Does it seem that we’ve had more than our share of “moon events” lately?
There was the total solar eclipse back on April 8 (Still finding eclipse glasses around the house are we?), where the moon passed in front of the sun and just left us slightly in the dark, and the birds very confused (They did not have glasses, see.). So that was a big deal and will not be repeated in this area for decades. Other places may have their shot at the phenomenon but we are out of it for a looong time.
Now, we have coming up an annular eclipse on October 2, 2024, wherein we will see ( if the clouds co-operate that is, but you know how much the weather can be counted on around here) the moon will again pass in front of the sun but because the relative distances are different, we will be witnessing the “ring of fire” outside the shadow of the moon (not to be confused with the the Ring of Fire assortment of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean), and not total darkness. The OFA calls it a new moon eclipse. Could be real interesting.
And then there have been the “Super Moons”. Where the lunar display, because of its nearness to us, makes the moon appear to be even larger than usual–lots of times pretty colorful too. We’ve had more than our usual share of those lately.
And then there are the “blue moons”, which are not blue at all, but simply an extra full moon ( That is to say, more than one full moon per month, which is the usual quota; does not mean an extra-full moon–that’s what the “Super moon” is all about. Got that?)
Then ya got yer Harvest moon, yer Hunters moon, yer Beaver moon,and yer Full Cold moon–we kinda know what those are about, but can vary from place to place and culture to culture. I’m sure that somewhere in the world somebody is looking forward to a Football moon, a Pumpkin spice latte moon, a Canada goose going south moon, whatever floats your boat.
Halloween started back somewhere right after Fourth of July and is widely associated with witches flying across a full moon, often accompanied by bats. It’s getting a little old by now, but will now be competing with Christmas goods on store shelves. Moons have nothing to do with either of these, actually( except Halloween is usually pretty close to Harvest moon time)–the candy is out there anyway.
Speaking of moonlight…what I am seeing out under the bird feeders at night is the local wildlife scavengers–raccoons (2), opossums (1), and not one, not two, but four skunks–a lovely family group, quite peaceful, so far ( If that ever changes, I’m calling pest control); the squirrels and chipmunks have the day shift. The birds must be “beefing up” getting ready for the long trip to the “sunny south” but they’re being pretty messy about it and the grounds crew doesn’t want anything to go to waste. I do have some interesting volunteer plants coming up resulting from anything that did not get eaten up in the first & second rounds.
OFA quote : He who will eat the kernel must crack the nut. We’re up for it.
