Eclipse #SkywatchFriday #AtoZChallenge

A total eclipse of the sun is a natural for #SkywatchFriday, brought to us each Friday by Yogi and other sky watching bloggers.

But, although I've seen three total eclipses in my life, nothing prepared me for the eclipse fever that has gripped where I live in New York State.  Although it won't be total where I live, many will be traveling to the parts of the state where totality will occur.

One aspect of total solar eclipses I wasn't aware of was how the Indigenous Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Confederation of five (later six) tribes who inhabited this part of New York State before the Europeans came, viewed total eclipses.  Our local TV station posted a short interviewed a couple of Indigenous Haudenosaunee on one of our TV stations recently, who explained how their warring tribes were united in peace after years of war.  

One by one, heeding the teachings of a prophet called the Peacemaker, the tribes made peace. The Mohawk were the first, followed by the Oneida and Cayuga.   But when it came to the Seneca, they were skeptical.  The Peacemaker indicated there would be a sign from above.  A total eclipse followed, and the Seneca accepted the Great Peace.  

The four tribes then traveled to the final of the five tribes, the Onondaga, who joined.

The resulting Confederacy's constitution is said to have been a model for our United States Constitution

So this peace dates from a total eclipse of the sun which, in our calendar system, may have occurred in 1142 B.C.E. 

On April 8 the New York Parks system will feature an event called Ëgä:hgwáhdö’t – There Will Be an Eclipse, at the Ganondagan State Historic Site near Victor, New York.  I won't be there but here is the one sky picture I have from a 2016 visit to Ganondagan.

The event will feature Native storytelling and a discussion of the shared experience of viewing the eclipse.  I highly recommend a visit to this site if you are ever in the Rochester/Victor, New York area.

Today, though, you are probably here for some eclipse pictures.  I only have pictures (not that great) of the 2017 eclipse I viewed in Columbia, South Carolina in the afternoon.

Taken right before the eclipse began at 1:13.  Would those clouds clear?  They were hiding the sun.  Well, no spoiler alert here:  the clouds did lift.

2:22 pm. 

2:42 pm.  Totality!  This is part of what is called the 360 degree sunset.

The total eclipse itself didn't photograph well for me and my iPhone SE 1st generation.  The phone did some kind of light adjustment and made the sky more blue than it really was and you really can't see the totally eclipsed sun in its glory.  Alas, I don't own a camera so my 2024 pictures, if I get to see totality, won't be much better.

A building during totality.  Note the streetlight in the middle left is on.

If you look carefully in the lower left, to the right of the red thing, you will see two white dots. These are actually reflections of the eclipsed sun.  This was taken at 2:44 pm just as the eclipse was ending.

Another horizon picture - sorry for blur - I was too busy yelling to keep the phone steady!

Speaking of yelling:

My spouse, my son, and I were in the crowd in this video, but I didn't see us. (if you have an ad blocker, you will have to allow ads for this to see the video).  I think everyone there was yelling!

The day it got dark was seven years ago, now.  I hope the weather cooperates for us in the Northeast United States on Monday, but right now it's not looking good.

Joining Yogi and other skywatchers for #SkywatchFriday.

"E" day for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.

Eclipse Eve and Eclipse Day #AtoZChallenge #SkywatchFriday

Today, for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, we visit Columbia, South Carolina where spouse, our son, and I visited for the August 21, 2017 Great American Eclipse.

On Eclipse Eve, we visited the State Capitol in Columbia.  The building was closed but we were able to visit the grounds.  We didn't stay long.  I think the temperature was around 95F (35C).  The clouds seemed to be coming out of the top of the building.

Countdown to Totality.

While you were waiting, how about a Total Eclipse FreakShake?

This is (or was) Busted Plug Plaza, which boasted a World's Largest Fire Hydrant art installation.  This has a fascinating history.  It's in storage as of February of this year, but is supposed to be relocated.

The next day, we set up at the state science museum where we were to watch the eclipse.

I forgot what these were skeletons of, but they were huge.

