I saw something amazing on the night of April 14th... a Total Lunar Eclipse.
I love seeing interesting stuff that happens in the night sky... the moon getting close to Jupiter or Venus, rare trips to the desert to view meteor showers, the Venus Transit, comets...
But this particular event, the Total Lunar Eclipse... it brings all sorts of emotions for me, too. The last time I saw a total lunar eclipse was back in August 27 2007, and it was the last night I ever saw our late family dog Ruby alive.
So whenever there would be a total lunar eclipse (which, well, there aren't that many), I would question whether or not to look at it at the risk of my heart flooding with sadness at seeing such a beautiful sight. A partial lunar eclipse would illicit similar feelings, but not as intensely as a Total "blood moon" lunar eclipse.
Last time the eclipse was total, it was very cloudy that December 11, 2011. But in our warm Spring, it was fairly clear, except for some thin clouds.
I went ahead and viewed it. And, yes, I did let some tears flow. But I also tried to enjoy it for the it's beauty and the science/astronomy aspect of it, and that helped the hurt I felt from losing our precious dog. You never really truly get over the passing of a beloved canine companion, no matter how many years have passed.
My dad even took out his old telescope, so I got to look at the moon through that. At one point, the moon reminded me of Neapolitan ice cream... neat sections of vanilla, chocolate, and (dark) strawberry. Mainly, about three quarters of the moon was red while the rest was a light copper tone.
Some people call it the "Blood Moon." Personally, I call it the "Ruby Moon," because I believe in my heart of hearts, it's her special way of showing us she's okay and happy.
The reason I bring this up, is because back in 2007, I've composed a music piece to honor her memory. And after 7 years, I was hoping to finally reveal this piece.
But I'm afraid I can't show it quite yet....
With better instruments to use in my digital audio workstation, I am going to make improvements to the piece. Or... perhaps I may even record it again from scratch, and compare how I've done it then with how I'll do it now.
It will probably be one of the most meaningful pieces of music I've ever composed.