"May Be More Wondered At..."

 

Yesterday's total solar eclipse reminded me of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1:

Yet herein will I imitate the sun

Who doth permit the base contagious clouds

To smother up his beauty from the world

That, when he please again to be himself,

Being wanted, he may be more wondered at

By breaking through the foul and ugly mists

Of vapours that did seem to strangle him.

Toronto got only 99.9% totality and the sun was mostly playing peek-a-boo with the clouds.

We studied the exact location of the sun at 2 pm, 3 pm, and 4:30 pm on Sunday which, ironically, was cloudless and bright to see whether we could just look out the window at the condo. Going out to the terrace would have been ideal, but it's now inaccessible because I can't schlep a walker over the steps and Michael's mobility isn't up to doing the steps without at least a railing. Because the sun was so high in the sky at those times, we needed an unobstructed view.

So we went to the nearby mall's parking lot, facing south and west. Lots of other people had the same idea. But, mostly, the "base contagious clouds" obstructed our view.

The sky looked as if there was a thunder storm on the way and the parking lot's automatic lights turned on because it was so dark. We were wearing jackets but noticed a chill in the air. For a few seconds the clouds parted and I glimpsed the sun through my eclipse glasses, but that was it.

Some places in downtown Toronto got to see the show. Here are some photos from CP24 (Canadian tv news channel):

https://www.cp24.com/photo-galleries/solar-eclipse-in-ontario-1.6837669