When Shadows Have Auras

Solar Eclipses Can Elevate Our Understanding of The Past, Present, and Future

Slathering whole-grain bread with sweet mayonnaise and throwing on salty ham may not be a gourmet’s fare, but when you are seven miles from the nearest kitchen and fifteen miles from the closest convenience store, this everyday sandwich becomes extraordinary. Sitting next to me, Henry gazed at nude elm and maple in a grove where we had taken a break. We had been hiking upstream from a small pond, following a feeble brook to its origination source between flint hills converging above. Quiet surrounded us except for munching.

Isis hunched next to my daypack, head poised on front paws, sleek body motionless, eyes darting between us. Henry flipped a morsel into the air above the German shepherd, and her head jolted, and her jaws snapped, making the sandwich wedge disappear.

Having covered all the latest news at the front end of our hike, we had talked ourselves out. Henry gobbled with gratitude, consuming three ham sandwiches as I ate one. He was not a fussy eater; I keep track of his unguarded enthusiasm for food, a wellspring of inevitable teasing.

Brisk wind swept branches overhead, avoiding us because we sat underneath a cocoon of tree trunks and diminutive evergreens. A hawk circled in a thermal…