Big, Ole Moon Shining Down On Me!

   I ponder a lot of things throughout the day.  Since I am alone pretty much most of the time, it gives me the opportunity to think without interruption.  (I get amused at the folks bemoaning the "social distancing".  Are they so dissatisfied with themselves that they have to seek validation by conversing with others?  Not me.  I prefer the aloneness to most people's company.)  Back to that pondering, however, as I have made some trivial discoveries but, also, had some major enlightenments.  Life is good...short but good.

  My ponderings this morning happened on the pier when I was photographing the moon.  It was still high in the western sky and was gorgeously round and bright.   It occurred to me that this was the Snow Moon so named because February is normally a cold, snowy time.  (This must occur further north as we seldom get snow.  We did have one grand freeze (in the teens) in the middle of the month!)  It is also called the Storm Moon or the Hunger Moon.  All of these names refer to the weather, in a sense.  Storm Moon is obvious as it refers again to the snowstorms but Hunger Moon?  Well, that goes back to early times when hunting, fishing and growing your own food was a thing.  February is normally a poor month for each of those if the weather is bleak.  So it is easy to understand how the full moon was associated with dire times.

  Instead of being a dismal month (regardless of the freeze), it was a time of plenty here.  The garden and Bayou provided an abundance of fine foods.  So, Snow Moon...you keep on shining, Buddy!  You add a bit of beauty and I appreciate it.

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.

Harvest Moon

A few nights ago, the moon was full and bright...for a few moments.  Then, the clouds covered over most of the area and our moon went unnoticed for a good bit of the night.  It peeked out occasionally but never could project its full glory.  This was the Harvest Moon!  That name that so many folks apply to any moon that happens to occur during late summer or fall.  Harvest Moon! Yep, even the name sounds like something that should happen just about Halloween. But..the Harvest Moon is not just any full moon that happens during the fall!  Not many folks know that this term is applied to the full moon that fall closest to the Autumnal Equinox.  This past week saw that full moon and being as the Autumnal Equinox falls on September 22, the moon was the all wonderful "Harvest Moon"!

Now..a tidbit of needless but interesting information!  The name "Harvest Moon" was given to this moon by the farmers back in the day simply because it let them harvest their crops for a few extra hours on that night. The moon was bright enough that they could see to pick vegetables.  I suppose this might be true for something like pumpkins but I cannot imagine anyone out digging peanuts!  Even if that moon was bright, I wouldn't want to be "grubbling" around in the dirt.  The only experiences I ever had harvesting peanuts saw me covered with ant bites as it was..can you imagine if I did it at night?  At least back when I was a kid, ants loved the peanut rows and pulling up those plants to get the little legumes agitated the critters.  My hands and arms were always covered with welts and itched like crazy!  Then, again, I could possibly imagine harvesting any crops that were easier to see..pumpkins or corn for example.

No, I did not rush out to harvest any crops during the Harvest Moon this past week but I did sneak out to take a few pictures!  I am glad I did since the clouds have covered the sky pretty much since that night.  That moon just never had a chance.  And, besides, my garden has seen better days (and nights) and had nothing to offer in the way of crops to pick.

Solar Lights

I have not put my Christmas Tree on the pier as of yet. This is not entirely my fault! Previously, I had to run an extension cord the several hundred feet down the hill and another couple of hundred feet down the pier to be able to plug in the lights. This was a lot of work and not exactly the safest of all things to do. Electricity and water do not mix! So far, things have worked out well and there have been no serious accidents involving wet cords..thank goodness! This year however, we decided to "go green"! We bought several strings of solar Christmas lights with the idea that this would be much easier and much safer! A word of note...test the lights! I am glad that I took the lights from the box and tried charging them before going through all the effort of decorating the pier tree. Three of the strings of lights did NOT work! I guess poor workmanship, faulty material or merely damage during shipment could account for the "unworking" lights but it is sort of disheartening to turn on the lights and see...NOTHING! After several trips back and forth to the store to exchange the broken lights, we now have an odd assortment of strings but at least they work! Tomorrow....the pier tree will be up and decorated! Christmas will come to the Bayou!

