Image From http://www.news.nationalgeographic.com
It’s the American “Eclipse Day” today!
I live on the edge of Totality. Sounds romantic but that means we aren’t going to go totally dark.
And we are expecting 80% coverage of the sun by the moon.
The excitement is still catchy.
This morning I looked out the kitchen window and saw two magnificent bucks with full antlers. How handsome and stately they were nibbling the lower leaves of our River Birch tree (no river but the Birch is doing well anyway). But how odd to see male deer on this sort of mystical morning. We rarely see the Bucks in their full form.
Then there were others; a Momma and her spotted fawn and sister does that formed a mini herd.
And scattered across the lawns were a flock of small black birds happily feasting.
It was a full wildlife scene in our rural Virginia when usually (by that time of the morning) such creatures have all retreated into the forest to hide from human predators.
And that has me with questions about the oncoming eclipse.
Do the animals know?
Is it much like a Tsunami?
Are the wild creatures sensisng something preparing for the moments of darkness to come?
I am sure they do Dora. How are you these days?
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I’ve been talking to a few people about this today. The last full eclipse we had in the UK was in 1999 and my hubby and I were in a local nature reserve at the time of it. As it went dark, all the birds stopped singing and then, as light returned, so did their singing – like nothing had happened. I do think that animals know when something in nature is different, they have better-attuned senses for it than we do – although I think rural folk are more attuned than city folk.
Often, we have sheep grazing on the hill across the road in front of our house (not our land) and whenever there is a full moon, they cry like they’re sick or anxious and it gets worse in the Spring when there are lambs.
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Does make you wonder.
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We are in an 80% area too and it didn’t get all that dark here. Animals are much smarter than people when it comes to nature. Maybe they took the day off to picnic at their favorite “grove.”
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Perhaps the animals do sense something since they are so much more in tune with the natural worlds around them. Here on the Gulf Coast we were at 60%. I didn’t have glasses to view it but there seemed to be a slight drop in the noon day heat and a slight change in color. Great photo you shared!
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That’s an interesting question. My sense of things is that they respond to an eclipse, but don’t anticipate it. It may be that they respond sooner, but on the other hand, in more primitive times, when people were more finely attuned to the natural world, I suspect people responded more quickly, too.
The most interesting thing about today’s eclipse was the wind. About fifteen minutes before our “totality” — which was 66% — the wind shifted direction and came up strongly. The temperature only dropped two degrees, but that wind was something. I did some snooping and found that the so-called “eclipse wind” is a thing. Who knew?
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I bet the animals do sense it – a friend of ours on the west coast said her cat went crazy for awhile, well, more than usual anyway. 😉 We had about 80% totality too, but I didn’t even look. Had my tiny granddaughter with me and didn’t want to chance it with her because of the potential eye damage. But I have seen some gorgeous photos friends across the country have taken, especially my son-in-law’s sister who got some spectacular shots.
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We only had a partial eclipse here, and it did not get dark, yet our dog who follows us outside–in and out and in and out–every time the door opens would not go outside during that time. He seemed apprehensive.
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We tried to pay attention to birds and insects, but there was a loud motor running nearby. We don’t know if they changed their habits at all during the eclipse.
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Thank you Rita. I am coping with the foot again including MRI’s and different physicians. Not a lot of time to blog but I try to stick with it. Thank you for asking.
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It sounds like you live in an idyllic place Val! The sheep on the hill across from you must be a pleasure most of the time – except for the full moon of course.
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You are right again Kate. I do believe the animals were chowing down in anticipation of a dark spell. 🙂
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When it finally arrived here the eclipse simply felt like a storm approaching. Inside the house got darker and with an odd kind of light, but if you didn’t tell me it was an eclipse I would have thought it was the storm that bypassed us.
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You are the first I have heard comment on the eclipse wind. That must have been an awesome feeling. And you are right – “Who knew?”
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I didn’t look either Cindy. And I think it was smaet of you not to expose your little granddaughter.
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Now that is strange Lilly! Your dog methinks knows more than us humans!
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Ah well… human intervention in the ways of nature. I am convinced the critters around here wanted a good meal before the eclipse arrived. They sure did appear in greater numbers for grazing.
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He is a bit of a sensitive pup.
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At 60%, the light dimmed a bit and was different than a passing cloud, but I noted no difference in the bird chatter. I guess it wasn’t dark enough.
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I live pretty far from the eclipse path, and it was stormy – so we didn’t see much. It mostly made the storm seem a little worse than it probably actually was.
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We actually did get totality altho we had to drive about 30 minutes to be in the right place. There were huge warnings about traffic jams and I guess everyone listened because we didn’t see a single car. It was very cloudy with intermittent views of the partial eclipse but the clouds opened up just in time for totality. We saw the whole amazing thing for about 1 minute and then bam, the clouds returned and we never saw the eclipse again. It was amazing and the suspense on whether the clouds would clear in time only made it more exciting!
Sorry to hear the foot is still an issue Dor, hope it’s resolved for you soon.
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Love the eclipse image you shared.
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