It is Total Eclipse Day all across the USA. I’m about 12
hours south of the Path of Totality, but 75% blockage seemed reasonable enough for
me. Except there was always the threat of fog. And the fog ruined the day.
No matter what the weather folks had been saying for the
past week, I knew their predictions for a clear day would be wrong. Here in the
San Francisco area, right along the bay, we haven’t seen the sun for most of
August. Or if there is any sunlight, it’s after 2:00PM. And the past several
days have been socked in and cold with no hint of our solar friend. When the fog went out last night, I thought
there might be a slight chance of fair skies. But by 6:00AM this morning, it
was nothing but grey.
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| Lunar Eclipse 2011 |
Maybe there would be a chance for odd shadows, as I had
accidently caught during the last eclipse in May of 2012. It was much less
coverage than today’s, but I sat out on the deck hoping to catch something odd
and taking pictures of the sun. (Yes, without looking at it.) At one point, I noticed
these strange shadows on the wall inside the house. I took a few shots and
forgot about it. Only later did I realize that I had caught the reflection of
the eclipse off the bird’s water dish. Had I realized it at the time, that is
where I would have aimed my lens.
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| Shadows, Solar Eclipse 2012 |
And then there was the lunar eclipse in December of 2011. It
was colder than ever when I went outside to try and capture images. I quickly
realized I had no idea what settings to use on my camera, so sat down at the
laptop to search. I then realized one really did need a tripod. But I was able
to set the camera on a ledge and get a few decent shots before I got frostbite.
Honestly, this is not the area in which to live if you are
interested in things celestial. I wasn’t terribly upset that I could not
experience today’s eclipse. Or at least nothing like the Disaster that was Halley’s Comet in 1986. Intrigued about Mr. Halley’s
namesake since I first heard of it in elementary school, I counted the years
until it would appear. At the time, it was so far in the future it was hard to believe
I would ever get the chance to witness its race across the sky. And when that
day finally came, I happened to be back in the Bay Area. I jumped in the car
and headed up the hill along with a whole lot of other enthusiasts, only to
participate in our collective groan when we realized the fog would not be
lifting.
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| Mama Squirrel at the height of the eclipse |
If I ever want to really experience a total solar eclipse,
there are others to be had around the world. Not so with my mythical comet
which is set to reappear in 2061. I don’t plan to wait around for that one.
Meanwhile, I will continue to stay bundled in sweaters and
gloves in the middle of the summer the foggy San Francisco Bay Area, waiting for the sun, sans eclipse, to appear.