While I was messing with the solar lights, I started pondering. Uh oh...here we go again! No..seriously..I was thinking that I would like some sort of light posts for the yard. This is not a new desire as I have hinted the fact for several months now. The solar lights just brought it back to mind. We are far from any street lights and it gets dark down here! When I have to venture out to get an armload of firewood late at night, I can hardly find my way around. I need several lights to lead me to the woodpile and back. I usually take a flashlight but try balancing that when your arms are full of wood and opening the door..doesn't work. I have dropped the flashlight several times and occasionally a piece or two of my wood. One night a couple of months ago, after I had been hinting at the idea of a post light, Son called me outside and said to bring the camera. When I asked what he wanted, he just told me to come. Thinking that something was either very wrong or very interesting, I hurried along as best I could in the dark. When I reached him, he positioned me in a certain place and said.."I found your post light!" Huh? Now, just how do you find a post light? He pointed and simply said "Look!" From the angle he had me at, the moon was literally "sitting" on top of a dead pine tree. The tree had been "topped out" by Hurricane Katrina and was just a pole now. The large, full moon was glowing brightly as it appeared to be atop this post! Ahh! My post light! Son looked at me with a sly grin and said.." A lunar light!" Ok..well, I guess if I cannot get a solar post light in the yard, a lunar post light will have to suffice.

Back to the solar Christmas lights..I noticed that they have basically a six hour run time before they start to fade. This will be plenty of light time for the pier tree as that will put it out just about midnight. These lights will be a boon to me as there will be no more midnight runs to the yard outlet to unplug the extension cord. (Not to mention..no zaps when I am on the pier!) Now, if I could just get that lunar light to shine right down on my pier Christmas Tree and make it all glowy....hmmmm....

Ghoulies and Ghosties!

"From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!"

My grandmother used to recite this little ditty to me as a child whenever I would spend the night at her house. I have no idea just where it came from and perhaps should take the time to look it up someday. Last night, I awoke at midnight..there was no apparent reason for me to do so other than the fact that the moonlight was streaming through the window and hitting me right in the face. I laid there thinking of all sorts of things as one is prone to do in the middle of the night when all else is quiet. This same grandmother used to tell me to never sleep in the moonlight as it would make you go crazy! SO! THAT EXPLAINS IT! She always reasoned that the word loony came from the word lunar or moon and that if anyone slept in the light of a full moon they would be crazy by morning. I am not sure why she would tell a six year old child these fun things but I was careful never to let moonlight befall me whilst sleeping! Now, I love the moonlight! I will take midnight strolls on nights of the full moon..it is almost mystical the way the yard appears by this light. As I lay there..pondering..I noticed the clouds whisking by the face of the moon..and being the "crazy" woman I am, I had to get up and photograph the midnight moon. After taking maybe forty shots of the orb, I fell back asleep only to awake this morning as crazy as a loon! Not really..I am not any nuttier than I was the night before..(ok..so we won't go there!). This morning when I was looking at the pictures that I took, one of them was down right creepy! "Things that go bump in the night" just was not adequate! In this picture the moon looks like an eye! An evil eye! A friend of mine told me it reminded her of something from "The Hound of the Baskervilles"! It does appear at first glance to be the eye of some raging animal but then again, I have told you that I have a very vivid imagination! Take a look at the picture and you decide!

Meanwhile, back at Grandmother's house..when I would spend the night, I would lay looking out the window for hours. At my childhood home, the window in my bedroom pretty much looked out into darkness. There were no streetlights back in the day and we had no near neighbors so consequently there were no lights at all..just darkness. But at Grandmother's house, it was different! I could lay looking out the window and see the lights across the Bay! By day, these lights a part of Keesler Air Force Base..by night (in a six year old girl's mind) they became part of ...A Castle...oooohh! My imagination was wild even back in the day! It just so happens that every time I was at Grandmother's, Cinderella had another ball at her castle! I could just see the princes and princesses dancing the night away just across the water! Or perhaps it was from the story of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses!" I don't know..maybe they all shared a castle or something! Now I am fortunate enough to live just a few hundred feet from where I spent the night at my grandparents. (And I am still fascinated by the lights!)

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!)

The Moon

There is a nice little verse that says (in some versions).."I see the moon and the moon sees me, God bless the moon and God bless me!" Last evening, the moon was gorgeous! I sat on the pier snapping picture after picture when that verse popped into my head. Thinking of how my children used to recite this brought a smile to my face. My children are all grown now and have gone their separate ways, following their own dreams. They are each such a blessing to me. It occurred to me that God's blessings pour down upon us just as the moonbeams pour onto the water. Like those "diamonds" on the water, blessings are freely bestowed on us..and like those gems, so many times go unnoticed. The sheer multitude boggles the mind..just try to count the sparkles that dance on the ripples of the water. It is so akin to trying to count God's blessings. Many times there are too many distractions in our lives to appreciate moonbeams and blessings. Sure, we are thankful for large noticeable things like the moon, homes, and wealth, but how grateful are we for everyday, mundane things. All are blessings. Does it matter that the only diamonds that I own are moonbeams on the water? Not to me. A cold hard stone could never bring me the contentment that the vision of the moon rising over the water does. God bless the moon!