You were very close to me! our route in one direction from/to the viewing site went through Penn Yan, and it's my farmer's market town (not open till late May, though.)

-- and yes, we had the same cloud experience.

I forgot how close you are when we go to the area.  Maybe one time, we can meet. 

Sorry.  Limited internet. Just got time back to go over my stuff!!  We stayed in a B&B in Penn Yan

You were very close to me! our route in one direction from/to the viewing site went through Penn Yan, and it's my farmer's market town (not open till late May, though.)

-- and yes, we had the same cloud experience.

my bees race back to the hive before the light really begins to fade.

If I remember correctly, bees can see both extra colors (ultraviolet) and polarization of the light, and actually navigate by that extra information ... surely someone did already think to film an eclipse through corresponding filters to see whether the visual effects might be even more impressive that way?

What state?

(thorny, in wine country, New York State)

Sorry.  Limited internet. Just got time back to go over my stuff!!  We stayed in a B&B in Penn Yan and went to a winery for a watch party.  (Cayuga Lake) All was great until about 3pm.  The clouds started to roll in and as the eclipse made the world darker and darker, the clouds did also.  So we did not get to see anything.  After it was all done it started to pour.

What was rather interesting, when it started to go total;all of the birds and other animals went totally silent.  Even the wind ceased.  It became about 5 degrees cooler and was night time.  It was quite eerie. We were on a hill, so were able to see for many miles.  Outside of the totality area we saw light surrounding us.  It was really neat.  We never saw the actual eclispe.  But we did get to feel it. 

Plus the watch party had some great BBQ and wine, so it was not so bad...

We also visited some wineries

If you thought that, four-hundred-some years after the arrival of those snoopy Europeans, Australian wildlife ought to be out of new tricks and surprises ...