Solar eclipse

A week ago in my last post, the snow had melted, and heavy rains flooded the field. The next day, it snowed again.

Snow Wednesday morning

Although the weather is variable, or maybe because of it, no conditions last very long. By Thursday, the snow was gone. I took a walk down to the creek to see how much damage we’d had from the flood. The creek had gone down a lot and was well contained within its banks.

Muddy creek two days after the flood

A stream still drained from a neighboring farm.

Water drains from a neighboring farm

The evidence that the creek had overflowed was everywhere. Corn stubble piled up on the creek side of the burn pile

Corn stubble (V-shape in foreground) carried by the flood and blocked by the burn pile

And wrapped a couple of feet up this grapevine.

Flotsam wrapped around a grapevine by the creek

The south field still had standing water.

Standing water in the south field

In addition to the corn stalks, we are gifted with silt from the neighboring farms. It covered the grass everywhere the water had slowed down enough for the soil to settle out. Just like on the Nile, our field gets richer with every flood.

Free topsoil from the neighbors!

The weather warmed up considerably yesterday. On my walk yesterday, I saw that the water in the creek was clearing up.

Lower, cleaner water in the creek

I was excited to see that one of the Virginia bluebells that I planted a few years ago had sent out runners! The original plant, which now has several clones in a cluster, is on the left and has also produced four more sprouts that are off to the right. Three are in one row and another is by itself. I have been consciously planting species that spread in an effort to outcompete the reed canary grass. Progress has been slow.

Original bluebells, upper left, four clones, middle and lower right.

Many years ago, I planted some trout lilies, also known for spreading, and they haven’t done diddle squat. They struggle along, a leaf here, a leaf there. For the first time ever, one is blooming! Maybe this is a sign that they are ready to get going!

Long awaited trout lily blossom

I’ve started to putter outside. The peach tree in the high tunnel has started to bloom. Terry was hoping it would bloom all at once, but it is blooming top to bottom. I suppose this makes sense, as the top of the tree is in the hottest part of the high tunnel. It would be good if we got ripe peaches a few at a time instead of in one big heap. Easier for me, anyway.

Peach blossoms in the high tunnel

The tomatoes were ready to be potted up. I moved them and the peppers out to the greenhouse. The tomatoes, as usual, suffered transplant shock, which is why they look so wilty in this photo. Take heart—they were looking perkier after an hour.

Tomatoes, left; peppers, right

I uncovered the garlic

Garlic

And the strawberries.

Strawberries

The goldfinches are turning gold. The one on the left of the feeder doesn’t have his full black beret yet.

Drama at the bird feeder

The big excitement yesterday was the eclipse. We got to 95% or so. Last week, the forecast was for cloudy weather, so I did not get a pair of glasses. Terry had his from the last eclipse in 2017. I was just getting starting making a pinhole viewer when Stephanie Abrams on the Weather Channel gave a tip about using a colander. Well! I grabbed a small colander and went out. By golly, it works! You have to get it at the right angle and hold it a good distance from the viewing surface. The image is not as clear as it was through Terry’s glasses, but the multiple holes have an artistic effect.

1:29 p.m.

1:48 p.m.

2:04 p.m.

2:20 p.m.

We didn’t see animals behaving oddly. The light dimmed a little, but it was still very bright, considering that we had less than 10% of full sun. Amazing, really. The shadow of the oak tree on the driveway looked furry. I can’t explain that.

Furry shadows. Weird.

After such an exciting day, I had to go in and have a nap.