This was taken right as the eclipse began (taken 1:11 pm 8/21/17).

Taken 2:12 pm.  As the eclipse progressed, the sky started to clear up where the sun was shining.  The brutally hot sun got more bearable, too.

Totality!

Looks like sunset but it's only 2:42 pm.  The streetlights were all on.

2:42 pm, totality!  I wish I had a better camera than my iPhone 4S.

Right after the eclipse ended.  In the lower left (hard to see) is a reflection looking like a crescent moon that many saw right before or after the eclipse on sidewalks or other surfaces.

"E" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Exploring South Carolina and the Eastern United States.

 Joining Yogi and other sky watching bloggers today (Thursday) for #SkywatchFriday.

Downtowns #AtoZChallenge #WordlessWednesday

Before I begin, I've been having problems commenting on Wordpress blogs. I've tried to log in using two different methods.  Some Wordpress blogs don't seem to permit commenting without a login.  If you are waiting for a comment from me for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, please be patient. 

For "D" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I am going to visit some downtowns in South Carolina.

Downtown Camden, South Carolina

 

 

Historic Camden, South Carolina is South Carolina's oldest inland city, and was the site for two Revolutionary War battles.  This picture was taken just after sunset.

The Battery, Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina is the largest city in South Carolina, with a 2021 population of 151,600.  Its metropolitan area includes Summerville, which I visited in my "A" post.  The downtown has many historic buildings and is a "must see" attraction.

Mural at Charleston City Market, 2014.
 

A staircase in downtown Charleston.

Building on campus of College of Charleston.

Farmers Market, downtown Columbia, South Carolina, 2015

Columbia is the capital of South Carolina ,and I will be visiting it again tomorrow for "E" day in the Challenge.

Last, but not least, is Greenville, South Carolina, which spouse and I visited this past February.  This is one of the most beautiful downtowns I have ever seen.

The downtown is full of art, some of which I'll feature in future posts.  This is a statue honoring former Governor of South Carolina Dick Riley, the only Governor who came from Greenville.  This is located at the downtown Peace Center and says "Education Really Matters".  He was also a former Secretary of Education.

One more art installation in downtown Greenville.

Tomorrow, we visit the capitol of South Carolina for a special occasion.

 

Joining Sandee at Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

"D" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme:  Exploring South Carolina and the Eastern United States.

Outdoor Outing Oops #AtoZChallenge

If you are looking for my Music Moves Me post, please click here.  I hope you'll stay for this post, though, before you leave to listen to some great music.

Welcome (or welcome again) to "O" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My theme: "From Florida to Vermont With Stops In Between".

Before I begin, I owe you, my readers, an apology.   I'm prewriting many of my A to Z posts, and I inadvertently dated my "O" post with the wrong date.  It published in error last week and a couple of people commented on it (thank you!) and I don't want to delete it. So, for those who already read my O post, this is a little different. I've added some new pictures, did some editing, and I now invite you to enjoy the new outdoor art I've included.  Thank you!

Today, let's sample some outdoor art from various parts of the country, starting in the area where I live in New York state and ending in Florida.

We'll start in Ithaca, New York and a mosaic mural.

On a downtown Binghamton, New York walkway, decorations celebrating the history of this area.  Here, a boot to symbolize our long history of shoe manufacturing. 

A mural on the edge of downtown Binghamton, New York, celebrating the late Mohammad Ali.

Here's a mural painted on the back of a New York village's movie theater.

This mural, located in Endicott, New York, is called "Love Like Lisa".  It pays tribute to a woman, Lisa Iannone, who died at the age of 40 from a chronic condition she had lived with for many years.

Endicott had a big IBM facility at one time, and this isn't too far from that facility.  This mural is painted on the back of the Cinema Saver on Washington Avenue, just steps away from that factory complex. 

Let's start moving south now.  Our first stop is New York's Hudson Valley.

Here is a statue at the CIA - no, not that CIA, but the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York?  This culinary school has trained many great chefs, and the campus has some interesting culinary art on its campus.

Take, for example, this fish.   You may not want to eat it, though. 

