Nature's Notebook

 In a little over a week, residents of the Northwest Corner and much of the eastern United States will have an opportunity to enjoy a special celestial event: a total eclipse of the moon.

 Next Saturday evening, March 3, the earth will pass directly between the sun and the moon, casting a dark shadow over the entire lunar surface. The moment of greatest totality will occur at around 6:20 p.m., just as darkness has fallen. Observers facing east, opposite the setting sun, with a clear view of the horizon will see the rising moon as a thinning sliver, already nearing total eclipse.

 During the total eclipse, which will last for more than an hour, the moon will not appear completely dark. Instead, it will be bathed in a deep coppery-red glow. That’s because some of the sun’s rays bend around the earth’s atmosphere and reach the moon. The steep angle of refraction causes the light to turn red, much as a sunset low on our horizon throws off red light.

 This is the first total lunar eclipse since October 2004. (A second will occur this year in August but will be visible only in the western United States). Lunar eclipses occur twice a year because of the complex cycles of the moon’s orbit around the earth. They do not occur each time the moon passes on the sun’s side of the earth — that is, every month — because the moon’s orbit is tilted relative to the earth’s orbit around the sun.

 Over millenia, superstitions have come and gone about the significance of the lunar eclipse. It has most often been viewed as an ill omen. In one account, a lunar eclipse in the year 413 BC contributed to the downfall of ancient Greek civilization.

 For those who anticipate an even more spectacular total eclipse of the sun, don’t hold your breath: Unless you’re a world traveler, you’ve got 10 years to wait until the next visible solar eclipse in our region. Whew!

 Last month, Frank Bartle stopped by the offices of The Journal to report that he saw a woodcocknear the old Pollard farm in Salisbury, just off Route 112. Woodcocks are returning this time of year from the south and actually begin their "spring" displays as early as late February.

 "The bears are back," reports Lakeville Journal publisher emeritus Bob Estabrook. "Nancy Paine on Reservoir Road in Lakeville was going out on Tuesday night and was confronted by a bear and a cub.

 "Michael Harris, who lives next door, and his wife, Wendy, have also had their birdfeeder wrecked a couple of times in the past few days.

 "So the neighborhood bear is back, in the Reservoir Road area at least!"

 Fred Baumgarten is a naturalist and writer. He can be reached at  fredb58@sbcglobal.net . His blog is at thatbirdblog.blogspot.com. 
 

Latest News

Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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