This picture was taken through solar specs as a near total eclipse of the sun by luna occurs. It was just our luck to be located in the 92% coverage band of the show. There was a plan to drive south into Oregon, but the highway patrol was warning motorists to stay away from the event if possible due to gas shortages and facility limitations. Leafhopper Farm had a great view none the less, and we watched with great joy as this astronomical event took place.
This is the light as our maximum coverage happens for a few minutes. We also walked around the land making observations of animals, insect behavior, and other environmental factors. As the moon came before our star, the first change we noticed was a temperature drop. Though it was still sunny, the chill that came upon us over about a ten minute period left my teeth chattering and a need to put on a sweatshirt.
For a while, it felt like the light of late afternoon, though it was about 10:30am and shining from the east. Sometimes, color appeared slightly washed out, but nothing drastic in our color spectrum of white light was overtly different. I wonder what other light frequencies might have been affected. I’ll have to look that up. Oh physics!
Yes, so the moon blocked out the sun and we were never in darkness, as enough sun was shining through to keep us illuminated, though the chill left me so thankful for our full sun and the energy it gives to our survival.
There are many stories of animals reacting to a total solar eclipse. Well, we didn’t get the full darkness, so none of the chickens went to roost. Goats lay down, that might have been digestion time, having nothing to do with the light change. What we did see was a bumble bee halted on a leaf acting lethargic. I think it was the temperature change affecting the bee. Birds kept singing, we got a normal number of eggs from the hen house, and nothing too out of the norm happened throughout the rest of the day.
Watching heavenly activity is a real treat, and can tell you a lot about your world and its place in the universe. Stars, planets, our sun and moon, all these celestial hosts gift us stories of time and space. Our ancestors worshiped the sky and knew the value of following heavenly procession to know the change of seasons, passing time, and rhythms of our universe that are signals of coming change through thousands of years.
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