The Tail-End of Summer

The summer is starting to wind up. The kids are back in school. The sun is rising and setting a little later each day. The evenings are cooler. The afternoon light is taking on that special golden hue that belongs to this time of year.

My petunias are still going strong but my roses and snapdragons are starting to fade and my chrysanthemums are signaling the coming autumn with their beautiful blooms.

We're starting to see pops of color in with the green leaves now, and a few fallen leaves line the path along the creek.

It's been a good summer and as my kiddos get older the end of each summer is a little more bittersweet than the last. But now I'm really starting to look forward to autumn which is my favorite time of the year.

The Great American Eclipse

I'm feeling pretty fortunate today because we got to see the eclipse. The clouds moved in this afternoon so we missed the very tail end of it, but otherwise we had a clear sky and perfect viewing. (Yes, I had eclipse-approved glasses.) Here in the Denver suburbs we had a 93% eclipse, so it wasn't total but it was still pretty impressive. The shadows were harsh and very well defined, with the tree leaves casting crescent-shaped shadows. The street lights around our office turned on during the height of the eclipse, even though it didn't get as dark as I thought it would.

This is a picture of the crisp shadows after the eclipse had just started.

Here are pictures of the street light from inside the office. The first is from the peak of the eclipse and then the next two were taken as it started getting lighter again.

Here are pictures of the leaves casting the crescent-shaped shadows. They look blurry but if you look at the sidewalk you can tell they're actually in focus.

I heard someone make a comment today that he didn't know what all the hoopla was about as it just looked like a disc in front of the sun. I know I'm a total nerd, but I really enjoyed getting to see the eclipse today. I am very grateful that we live when we do though. I can fully understand how this would have freaked people out in the days before they understood the cause of a solar eclipse. I'm also glad that we got so many warnings about viewing the eclipse without the proper eye gear. We also knew it was coming and could plan for it. While there were undoubtedly some cool things in the past, I'm grateful that I live in the present!