(PSA: Most of the photos in this article aren’t of the eclipse, but were taken during our solar eclipse road trip or during this month. Enjoy!)
Spring is finally, fully here! The trees are blooming and budding. At the cottage, the skunk cabbage and ramps are everywhere. The forest floor is covered in yellow trout lily. The frogs are croaking and the birds are chirping. For the first time in months, I'm visiting the garden and hanging clothes on the clothesline, basking in the sunlight and dreaming of our future outdoor adventures.
While most things are following their usual cyclical pattern this spring, there have been some surprises. There’s been even more flooding rains and damaging winds (that seems to be the theme of the year, per my Wrath of Water post). During my most recent trip to the cottage, my dad and I witnessed the flooding of the river along the woodland trail. It’s interesting to observe the flood patterns; this recent storm caused flooding along a different section of the trail than the last storm. Water’s unpredictability always keeps me curious. Along with these storms, there was even an earthquake in our region that doesn't normally get them. But the most fantastic thing to have happened in the natural world this month? The solar eclipse.
If you follow/believe in astrology, you've likely heard that this eclipse was one of great power. Its energy brings big life changes, and many may experience some doors closing but new, better ones opening. The weeks before and after may bring great, life-altering events that will ultimately set you on your destined path in this lifetime. I'm not an astrologer, so I can only summarize what I've read and heard elsewhere. But what I can say for certain, is that this eclipse was a powerful one.
My partner and I took a week-long trip to Canada to see the eclipse along its path of totality, something neither of us had experienced before. Finally experiencing it was life-changing in and of itself, and a reminder that nature and the cosmos hold a strong, unifying power.
Where we stayed was in the path of totality, but the day-of brought dark, cloudy skies, so we got in the car and drove west. We ended up in a small town surrounded by farmland, and parked in a neighborhood park. Placing our blanket on the grass, surrounded by other eclipse-chasers, we donned our eclipse glasses and waited for the moon to completely unite with the sun. Looking through my glasses, I was already in awe as the sun took on the many shapes and phases of the moon. It was as though they were trading places, the sun mimicking its partner.
As we inched closer to totality, we took photos of ourselves in our glasses and held a sheet of paper with a pinhole up, marveling at the crescent-moon-shaped shadow it cast. We made small talk with our neighbors. Two men seated next to us had a drone, and a large group of young adults on the other side of us were setting up a tripod. Further away, several people with telescopes sat in lawn chairs, and even further away, a father and son played disc golf, a girl practiced her color guard routine with a stick, and a man played fetch with his dog. The atmosphere was jovial and curious.
And then, it happened.
Totality was near. The sky darkened. It was a different kind of dark, not like a sunset or dusk, or even when a storm rolls in. A different shade, one eerie and otherworldly. Shadows on the ground began to pulse and create waves, a phenomenon we later learned was called shadow bands. The birds' chirps became frantic and shrill. Bugs swarmed as though it were dusk. I shivered in the coming cold. Through my glasses, the sun got smaller and smaller, until it was swallowed completely.
Everything went silent, then, except for the gasps, oohs and aahs of the people around us. "You can take off your glasses now," whispered my partner. I took them off, and immediately gasped, covering my mouth. The moon had completely covered the sun, looking like a black hole had opened up in the sky. Solar flares and flames danced around the hole, a magnificent light-show in the heavens. Overwhelmed with awe, peace, terror, tears came to my eyes. This must be what it feels like to look at a god, I thought.
I could see why our ancestors thought the world was ending during eclipses, but I also felt such joy at being alive in that moment. This moment was filled with raw power and beauty. Without the sun, we could not survive, yet this breathtaking image, this celestial power dancing in the sky, took my breath away and left me literally speechless. Time stood still, and I felt small, but in the best way possible. How blessed we are to witness this reunion of the sun and the moon, the two most powerful beings in the sky, putting on a dazzling and magical display.
And then, just as quickly as it began, it started to fade. Glasses were put back on, and the dark purple sky turned blue again. The birds began chirping, and the warmth returned to my skin. The sun slowly grew bigger in the sky, as the moon continued on her journey.
The people around us slowly gathered their things and went back to their cars. We lingered a bit longer before leaving, and even then, we made a pitstop at Lake Erie, where even more people were lounging on the beach and celebrating what they had just witnessed.
Traffic was long on the way back. Luckily, we were headed against most of it, and I chuckled to myself as we passed the longest backup of cars I had ever seen. The area we stayed in remained busy all week. We were not the only ones who traveled for this celestial event, and we made the most of it by visiting Niagara Falls and other natural wonders of the area over several days. For days, people in every store, restaurant and winery we stopped in were talking about the eclipse. Conversations floated by as we walked down the street, people sharing their experiences of this major event. Back home, friends and family told their eclipse stories and shared their photos.
It's moments like this that reveal the bigger picture. As disconnected from nature as modern society seems nowadays, everyone came together and paused their daily routines to witness this powerful act of nature. For one moment, everything else stopped, as people from all over looked up at the sky at once to marvel at the universe's beauty.
It's moments like this that fill me with hope. When everyone remembers, we are all connected to the earth and the skies. We are all a part of nature and her cycles, up in the heavens and down here on the ground. Nothing can compare to the power of Nature, in her raw, awe-some beauty and magic. And when we all come together to appreciate that, beautiful things can happen.
Click here for the April 2024 Photo Gallery
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