Sunday 28 February 2010

Full moons and red skies at night..............


Another full moon tonight, I'm hoping that some of the cloud will shift to give a better view, but hopes of that are fading fast. The weather here this morning is grey and bleak, with a very slight wind just getting up; the forecast is for heavy rain and wind later, so I'll try and get on with outdoor must-dos as early as I can, I think. Still wish people would see the positive powers of a full moon, rather than blame all sorts of nonsense on it, it's very common.
In the meantime, some more on our Lady moon:

"In the days before written calendars, our ancestors had their own methods of keeping track of the months and seasons. One of the best was to note the changing phases of the moon, with its new and full moons. A full moon happens once very twenty nine days, which means that on average there is one moon a month (originally, this word was a "moonth"). How simple, then, to give each month's moon a name that was associated with the natural world at that aprticular time of the year. The names varied slightly from one region and culture to another, but here are some of the names that were- and still are - used in the northern hemisphere.

January - Wolf Moon
February - Snow or Ice Moon
March - Worm or Storm Moon
April - Pink or Growing Moon
May - Flower or Hare Moon
June - Strawberry or Mead Moon
July - Buck or Hay Moon
August - Sturgeon or Corn Moon
September - Harvest Moon
October - Hunter's Moon
November - Beaver or Snow Moon
December - Cold or Winter Moon"

This is taken from a new book called Red Sky at Night - the book of lost countryside wisdom, by Jane Struthers, newly borrowed from the library. I'm not sure I'd call it *all" lost wisdom - there's a lot in there that I and others still use for weather watching and taking note ot what is happening in the world around us. That aside, it's a lovely book, full of interesting bits and pieces, covering a wide variety of subjects - the best high tea, hand-dipped candles, hill figures and stone circles, quarter days, edible flowers, a whole chapter on birds, trees, foraging and the life of a buterfly. Nothing is gone into in great depth, but it's a lovely book for dipping in and out of. Recommended.

I think the front and/or back cover would make a lovely applique quilt design too.

Photo at top by Darrell E. Spangler, from www.spacew.com

4 comments:

Linda O said...

I too love looking at the moon, my children love the idea that when they look at the moon, their Auntie in Watford and there friends in Bedfordshire are looking at the same moon!!!
I've got that book on reserve at the library too, its obviously a popular book, I've had it on reserve since early Jan!!
Windy xx

Kath said...

I have always wondered what the other names for the moon is over the months, I'd heard 'Harvest Moon' and 'Hunters Moon' but didn't know the others! :D
I shall definitely keep an eye out for this book, it sounds fab, thanks for the recommendation.
Kath xx

aromatic said...

Sounds wonderful and so I have just treated myself to a second hand copy from Amazon Marketplace... Bit naughty I know but feel like a wee little treat and I am so looking forward to reading it....
Thanks so much for recommending it!
Love Jane xxx

Leanne said...

you tempted me with this one too... and amazon always leads me astray! its arrived today, and yes, the cover is lovely! conveniently, its just started raining, so i'll have to stay indoors and start reading... :-)

Leanne x