The eclipse just passed over us. I didn’t invest in the glasses so I had no plans to ‘watch’ it per se. About 15 minutes prior I noticed the light outside dimmed, almost like a hazy dusk and yet it was still sunny.
I went out to check on the animals and look at the property with the surreal sunlight. Usually the geese, turkeys and chickens are out foraging during the day. I looked around and noticed they were all either already back to the barn or heading to it in a quiet march.
The chickens grouped together under a small coop I use for babies. Even the babies were oddly silent and still. The adult chickens milled around quietly under this coop:
Luca laid quietly next to the barn watching the goats and didn’t show any abnormal signs.
The geese and turkeys returned from their daily excursions to the neighbors houses and parked themselves quietly by the barn.
A few more minutes passed when Luca suddenly jumped up whining and howling. The goats became alarmed and ran to him. The geese and chickens stood like statues and didn’t make a sound. Rebel, my last tom turkey, gobbled along with Luca’s crying and barking.
I couldn’t tell any noticeable difference in the light of day except the same dark haze in the atmosphere, but the animals seemed to.
I had debated on putting them all away for the event since Luca and the birds often look to the sky searching for predators. Fortunately none of them looked towards the sky – at all. All the animals were frozen except Luca who was in a full scale panic running, circling and barking. I tried to calm him but he wasn’t having it.
He continued pacing and barking looking in all directions for about ten minutes until he finally sat back down. Even over an hour later he’s still on full alert and whimpering.
I don’t know how the animals sensed the change but it was fascinating to witness. It looks like we’ll have another full solar eclipse April 8, 2024. Next time I’ll invest in the glasses.
xo