Total Eclipse

I hope you were able to get out and check out this rare sighting yesterday as it lasted over five full minutes in some locations. Just in case you missed it, here is a post from Universe Today with photos and information on this vision of darkness. Click on the photo to be taken directly to the post.

And in honor of this total eclipse of the sun, here is the video and song by Bonnie Tyler, Total Eclipse of the Heart from 1983. Enjoy!

Nature and Poetry Make Lovely Bedfellows

While searching for poetry this afternoon for another project I came across a website called Poetry in Nature and I must confess I spent a fair amount of time reading through many poems. The site seems to be chock full of more modern poets and so many were beautifully written but when I came across this one I knew it must be shared here at Green Leaf. I hope everyone has a few minutes to get over to the site and check out many of these promising poets.

As the Sun Sets

© Kenneth G. Howard

The wind blows softly against my face,
The shade cast by the tree cools my heart.
The ocean waves relax the tension within,
That would otherwise tear me apart.

Alone on a calm hill for hours I lie,
Waiting only for the golden sun to set,
Prepared to see a moment of true beauty,
One that which I could never forget.

The warm glow of the sun begins to fade,
The ambient noise of the beautiful birds dies down,
The air around me cools ever so much,
But not even to that do I ever frown.

There it hits; my big moment of peace,
I move not a muscle; not even a bit.
I breathe deeply gazing at it's beauty,
Until the skies have become truly starlit.

The moon shines now; the warm glow is gone.
The owls have taken over the birds place.
I still move not, as I continue to breathe the air.
And I continue to feel the soft breeze on my face...