Eclipse!

We ended up experiencing the eclipse right here at home. It was not total, but it was very interesting. We watched a pin-hole image - we did not have eclipse glasses - and we were also very aware of the dimming of the light around us as the eclipse progressed. It never really got dark, but the light was eerie. I also watched the NASA program on the computer, so I saw videos of a total eclipse several times at various points along the path of totality, beginning in Mexico and ending in Houlton, Maine. John & Cynthis tried to go north up to the band of totality in Vermont on I-91 but gave up - it was bumper-to-bumper traffic at 15 mph. But after they got off I-91, they managed to get into the band of totality near Berlin, VT via back roads, and had a minute and a half of totality there. My granddaughter, Katie, drove just an hour south of St. Louis with her friend, Gabby, and saw 4 minutes of totality! I had considered going with John and Cynthia, but it would have involved renting a van - they had two of Cynthia's g-nephews with them, so we couldn't all get into their Honda Fit. And there would also have been a lot of uncertainty (like availability of a toilet when I needed one). So I decided not to do that. I didn't feel too bad - I had seen a total eclipse back in 2017 with Katie in Columbia, MO. Back then, we gathered at a tree in a park where Betsey's running friends - the "running birches" (read "bitches") - had erected a plaque commemorating her. It was the perfect spot to see the eclipse. So I had had the experience of a total eclipse, whereas John never had. This was his one chance,

Ellen's set-up on the deck

An image of the eclipse projected onto a white surface

Ellen holding the pin-hole "projector."

A photo taken during the dim light. Not very dim!

One of John's photographs of the moment of totality.

Katie (right) and Denise, a running friend of Betsey's, at the August 2017 eclipse in Missouri.

Betsey's plaque at "her tree" in Columbia. MO.