Val Is Off Her Rocker

It's no secret that Val is a sciency kind of gal. So the Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse on Sunday night was on her radar.

I've seen a total lunar eclipse before. It was real, and it was spectacular. That one was years ago, when I was still teaching, and I caught it during the early morning hours, pre- and post- shower. The orange glow is real, folks! Not just something to read about in science books.

Anyhoo...in these parts, the beginning of the Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse was supposed to begin around 9:40 p.m. The shadow of the earth would be starting across the moon at that time. It would take about an hour to progress, and then another hour for the shadow to recede. I was concerned about our weather for my viewing. The last I saw was bright sunshine when I descended to my dark basement lair shortly after noon.

At 2:49, Hick sent me a text: "It's snowing like crazy big flakes"

Well. As far as I knew, snow was NOT in the forecast. The snow had already passed by. So this was a surprise to me. I was afraid it might throw a monkey wrench into my Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse viewing later that night.

Around 5:00, Hick screwed my new hub (heh, heh) into the wall under my computer desk, and New Delly was up and running like the olden days. So I was rejoicing and preoccupied with my innernets, and completely forgot about the Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse!

Thank goodness The Pony is a good sciency offspring, and sent me a text at 10:02:
"Are you planning to watch the eclipse?"

I went upstairs. Hick said the snow had stopped around 7:00. So I had some hope. The yard looked really bright, though in retrospect, it must have just been the dusk-to-dawn light reflecting off the snow. I stepped out on the back porch. BRRR! I think temps were in the teens then, before dipping into single digits overnight.

Try as I might, I could not find the moon. I leaned as far as I dared, standing on the back porch near Juno's dog house, not wanting to step into the packed, icy snow layer near the rail. The moon always rises over the treetops by our septic tank. Then passes over the house, in the direction of Shackytown Boulevard, and then across the front yard sky. The house roof seemed to be in my way. So I headed to back inside, to come out the front door.

I started across the front porch, to get to the end rail, and look for the partial moon.

YIKES!

As I approached the rocking chair that once rocked Baby Genius (he HATED to rock), it started rocking by itself! What in the NOT HEAVEN?

My feet were crunching on the snow that had blown onto the porch during the snowstorm. It was kind of eerie, all cold and still, dark on the porch, with our yard light glowing on the snow. I figured maybe my Jurassic Park-like footfalls as I tromped along the porch boards might have caused a vibration that started that chair to rocking. I went on, to the porch end, where I discovered that what I had hoped was the glow of the moon above was just light reflecting from our dusk-to-dawn to the snow and back up into the foggy kind of atmosphere. No stars visible, either. I guess we were still under cloud cover. Such a disappointment.

Anyhoo... as I went back down the porch, towards the front door, I looked for that chair to start rocking again as I passed. But it didn't. Huh. Must have been from the door-side boards I'd stepped on. So I turned around and tried to recreate the rocking. Nope. That chair didn't budge. I got a picture of the scene.

You can see my shoe tread coming back from the end rail's anticipated, but not-realized, Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse viewing. I wasn't on any of the boards that run directly under that chair when it started rocking.

Hick said it was the wind. Which would be a great explanation, if the wind had been blowing. It had not. I surely would have noticed a wind chill cutting through my VALcrosoft Nerd jacket, and blowing my striped fleece sweatpants.

Then Hick said it must have been the black cat running out of there. Please. That cat is not going to sit on the porch at 10:00 at night with temps in the teens. Besides, I saw NO animals on the porch, until I was back to the door, and had taken this picture, when Juno came around the corner behind me from the other direction. There are dog footprints by the pew, when I zoom in, most likely from big-footed Copper Jack earlier in the day.

No prints are around the rocking chair. There's something behind it, under the metal chair, that looks like maybe a bird might have hopped in and pecked at something. But nothing I can find that would have made a chair rock.

Another mystery unsolved by sciency Val, adding more evidence for Hick's files when he tries to declare that Val is off her rocker.