Tangles & Tails: Tracey Kiff-Judson's Blog

Eclipse

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson
Category: Blog

I am guessing that there are going to be a few eclipse posts this Poetry Friday!  Head over to Jone Rush MacCulloch's blog to see what others have written on this fun topic and to catch Jone's interviews with Carol Labuzzetta and Liz Garton Scanlon.

Here we are getting ready for the big viewing:

I had already prepped my high-tech viewing device (a piece of cardboard poked with a pin):

Here is a time lapse of what the pinhole view looked like.

Start of the eclipse (holes are pretty much round):

2:36 PM (f you zoom in you can see a little slice missing from the bottom left of the circles):

At 2:47, a little bigger slice is gone:

At 2:52, about half is gone:

At 3:12, just a skinny slice remains:

And at 3:35, the crescent had flipped location as the eclipse passed peak:

It was such an interesting experience to feel the temperature drop rapidly and watch the outdoor lighting turn gray.  Even the light that filtered through the shrubs made crescent-shaped patterns:

Maybe this is just my crazy talking, but I swear the air smelled different (like ozone) during the eclipse too.  Did anyone else notice this?  … No? …  Humph.

The local TV meteorologist said that animals might react to the eclipse.  My dog didn’t notice a thing – except that we were eating cheese and crackers and she wanted to collect her usual “Cheese Tax.”  [Aside: My daughter informed me that the Cheese Tax is a common phenomenon.  See this PSA for more information: Cheese Tax]

Now, I haven't written an ACROSTIC poem in ages, but why not have a go at it for this special occasion?

 

Excitement ripples quietly.
Children poke cereal boxes,
Letting in pinpricks of sunlight.
I stand ready in goofy glasses.
Pets sniff the cooling breeze.
Something is truly amiss.
Everyone anticipates - darkness.

Photos and poem (c) Tracey Kiff-Judson, 2024

26 comments

  • Tracey, hooray for those "Hello Sunshine" images. That is so very fascinating! I loved seeing the images grow. We had 62%. I was at the zoo without eclipse glasses, so I walked around looking for nice thick bushes with the sun filtering through to see the crescent shadows. Your ECLIPSE poem is lovely! 
    • Smart to look for brushes for viewing!  I wouldn't have thought of it, had there not been some right in front of me.
  • I enjoyed your “time lapse” photography. The ECLIPSE poem is fun, capturing the cereal boxes and goofy glasses. We were in the path of totality, which was cool to see, but I didn’t do any experiments. 
  • Those Hello Sunshine images are so cool, Tracey! Here in Minnesota, we had a heavily overcast sky, and you couldn't see a bit of difference during the eclipse. So disappointing. I've enjoyed experiencing it through friends' posts, though! I love your acrostic!
    • So sorry about your cloud cover!  : ( Some clouds rolled in toward the end of our viewing, and they really do make it impossible to see what is happening. 
  • Your acrostic is also a concrete poem!!! Well played! SO well played!!
    And I admire your creative pinhole viewer. I was boring with one hole punch (I see you tried that, too...didn't work at all...) and one pin prick. 
    • Thank you,  Mary Lee! Agreed, the hole punch didn't work as well. I was wondering if it might at a greater distance from the ground, but I never tried it.
  • I love your "sunshine" captures, a picture book history, Tracey! I saw the one in 2017 and the annular last fall, but here only a partial, though still exciting, as you wrote, "something is truly amiss". I love imagining what it must have been like years ago when people didn't understand. 
    • Yes, I was trying to imagine that as well!  I think I would have been a little scared if I had no idea what was happening.
  • Fun post! An interesting question about it smelling different. Because it was cooler, I sort of expected it WOULD smell different, like it does before a storm. I am not sure whether I was just imagining things or what.
  • Thank you for sharing your eclipse experience, Tracey! We didn't have the phenomenon in these parts, but I love "seeing" it through other people's eyes...and poetry! The layout of your acrostic is very clever and I love the "goofy glasses" all around. :)
    (My wee Smidgey was all about the 'cheese tax'! I miss paying her... )

    • I am so sorry about Smidgey (what a cute name)! Losing a beloved friend like that is so hard.  : (

      I wonder when an eclipse will be visible in Switzerland? ... I googled it, and you have a bit of a wait! : )

      Edited on Monday, 15 April 2024 10:30 by Tracey Kiff-Judson.
  • Your pictures in your HELLO SUNSHINE sign are so cool! We were only about 89% and it was right at dismissal time at school. I got to see it though. So fun! 
    • I was wondering if many kids, teachers, and school staff would get to see it at all because of the timing with dismissal.  I am glad you were able to catch a quick glance!
  • Thanks for sharing - how clever to make your pinholes spell that out. Thanks for the glimpses and the acrostic - on the other side of the earth we had an eclipse last year, but too far north of me to make a lot of difference where I am. 
    • Thank you,  Sally!  It's so cool to be able to compare notes with you from the opposite side of the earth!

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