It's made out of dining utensils.  

Now we are in Brooklyn, in New York City, with an outdoor store window painting in downtown Brooklyn (2018).

New York Aquarium in Coney Island (Brooklyn). 

Moving on to Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, VA.  This sculpture is called Chloe.  The artist is Jaume Plensa, from Spain. 

Still heading south, we arrive in South Carolina. Carousel at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, West Columbia, South Carolina. 

Finally, we arrive at our destination, Florida.  This mosaic is at the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo, Florida.

Our outdoor outing ends in Bok Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida, with this cute squirrel.

"O" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (for real, this time).

Zig Zag Zoo #AtoZChallenge

It's the last day of April, meaning it is the last day of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  I've gotten through another Challenge.

Now to Zero in and create this last post.

I've chosen Zoo more than once for my final A to Z post.  I was supposed to be showing my readers America the Beautiful as my theme so I will start with a couple of art photos from the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Columbia, South Carolina.  It's closed, but I can bring you there through photos.  We are so fortunate to have the Internet.

Big cat.

"Recycled Life"

These photos were taken the day after the August, 2017 total eclipse of the sun and by mid morning, this Northern blogger (upstate New York) was quite wilted.  But the people of South Carolina know how to deal with heat they describe as being five degrees cooler than hell (yes, I heard that expression).  Every so often we would walk through misters that would cool us down.  But we didn't make it much past noon.

I want to return one day - maybe in March.

What I love is how people are coming up with imaginative ways to deal with our present situation.  The Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens is offering a pickup Mothers Day meal for four, complete with a bottle of Prosceco and an (unspecified) pollinator plant.

So what about the zig zagging?

That's what spouse and I find ourselves doing when we try to walk for exercise on our rare beautiful sunny days (usually it's cold, or windy, or gloomy, or all three). If everyone else is out, keeping social distance becomes an exercise in planning and changing directions.

Binghamton, New York

But it's worth the zig-zag, just to get a glimpse of spring.

"Z" day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Thank you for following part of, or maybe even all of, my journey through the alphabet.

Longing for Magnolias - #ThursdayTreeLove

Magnolias are a popular tree in the Eastern United States, but this particular type of magnolia I am blogging about today will not grow where I live.  You have to go south to find them.  In my normal trips down South (during the winter) it's not their bloom season.

One year ago, I went down South to Columbia, South Carolina with my spouse, having come there from our home in upstate New York to view a total eclipse of the sun.

I used to live in the Southern United States years ago, and I miss saucer magnolias.  These will not grow in my northern home, but are plentiful in the South, including in Columbia, South Carolina.

These are evergreen, and they bloom in the summertime with beautiful white flowers.

Like this.  What a beauty!

We have a saying, in the United States, that the "grass is always greener on the other side".  Whatever we have, we long for things we can't have.  For me, that includes crepe myrtles and saucer magnolias.


Join Parul at Happiness and Food every second and fourth Thursday of the month for #ThursdayTreeLove.  Do you love trees?  Come join us with your picture!

Riverbank Gardens Flowers

One year ago, I was in a place I never imagined I would be on a hotter than you know what summer day - Columbia, South Carolina.

I never would have been there except my spouse and I had traveled to Columbia from upstate New York to view a total eclipse of the sun.  The heat would have scared me away.

My son, who accompanied us for the eclipse, had left for home earlier that morning. 

I should thank last year's eclipse for these flower garden pictures, taken in and near the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in West Columbia, along the Saluda River.  We were fortunate enough to go there on a beautiful sunny day.

We quickly found out what grows well in Columbia's hot, humid heat.

An unknown lily (from my Garden Bloggers Bloom Day reads, I really should know what this lily is.)

Vincas.

Succulents.

Hisbiscus.

In seeing these photos, I forget about the sweat pouring out of me as spouse and I wandered the garden. The people of South Carolina know how to work with heat.  Rather I see the beauty of flower displays (except for hisbiscus) that I normally wouldn't see where I live.

Nice memories of a year ago today.

More tomorrow.