What a day!

The eclipse and our party turned out just great.  Folks started arriving around 2, many bearing cookies and other goodies.  We all ate a little and took a little outside.  Most brought lawn chairs, and we had extras, too, so everyone could sit, put on glasses, and watch the sun and moon perform their miracle.  (This photo was taken by Anna, the daughter of a friend).

Paul, his brother Jim, and I wore our special Barre eclipse t-shirts, and I gave one to our friend Diane for leading us in You Are My Sunshine... not once but twice.  

As we were sitting there, commenting on how quickly totality seemed to approach, I thought I couldn't think of a nicer group of people to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event with.  We have awfully nice neighbors!

Right before totality, we could hear dogs barking, the street lights came on as the air around us dimmed, and the wind picked up.  It got downright chilly.  Over to our northwest, the distinctive Camel's Hump (mountain) was surrounded by sunset/sunrise.  I wish I had taken a picture.  We see it all the time, but never like that.  As totality arrived, we all cheered, and we could hear other small groups in the neighborhood doing the same.  Diane said to look for a flash of light around the corona - she called it a "diamond ring."  She pointed out Saturn (or Jupiter?) and Venus which were not visible until totality.

As totality passed, we slowly went inside to warm up and get a little more to eat.  Some people stayed outside until the sky was perfectly normal.  I went inside and enjoyed talking with people I hadn't had a chance to chat with before.  After everyone left and I did some cleaning up, there were plenty of goodies to munch on, so that was our dinner - hummus, veggies, fruit, crackers, cheese, cookies.  A perfect end to a perfect day!