The Great American Eclipse

Spending time with family and friends was icing on the cake but the real purpose of our visit to Arkansas in April was so that we could be in an area of totality for the April 8th eclipse.  The next one visible in the USA will be in 2044 and since we will be 90 and 92 then, we decided this year was the right time.  Neither of us were in the area of totality in 2017 and even though it was amazing to be in a 90% eclipse, everyone told us that being in the totality was a different experience.  In fact someone named Annie Dillard said, "Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him.

Lucky for us, Lonoke was just barely outside the area of totality so getting to a place where it would be total was easy.

George and I studied the maps and decided that we would drive north towards Heber Springs and look for a safe place, away from the main road.  

And we found it! Dekalb Road near Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas. 

We drove down a little country road and pulled off at a wide entrance to someone's farm.  We didn't block the gate or the road so we figured that we were in a good spot.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky. In fact it was hot!  Now it was just get comfy and wait for the celestial show.

I noticed a man drive slowly by us and then come back and stop.  I thought for sure that he was going to tell us that we had to move but no, just the opposite.  He invited us to come down to his house where he was going to throw a few hot dogs on the grill.  I love Arkansas people and really wish we had taken him up on the kind offer.

We had plenty of time to relax and practice using the filters on our phones.

This is how the sun looked at first.

Then the magic started happening.  Slowly, slowly the moon made its journey.

Gradually blocking out more and more of the light.

Instead of midday light, it seemed like early evening.

The actual time was 1:53 p.m.

And finally totality!

The 'Ring of Fire'

The temperature dropped dramatically.

Automatic outside lights at a nearby house went on

In 2017, in Utah the birds quit singing, but not here in north Arkansas.

However, the nearby cows quit mooing.

The 'star' to the lower right of the moon/sun is actually the planet Venus.

It was a moment I won't ever forget. 

One friend told me that his chickens went into their coop.

Another reported that her horses left the pasture and went into the barn and got in their stalls.

Where we were, the 'totality' lasted over 4 minutes.

And you could take off the protective glasses for this part.

Finally the 'show' was over and the moon moved on.

We had a front row seat to the "Great American Eclipse of 2024!

I read this on-line about why people are so enchanted by a total eclipse 

"A eclipse is a chance to be reminded of our place in the solar system and the cosmos - something that, no matter how stark our differences, we still share."

For me it was also a moment to be in awe of a Heavenly Father who worked it all out just right.

Lyrics to a favorite song came to my mind.

It passeth all my understanding

How it all worked out just right

The distance that we live from the sun

The stars that shine at night.

We may prove that it was just an accident

But how did it begin?

It passeth all my understanding.

Woo Pig Sooie!

 

Almost a year ago when it was announced that the Arkansas Razorbacks would be playing Brigham Young University in Provo, we got a call from George's BYU roommate Eric asking if we would like to go to the game.  Of course we did!

Eric and George have been friends since high school (almost 60 years) and were roommates when  George and I were dating.  Eric and I became close friends too.  Eric and his wife Joanne raised their family in California so we did spend quite a bit of time with them when we lived there in 1977-78.  We've only seen each other sporadically since then but you know how it is with close friends, it's like no time has passed since the last time we saw each other. You just step right back into that friendship!

Do I look a little confused?  BYU hat and razorback shirt!  I have been a Razorback fan my whole life but I'm a BYU grad????  No confusion for Eric.  He is a BYU fan through and through.

   While it was overwhelming BYU fans, there were some Razorback fans in the mix.

My plan to cheer for both teams quickly went away as I got caught up in calling the hogs.  I know it might sound weird but it made me feel close to my parents!  They were big Razorback fans.

I loved calling the hogs with the fans that were there but it is much more impressive in the stadium in Fayetteville with close to 80,000 people chanting

Woo Pig Sooie!

Woo Pig Sooie!    Woo Pig Sooie!

Razorbacks! 

Some of my Boyle cousins were also at the game.

Cousin Scott says he cheered for whichever team had the ball!

We had a theological discussion concerning if our parents were able to watch football in heaven.  If they were, then they were calling the hogs.  Or maybe in heaven you do cheer for both teams equally!  One of the mysteries!

Scott's Grandson Will even wore one of the Razorback hats!

And got a photo with Big Red!

Final score BYU 35 - Arkansas 52

I love high scoring games!

What a fun day!

Woo Pig Sooie!

Strange Critters

Have you ever seen an albino squirrel?  I hadn't until we came across this one

on the National Mall.

They are rare and are considered to be a sign of good luck.  "The chances of coming across a white squirrel are incredibly slim so it's a very positive omen and one that you should accept with open arms."  

I'll take all the luck I can get!

Then in Lonoke, on one of my 'guided tours of the city', I noticed these weird ducks by the rice dryer.

Turns out they are 'black bellied whistling ducks'.  Native to Central America, they usually only migrate as far north as Louisiana but for the last two years they have been spotted in central Arkansas.  My cousins, Janie and Pat, have them in their yard.  And yes they do whistle!

In all my years in Arkansas, I have never seen armadillo in town - until this trip.  

Four of them in a yard across from my friend Pam's house.  A pack of armadillo....or if you want to sound like an animal expert, a 'roll' of armadillo.  

One of my cousins calls them 'possum on the half shell'.  Someone else suggested that the group name should be a 'battalion' since they are a like a group of armored vehicles.  

Experiences like this always remind me of one of my favorite lines from the very first Ghostbuster movie. They are describing the chaos in New York City with the coming of Gozer the Gozerian. 

"Dogs and cats living together.  Mass hysteria. Alright I get the point."