My Rainy Solar Eclipse

[lydamorehouse]

 I actually avoided social media yesterday in order NOT to see everyone's fabulous pictures of the solar eclipse. Minnesota--at least where I am--was completely overcast. I would be slightly less bitter about it, if it had rained more. As it was, it only spit from the sky a bit. So, we didn't even get much-needed moisture in exchange.

Alas. It seems to be our luck. 


Image: Minnesota weather cooperating, per usual.

Seriously, the last time there was an eclipse visible here, we also had thick clouds. Though, if I remember correctly, Mason and I did get a chance to see the sun's partly obscured corona briefly, when clouds parted. (Here's my blog from then: https://lydamorehouse.dreamwidth.org/442743.html) Shawn still remembers being mad at us because, though we did bring our glasses we looked at it through the clouds without them.

Not this time.

Shawn even took her eclipse glasses to work with her, just in case....

Boo.

Comments

[oracne]

We had clouds right before, like minutes before! Sucked.

[lydamorehouse]

NUTS!

[kore]

FISTBUMP OF ECLIPSE-MISSING BITTERNESS. Here in the PNW it seems to have rained extra hard, just for us!

I didn't want to see it on a little screen either. I saw an eclipse in New Mexico in like 1991 and the whole point is being out there in it.

[lydamorehouse]

*fistbump*

I have never seen a total solar eclipse, so I am even jealous of your 1991 experience.

[kore]

Oh it was total but I didn't see that! But it got pretty dark, and there's this really weird feeling as the light fades. It's like the meaning is slowly draining out of things. I was in college at the time and they cancelled all the classes so we could go out and see it.

There was another total eclipse in 2017 and in Seattle we got like 1/3 or something. But this time, it just raiiined.

[sabotabby]

We have the same joke about Southern Ontario but I got incredibly lucky.

[lydamorehouse]

You DID! Your pictures are great!

[pameladean]

I got to see the planetary lineup by staying up until sunset six or seven days in a row. But all the rest, no goddamn chance. Rargh.

I don't know if this actually helps, but we did get a lot more rain than that locally. A nice soaking one. The scilla is suddenly blooming its little blue heads off and the winter aconite has spread like mad and is also blooming.

I went out after totality (presumably) and heard the birds making a lot of commentary about the returning light, such as it was. They certainly noticed. Downy woodpeckers are not usually so vociferous.

P.

[lydamorehouse]

I'm not sure I would know a downy woodpecker song if I heard it. We get a lot of them at our feeder, but I'm not sure I know their voice!

I'm glad the animals noticed and that you noticed them noticing, at least.

(And it does help to know that we got a decent amount of rain. It was lovely Sunday, but Monday just seemed to be overcast to spite us.)

[pameladean]

I know what a downy woodpecker sounds like because I have the Merlin Bird ID app. It is fabulous.

Here are some sound files. The second (Eastern) one is most like what I heard. As a rule I can identifiy the "pik pik pik," but hadn't connected the longer series of sounds with the downy woodpecker, though it does sure sound like a woodpecker.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/sounds

[kore]

I also totally want to know what a downy woodpecker song sounds like.

[pameladean]

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/sounds

The second sound file is most like what I heard.

I am indebted for a lot of my bird-call knowledge (not really that extensive) to the Merlin Bird ID app. It's even good if you just open a window and tell it to do sound id and prop it up on the sill for a few minutes. It's wild in migration season, as flocks of birds that may not even alight for more than an evening in your own area yell their heads off about spring. And it's free. The sound files do take up a lot of space. Of course you can delete them, but I find myself reluctant to do so.

P.