Eclipsed!

A whole bunch of people gathered on August 21 at David and Kim's new house to watch the eclipse in the Area of Totality (which would make a good name for a band or a novel). 

Most folks got there early so they could get good and ready.

Like Jacob, who was good and ready.

Some of the kids found it hard to make the eclipse glasses work, so Pace and David made some modified glasses

that were easier to use. (At least one older person found this technology helpful as well.)

Matt and some other folks made a crawl-in, pinhole eclipse viewer.

This is what it was doing inside (multiple pinholes were involved).

Tracking the progress of the moon across the sun.

The sky got pretty cloudy just before the totality, but the clouds were moving and had thin places, so we got a series of beautiful, breathtaking views of the corona. Despite the dimming of the light beforehand, the sudden darkness was stunning. During the last bit of the totality, the sun was not visible at all, and the first bit of direct sunlight to slip past the moon lit up the clouds as though someone had flipped a switch.

Click to see this larger. You might know some of these fine people.

An eclipse in the palm of my hand. Many thanks to David and Kim for being excellent hosts.



Click the triangle to hear a bit of what it sounded like:

Checkin' the specs

Tal Galton and Sandy, from Environmental Engineering and Measurement Services, checking specifications and calibration at the Clingman's Peak rain collection site. The site is part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, one of the longest-running environmental monitoring studies in the country.

Farewell, Paulus

There was a lovely memorial service for artist, teacher, and long-time Penland neighbor Paulus Berensohn on the knoll at Penland last week. The structure was built for the event by Jonah Stanford. More pictures here.

Tower of pickles

No cucumber is safe at the Bernstein's.

Bob with beets

Change of Address

Artist, teacher, dancer, and friend-to-many Paulus Berensohn had what he referred to as a "change of address" after a stroke and a short stay at Solace hospice in Asheville. He was buried on June 18 in an elaborately decorated cardboard coffin at Carolina Memorial Sanctuary, a green burial site near Asheville. A large group of his friends were there. Facilitating was our old friend and neighbor, Ruth Ostrenga, who is part of the Center for End of Life Transitions. 

Paulus lived near Penland for 30 years or so. He had a remarkable life. Here's a story about him from the New York Times. Here's a tribute to Paulus that was presented at last year's Penland benefit auction.

I'll miss the sound of his voice.

Not recommended

Gardening in the rain is not generally recommended, but sometimes you just have to do stuff when you have the time.