Watt's Up? April 2024 Edition

This month's edition of Watt's Up? is a little different. I've decided to focus on only a few highlights from the month but to expound on them. I hope you enjoy!

The Eclipse

Ever since I first learned about solar eclipses, I have wanted to see one. I remember hearing about the 2017 eclipse years before it happened and waiting expectantly for it. Unfortunately, it happened while I was pretty sick, but I did manage to go outside for a few minutes and see it through a pinhole projector. That was cool, but it was only a partial eclipse. Last year, I bought eclipse glasses with hopes of seeing the partial eclipse that happened in our area in October, but the sky was too cloudy to see anything.

When I heard that there would be an eclipse this month and attended a library presentation about it, not only did I want to see it, I wanted to see totality. So my dad took me 2 hours north to stay with his oldest sister for the night before the eclipse. (Unfortunately, it didn’t work with my parents' schedules to be away the day of the eclipse.) We took the Turnpike, and we saw more out of state license plates than Pennsylvania plates. Most of them were from Maryland and Ohio, but we even saw plates from Illinois, California, and Alaska! If I didn’t know that there was an eclipse happening, I would have thought there was an emergency evacuation.

The next day when I woke up at my aunt and uncle’s home and walked outside almost the entire sky was cloudy, and rain was drizzling. I prayed, asking God to part the clouds, and then I went back inside. My 5-year-old second cousin was also staying with my aunt and uncle, so I did crafts and played with her and kept looking out the window, hoping to see some blue. Then I started cooking perogies and icing cupcakes, as we were having a family eclipse gathering at a nearby park.

About an hour before the eclipse began, one of my uncles announced that the sky was beginning to clear up! God had parted the clouds! Soon afterwards, we headed over to the park. At times, clouds did obscure our view, but we had plenty of opportunities to see the eclipse clearly. One of my aunts and I took a walk, and we came back to the pavilion a little before totality began. There was a strange quiet and stillness, and then the birds began to sing as if it were dusk. Jupiter began to shine. Totality only lasted for a second or two, and afterwards we saw the diamond ring effect. I was getting a ride home with my aunt and uncle from Harrisburg, and we wanted to leave as soon as possible to avoid traffic. I felt the cold air as a result of the sun being blocked as I ran to the park restroom, and I saw my aunt running through the pavilion with her flashlight. It felt both weird and awe-invoking. 

Clover

Remember how I said in my last update that I was planning to get a rabbit? Well, we welcomed Clover into our family a few weeks ago. She is a mini lop and has the sweetest personality. She likes to lick me and cuddle, and she is very tame. My parents gave her to me as an early birthday gift. We had her hutch outside for the first week after bringing her home, but then we started having issues with foxes in our neighborhood. Merely seeing and hearing a fox can give a rabbit a heart attack, so we decided to bring her hutch indoors. She is very happy inside, and it’s nice to be able to hold her whenever I want. She’s sitting on my lap while I type this post. I also bought her a leash and harness so that I can take her on walks. 

Spring100

I reached my 100 miles for the Spring100 on April 27th, which was day 40 of the challenge. I'm still walking and running, and I'm aiming to reach at least 200 miles by the end of spring! I ran a 5K on April 20th and finished in 33 minutes and 47.4 seconds, which was my fastest 5K yet. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my walks and runs this month.

Did you see the eclipse? What is your favorite picture from this post?