Been busy. Spring is finally coming. We had a few nice days in a row. The grass is starting to grow and the trees are turning green and other colors with fuzz. Over the weekend I got my Mustang out on the road, finished off some much-needed yard cleanup from a recent bout of storms, and best of all, got on my bike and went for a ride, ending that awkward time of year between the end of ski season and the start of biking season.
The weekend before we went upstate for the big solar eclipse. I’d never seen one in totality before. Jeannie and I drove up to Buffalo on Saturday, and noticed the traffic was fairly heavy one we got on the country roads the last hour of the trip. Excitement was in the air. Saturday night we hung out Lizzy and Michelle and Lizzy’s boyfriend Josh, and Larry and Jackie joined us later at the bar. The place had a tap wall with like a dozen different beers. Lots of fun. The waitress commented that it was unusually crowded because of people coming into town for the eclipse.
Larry and Jackie had driven down to Tennessee for the last eclipse, and Larry told me it was a life-changing experience. He didn’t seem that different to me, so I asked how it had changed him. He told me he it made him really want to see another eclipse. And indeed they drove out to Ohio for this one to try and get out from under the clouds.
Sunday Jeannie and Michelle and I decided to go to Chestnut Ridge Park, which is near my parent’s house, to see the famous Eternal Flame, something we had never done despite my parents having lived there for the last thirty years. It was still stick and mud season up in Buffalo, no sign on anything turning green yet. I think every other person coming into town for the weekend had the same idea, and the trail was pretty crowded, to the point where we had to queue up to climb over rocks in the last part. Still it was pretty cool to see, a jet of natural gas burning in a little cave behind a waterfall. Weird.
Sunday afternoon Martin and Kathleen arrived with the kids and their dog. My mum made a big family dinner for everyone, and my dad brought out the wine. Very lovely evening. Monday I slept in. I’d been feeling tired the end of the last week and it was good to catch up on my rest. I spent to whole morning hanging out and talking with Martin. After lunch we all went for a long walk in the park near my parents’ house. It felt like a low-key fourth of July. People had brought lawn chairs and drinks and even some telescopes to watch the big event. We got back to my parents’ house as the skies were darkening, and watched the totality from their lawn.
It had been mainly sunny in the morning, and grew increasingly cloudy as the totality got closer. Still there were enough breaks in the cloud for good viewing, if not very sustained. We had some obsidian discs from Mexico that were meant for viewing the sun, and they somehow made the sun visible behind the clouds. I think it actually only liked like it was getting cloudier; as the eclipse progressed the sky was getting darker because of that.
When the moment of totality arrived, it suddenly became nighttime. It was like somebody pulled the house lights down on the whole world. The temperature dropped, birds and dogs made lots of noise, and there was a ring of pink near the horizon. We even saw a few stars. Looking at the sun, there are a few moments when the clouds parted and you could see the corona, all dancing shimmering silver gold tendrils. Amazing. Life altering, even. Then a few minutes later the diamond ring appeared and just as abruptly as is descended, the night vanished. It was back to tepid daylight, which returned to full strength over the next hour or so. And wouldn’t you know it, it was bright sunshine the rest of the day, not a cloud in sight.
We dove home Tuesday, and again there was heavy traffic, particularly at the rest stops on the way. I’m happy to say we found some good places for lunch on the trip. For many years the only really quick and convenient option McDonalds. Their food was never that great but seems to have steadily declined in quality over the years. on the way up we discovered a new place, the Old Bat Factory in Hancock. They had a deli with sandwiches and wraps, very yummy. On the way back home there’s a seasonal roadside barbecue stand in Appalachin. Pulled pork and all that.
And, back in the music studio, I’ve edited together mixes of nine out of ten of the songs for the new Spacecats record. I know I said I’d tell you all about it, but I think I’ll save the story for next time, when I have some tracks ready to share.