Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The Barley Moon of August

It's the definitive harvest moon here in the north, and its perfect glowing yellow color reflects the agrarian pursuits in steady progress in the fields below. I looked up at the full moon last evening and thought of the barley now being cut and winnowed in the highlands, of the oats, corn, clover and timothy being harvested and tucked away into granaries for the long nights to come.

Within the next few days, we will be dining on cobs of heirloom corn, and our own domestic alchemies are in full swing, with vast heaps of tomatoes, onions, peppers and squash appearing in the kitchen daily and being processed (canned or frozen) for winter. For every basket of tomatoes I turn into salsa or chili sauce, there seem to be another three baskets arriving.

Last night, I waited for the geese to wing their way overhead on their way to the river, but with such a bright moon to steer by, my favorite birds did not fly back until some long time after midnight, and I heard them calling as I was falling asleep.

We also know this moon as:

Acorns Appear Moon, Acorns Ripen Moon, Ale Moon, Autumn Moon, Barleycorn Moon, Berries Dried Moon, Berry Moon, Big Harvest Moon, Big Ripening Moon, Black Cherries Moon, Blackberry Moon, Blackberry Patches Moon, Blueberry Moon, Brewing Moon, Centáwen Moon, Cherries Turn Black Moon, Claiming Moon, Coho Salmon Return to Earth Moon, Corn Is in the Silk Moon, Corn Cutting Moon, Corn Moon, Crest of Hill Moon, Cutter Moon, Dahlia Moon, Dispute Moon, Dog Days Moon, Drying up Moon, Eighth Moon, End of the Fruit Moon, Feather Shedding Moon, Flying Moon, Fruit Moon, Gathering Rice Moon, Geese Shedding Their Feathers Moon, Gladiolus Moon, Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Green Moon, Harvest Moon, Hazel Moon, Joyful Moon, Leaves Moon, Lightning Moon, Middle Moon, Moon of Freshness, Moon of Life at It's Height, Moon When Young Ducks Begin to Fly, Moon When All Things Ripen, Moon When Cherries Turn Black, Moon When Choke Cherries Are Ripe, Moon When Elk Bellow, Moon When the Geese Shed Their Feathers, Moon When Indian Corn's Edible, Much Heat Moon, Mulberries Moon, Paper Bark Moon, Pear Blossom Moon, Plum Moon, Red Berries Gathered Moon, Red Moon, Ripe Berries Moon, Ripe Corn Moon, Rising Moon, Starts to Fly Moon, Still Green Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Tall Grass Moon, Thumb Moon, Vegetation Moon, Wode Moon, Wheat Cut Moon, Wild Rice Moon, Women's Moon, Wood Cutter’s Moon, Wort Moon

Of all the names above, I think my favorites are "Joyful Moon" and "Moon of Life at Its Height".

3 comments:

janet copenhaver said...

Beautiful shot of the moon. Did you see the eclipse?

Rowan said...

You take such lovely moon photos - I take it you have something more sophisticated than a digital camera. I know that even trying night or fireworks settings I never get a sharp photo like this. It's the Harvest Moon in UK and that's the name I like best.

kate said...

I had no idea that this moon was called by so many different names. That is cool.