Oh, the things I do!

    I was not feeling up to par this evening.  Hard work caught up with me and I had sore muscles.  After pushing a lawnmower for three hours this morning plus doing a lot of painting, my shoulders hurt, my legs felt like a ton of bricks and I was dead tired.  Then, my brother's sweet girlfriend sent me a message that Dear Brother wanted me to take a photograph of the full moon tonight.  Well, I did what was requested of me.  I got up, slipped on my shoes and headed down to the pier.  Just for Dear Brother, I braved all sorts of monsters!  I mean, my goodness!  There could have been ghosties, ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties out there!  Not to mention a cottonmouth.  Still, I went.  I took the photograph and came back to the Little Bayou House.

  After I got back inside, I realized that this was the night of the Blue Moon....actually the last Blue Moon of 2018.  Well, that was special!  So, I needed more photographs for Dear Brother.  That said, I did not really want to go all the way back down to the pier but I got a brilliant idea!  With all of the work being done on the house as of late, we have a set of scaffolding set up on the south side of the house.  Well, perfect!  I opened the window and climbed out onto the scaffolding!  Perfect view of the brilliant moon!  Of course, anyone who may have seen me climbing out the window may have thought I was nuts but I had to get a photograph of that moon!  By this time it was almost an obsession!  

  Needless to say, now that I am back inside, the body is being racked with aches and pains....BUT!  I got that photograph for my brother!  Oh, the things I do....for my brothers!  I sure hope they appreciate their baby sister!

Full Moon, Blue Moon, Blood Moon, Super Moon, Harvest Moon, Lunar Eclipse...My Goodness!

  Here lately, it seems that everyone is talking about the moon.  Those so inclined have been spouting things about the "End of Time".  Those who believe in superstitions think the Blood Moon is when we will all perish.  To others, the Blue Moon changes colors.  I even heard one person exclaim that the Super Moon was going to crash into the Earth....Hmmmm?  Well, my take?  Whatever.

  I was a bit interested in the eclipse but Mother Nature did not cooperate with my plans.  She provided a thick layer of clouds to completely shroud the moon.  As far as I could see...there was no moon.  No visible moon meant no visible eclipse....so I went to bed. This morning, however, there was a gorgeous moon beaming through the west window.  At 4:30 this morning, I was up and ready for coffee. As I wobbled my way through the dining room to the kitchen, I noticed that it sure was bright.  Knowing that the sun would not be up for a couple of hours and this light was coming from the west, I peered out the window.  Yep, the moonlight was finally able to burst through the clouds and come spilling through the windows.  It was gorgeous!  

  My sighting of the evasive moon lasted just about ten minutes. Clouds soon blocked it totally and left the hillside in total darkness once again. I may have missed the eclipse but I had a lovely time visiting with Mr. Moon!  A cup of coffee, a bowl of oatmeal and the moonbeams filling the dining room with soft light is a great way to start a morning.

Definitely Not Blue

  It was a "Blue Moon" once again.  Not that it means a thing other than there were two full moon phases during July but some folks get overly excited since they expect some strange phenomenon to occur.  I remember back in the day, I told one of my sisters-in-law that during full moons and lunar eclipses, people go batty and get violent.  This is how the word "loony" came about as it was just a play on the word lunar.  I must have been pretty convincing as she jumped up and locked the doors even so far as putting a chair under the doorknob.  Yep, that works. To make matters worse, I stretched my story a bit further and told her that even people close to her could be affected.  Yep...that did work.  She was terrified that one of us was going to go bonkers and, well, finish off the other.  I think since she already thought that I was a bit strange, she was in a lot of danger.  She bolted to the bedroom and locked the door.  All I could hear was furniture being shoved about the room.  I guess that door was thoroughly barricaded as well.  I really should not make up such tall tales!

Full moon from earlier in July. Not the Blue Moon of July 31st.

   July 31st saw the last "Blue Moon" until 2018.  I had wandered through the kitchen early this morning and decided to take a peak out the back door.  I could see the moon as it was peeping over the pine tops.  It took only a few moments before it was totally blocked from view by the large oak near the house. The sky was already getting light making the moon almost difficult to see but I can promise you that it was nowhere near blue. (I suppose I should check again tonight maybe it will be blue then..heehee!) But, guess what?  With all that exposure to the full moon, I did not go any battier than I am normally...oh, wait.

Once in a Blue Moon!

Ok..so we have all said it or at least grew up hearing it but have we ever seen the "Blue Moon"? Tonight, November 21, 2110 is when a Blue Moon occurs. No, it is not really blue in color as the name suggests and as far as I know, no one really can explain the name satisfactorily to the rest of us. I do know that there are in essence two definitions of a Blue Moon..one says it is the third full moon of four in a season. The season being the period of time between a solstice and an equinox or vice versa. According to the Farmer's Almanac if you follow this definition then the next Blue Moon will be on August 21, 2013. So that said, what are the rest? Red? Green? Maybe Purple?? It might be nice to name all the full moons in a season a different color and that way we can be sure we get them right. For instance, my dad would often plant by the phase of the moon. How easy it would have been for me to remember to plant my potatoes by the say..the second week past the Purple Moon! The other definition is the one that is easiest for me to remember as it is said to be the second full moon that falls within a calendar month. This is supposed to be the second full moon in November. Still, why blue? The term "once in a Blue Moon" is usually in reference to something that does not happen very often..a rare event. For instance, if you clean behind your refrigerator once in a Blue Moon, now is the time to get hustling. Those dust bunnies are probably huge by this time! Now get going..get that mop out and clean behind the frig! Personally, that job is done perhaps once in several Blue Moons in this house so I guess it is a rare event and could really be said to be "done once in a Blue Moon"! Yet, I am still at a loss of the lousy naming job of this phenomenon. I did look outside and no blue color to be found. There was a halo around the moon so perhaps we shall have rain soon..at least according to folklore. Most of this falls in the category of folklore so I suppose we can name these events anything we want and still be within the limits of reason. After all just what is folklore..stories!..and I see no logic in not being a bit creative with a story! Or not being a bit (or a lot) creative with a photograph as I have in this one! (Thanks, Judy!)