature drop. Enjoy your little blogging break!

  21. Beautiful eclipse shadows. We didn’t find any of those up in Millinocket, maybe the trees were too dense. Glad to see you had front row seats to the even.

  23. And it all happened while I slept. I remember witnessing a partial eclipse a good few years ago and remember the shadowy dusk in the middle of the day and the noise of the confused birds

  24. Lucky you seeing the eclipse! It should have been a partial here but there was thick cloud so actually nothing. I do remember an eclipse quite a few years ago which we managed to see sitting outside as you did – fascinating.

  28. What a wonderful way to watch and enjoy the eclipse on the patio Laurie! Wishing you a blessed trip to Boston and relaxing blogging break too 💜💫 xxx

  29. What crazy weather! It is wonderuk that it was warm enough to enjoy the eclipse with on the patio with drink in hand – an occasion to marvel and celebrate!

    Hope you are enjoying a fabulous trip to Boston!

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