Eclipse of the Moon Over the Oak Trees

Eclipse of the Moon Over the Oak Trees

It’s 2:10 A.M. and there must be coyotes out there in the moonlight because Jane’s dogs just woke me up with a frenzy of barking. From my bed I peered beyond the curtains and decided the moonlight looked strange, so I put on slippers and a wrapper, and Smokey Joe and I will go out to take a look. I want to see the eclipse predicted for tonight. Hang on ---

I think I see clouding on the perimeter of the moon at about the 11 o’clock position, but I have a cataract on one eye, so can’t be sure. Anyhow, I have moved two lawn chairs into a strategic position ready for the best viewing in about a half an hour when the earth and moon will move into the right position for the shadow of the earth to start ‘eating up’ the moon. It’s 15 minutes since I first looked, so I will look again. Hang on ----

Yep, the moon is disappearing pretty fast. I just came in to give you an-update because my eyes need a rest, too. Moon gazing is hard on the eyes. There is one coyote giving quavering yips. I wonder if it frightens him to see the moon disappearing. By the sound of his yipping he is running in big circles. His voice recedes farther away, and then comes back loud and clear. He sounds like he is just across the arroyo looking at my dog and me as I lolled, looking skyward, in my lawn chair.  Smokey Joe trotted over to the arroyo to show that coyote how far he is allowed to come.  The moonlight is getting pretty dim so I will bring a flashlight out with me next time I come out.  Hang on -----

I went out again and came back in again to keep you updated. It is 2:30 here in the Laguna Mountains east of San Diego, and the moon is about 3/4ths gone. It looks like a regular quarter moon except for the reddish glow around it. The darkness that is coming upon the land doesn’t reveal the weird reddish light so characteristic of daytime eclipses that frightened primitive people. I think in some cultures virgins were sacrificed at times like this. Well, I’m not in any danger, there. Jane has stopped working on her computer and has come out with a cup of something to watch the rest of the eclipse with me. So I’ll get back to you later. Hang on ---- 

We watched, with the help of binoculars, until the eclipsing process was complete, and seemed to be stalled, leaving a dark and eerie, reddish, lunar orb sinking into the tops of the oak trees. It resembled a round, glowing coal. It’s easy to see why it frightened people before scientists explained it all to us.

Jane and I could have moved our chairs farther out into the field to continue watching, but I am too sleepy and it is time for me to go back to bed. I’ll leave the eclipse to its own devices. Whether we watch or not is not going to change the steady progress. Good night.

It is now 8 A.M. I staggered out of bed about dawn to let Smokey Joe go out, and then went back to sleep for an hour and a half more. Now I can’t let the cats out because there is a small flock of doves feeding near the remnants of sunflowers. That birdseed I planted last spring also contained a number of different kinds of grasses that seem to be able to survive the sun and wind a lot better than the sunflowers. They have gone to seed now, and the birds have discovered them. I feel a responsibility to try to protect the birds from my fat, pampered cats. Not only that, Smokey Joe is barking with his nose pointed toward the brushy area beyond the arroyo, so I know the coyotes are still around. I think they will retire to shady dens when the sun heats up the sandy soil enough to give them hot feet. That also works in controlling my foolish cats, and causes them to stay closer to our compound under these shady old oaks. I see the doves are gone, so I guess I will open the door, let the cats stream out, and I will take my cup of coffee and join Smokey Joe for a while in keeping the cats and coyotes sorted out.