Total Eclipse of the Heart
Hello from a Once in a Lifetime Experience at a Goat Ranch!
Today this missive comes to you from my dear friend’s goat ranch in central Texas where my family and some friends are going to watch as the sun disappears from the sky in a total solar eclipse. My planned post was about Horace Mann, and I am 90% done but still need to fine tune and polish. What I am learning about myself and my more researched posts is that they require more time than I am willing to set aside in a week and I need to space them out a little more than I initially thought.
So, because I don’t want to short-change my readers (that’s you! Hi!) by creating rushed content, this week will be a pause. Take a breath. Relax with the baby goats and look up at the sky. Back to Horace Mann and the history of learning to read next week.
Thanks for your patience, thanks for being here, thanks for sharing.
Have you read Annie Dillard’s essay Solar Eclipse? Have you experienced totality?
In 2017 I was nannying on a beach outside of Charleston when night descended upon us in the middle of the day. Up until the moment of totality, we were lounging in beach chairs, snacking and chatting and glancing up at the sun with our eclipse glasses on watching the bite of shadow grow larger and larger, and having a fun time. It felt kind of cute and ordinary up until the moment of total eclipse. Then, the entire horizon became a sunset, the crickets and birds started calling their evening calls, and the ocean waves were glowing an eerie purple light. It suddenly made sense that historically people would lose their minds or attribute the eclipse to the gods, that a sacrifice would be made to appease whatever wrong had been done that threw the known balance of existence into darkness.
The moment of totality is simultaneously unearthly, transcendent, awful, and awe-inspiring. I cannot wait to share it with my kids. My son has his Eclipse Book tucked in his adventure backpack. I have been joking that we should probably sacrifice a goat. Even if the sun is covered with clouds, as it is supposed to be, I am sure the totality will contain multitudes of magic.
Wherever you are today, I hope you pause and let the natural world bring some magic your way. Or that you sacrifice a goat. Either way.
LIT TIP
Don’t limit storytelling to books! When we go out camping we have started to leave the books behind so that our bedtime “books” and campfire stories can be tales we tell from our own imaginations, our own experiences, or from memory. This is not only a great exercise for YOU to stretch your creative brain but it will let your little one become a great storyteller! Easter weekend we went camping and I ended up making up two daring adventures about Silver Knight, our eldest’s alter ego, using prompts my children were enthusiastically yelling across the sleeping bags and it became a family effort for the Knight to defeat the enemy, retrieve the crown, and return it to the castle.
Was it the stuff of literary gold? No way! But it was good fun.
FROM THE STAX
Books to inspire love and wonder in nature. If you purchase a book using the links below you help support my writing (and reading) habit so THANK YOU!
STICK AND STONE EXPLORE AND MORE by Beth Ferry & Kristen Cella
Stick and Stone are the best of friends who love exploring the world around them. In this collection of short graphic novels, they become a part of a Girl Scouts alphabet nature scavenger hunt and get into a sticky (pun intended) campfire situation.
With a sweetness and silliness reminiscent of Frog and Toad, these stories are a heartwarming introduction to the graphic novel experience. And they are part of a series, so you can bring home more stories of these sweet friends the next time you head to your library. We love that they set you up for fun nature-themed activities like creating your own alphabet-inspired scavenger hunt!
A RIVER by Marc Martin
A child sees a river outside their apartment window and wonders where it may go. An invitation into imagination and wonder, we loved sailing through the many different landscapes and jungles alongside these lush and beautiful illustrations. A good reminder that you don’t have to be in nature to be moved by the natural world.
Being near a beautiful river ourselves, this book is fun to spark a story or imagine where our “pooh sticks” and “leaf boats” will travel as they head downstream.
HAWK RISING by Maria Gianferrari Illustrated by Brian Floca
Father Hawk circles above a neighborhood house and all day he hunts for food to bring back to his nest. A beautifully written and illustrated book with a realistic reminder that all animals eat (YIKES).
I have a soft spot in my heart for Brian Floca, so I will pick up any book written or illustrated by him. Especially if it has to do with birds! We love spying hawks circling, hunting, or perched on a wire near our house or on our way to an adventure.
THE NIGHT FLOWER by Lara Hawthorne
Once a year, in the dead of the night in the Sonoran Desert, the Night Flower blooms. Laced with the absolute magic and wonder that nature can inspire, and accompanied by stunning artwork, this book will inspire a trip to the desert to chase down and experience this annual event.
Doesn’t the cover illustration of this book just make you NEED to grab it? We love a well-crafted non-fiction book, and the idea of nature doing something so specific and magical inspires my children (and me) to take notice of the little things in the world as we head out the door.
BATTY ABOUT TEXAS by J. Jaye Smith Illustrated by Kathy Coates
Did y’all know Texas is home to 32 different species of bats? And that the largest colony of bats in the US is here in Bracken Cave? Or that the Congress Bridge in Austin TX was unintentionally built to house the largest urban Mexican Free-Tailed bat colony in the States? You can catch them fly out in a spectacular swarm each night from Fall to Spring. I highly recommend taking the Bat Boat Tour if you ever find yourself in Austin, Texas.
Another non-fiction book that will teach your family amazing facts about amazing bats. Being a Texas family and neighbor to these bats, we love learning more about the colonies around us and then going out at dusk to see if we can spot them flying in the night sky helping to eat all those pesky mosquitos!
Thanks for being here. Don’t forget to subscribe so these happy little letters can pop up in your email every week — so far, so free!
Tell me, when was the last time the natural world astounded and awed you? What is an experience you have had or can’t wait to have with your kid?
See y’all next week and happy reading!!
I'm so excited for you and your kids! We won't see a total eclipse today but have family that traveled to see the real deal.
Thank you!! It was very spectacular and totally worth traveling to experience IMO!