In the beginning of my blog post about my experience with the great American eclipse talked about how ever since I was a kid I have wanted to experience a total solar eclipse. A few years before the great American eclipse brought me my first total solar eclipse experience, the May 20, 2012 solar eclipse brought me my first partial solar eclipse experience. Like the great American eclipse, I knew about it for quite some time before and looked forward to seeing it. This eclipse happened at sunset. The evening of the eclipse started out stormy. The sky was mostly cloudy and things weren’t looking good for seeing the eclipse. Then a little bit before sunset I rode my bike to a place where I had a clear view of the sunset to see if by some chance I would get even a glimpse of the eclipse and boy was I in for a surprise. Just before sunset the grey stormy evening turned into the sight of a lifetime. We had the eclipse, a beautiful sunset, and a rainbow at the same time. It was definitely an amazing sight that I will never forget. Not only was that day a day to remember, but 2012 was a year to remember,
The winter
The first thing that made 2012 so memorable was the lack of snow and above average temperatures in my area that winter after it was predicted to be one of the coldest and snowiest winters in a long time. The above average temperatures and lack of snow allowed me to start the year with a fun trip to Woodside Ranch in Wisconsin. When I was there, the only people that were there was me, my mom, and my sister. Normally people come there at that time of year to ski, but the skiers weren’t that when we were there because there was hardly any snow. That made for a fun time. Usually my area gets a good amount of snow each winter with a few additional inches from lake effect snow from lake Michigan, but didn’t get much snow that winter.
The Spring
The next thing that made 2012 so memorable was the unusual 80 degree march weather. Just one 80 degree march day is my area is very unusual. In 2012, my area saw about a week of 80 degree weather in the beginning of March. It set several record daily highs. I was still in high school at that time. It wasn’t even spring break yet and yet it was feeling like the middle of summer. What really made this heat wave memorable for me is that it caused the flowers and trees I my area to bloom about a month early. The trees in my yard don’t usually start flowering until the end of April, but that year they were flowering by the end of March. Then by the time my junior prom came around all of the trees had there leaves. Normally the trees in my area are flowering during the time of my school prom. I also rocked my high school talent show that year with my piano playing and won 3rd place.
The transit of venus
Next a few weeks after the solar eclipse, there was a transit of Venus, which is where Venus went in front of the sun. Lucky that day was a nice clear day. This isn’t something you can see with the naked eye, so I went to a viewing at a collage near me. I got to look at the transit through telescope with a solar filter. That was very neat. Unfortunately, if you missed the transit, it wont be happening again for another 100 years, which I will most likely be dead by then.
The summer
The next thing that made 2012 so memorable was the unusually hot summer. The above average temperatures during that winter and spring continued into that summer. That 4th of July was my last 4th of July in high school and one of the hottest 4th of Julys on record for my area with a high temperature over 100 degrees. Luckily for me, I got to enjoy nicer 4th of July weather. I spent that 4th of July in Cody, Wyoming with my aunt. It was hot there too, but it was better feeling dry desert heat, rather than the muggy humid heat back at home. That Memorial Day was also one of the hottest memorial days on record for my area.
The Fall
The next thing that made 2012 so memorable was the fall. First after that trees getting their leaves early that spring, they lost their leaves early that fall. Normally the fall colors peak in my area around Halloween, but that fall the trees lost most of their leaves by Halloween. What made that fall even more memorable was hurricane sandy just a few days before my last Halloween in high school. Hurricane sandy was unforgettable for many. While there were several unusual things about the storm, one unusual thing was its size. It was so big that my area was on the edge of it as it made landfall and my area is anywhere close to the ocean. Its clouds brought my area 2 days of beautiful sunsets. My area even had some strong winds from the storm, but was too far from the center to get any rain from it. There was some snow from hurricane sandy just a few hours east of where I live. Another thing that was unusual about the storm was that it produced snow. Parts of the Appalachian Mountains got a good amount of snow from the hurricane.
The Christmas season
The last thing that made 2012 so memorable was the Christmas season. It was my last thanksgiving and Christmas in high school. Then the year ended with a fun time of counting down to 2013, another great year, the year of my high school graduation and the rest of my last high school moments.
Conclusion
2012 was a very memorable year for me. The highlight of the year was the solar eclipse and rainbow at the same time, but there were many other very memorable moments from my last holidays in high school to the usual weather. 2012 may not have been the end of the world as many believed, but it is a year that I will never forget.
The solar eclipse
The rainbow
The sunset
The venus transit
Woodside ranch
Early booming dandelions after the unusual march warmth
Fireworks in Cody, Wyoming
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