Moon Pin

Monday, February 18, 2019

Early yesterday, maybe around 5 p.m., I was headed to my neighbor’s to collect the horses after their afternoon on pasture. A rising moon in the east captured my imagination. Experts say that tomorrow will bring a full snow moon, so maybe don’t categorize last night’s as truly full, but to me it was a beaut. I watched and imaginged it early the next morning setting over the Cascade Mountains, and wanting to capture that rose early. Now, and with a handy camera, I’ve searched for that moon–somewhere in a very cloudy sky and invisible as the mountains themselves.

This particular moon got to me, had me yearning to see it starting to lower toward mountains from my west deck. Instead this morning, I could write about “Why does this always happen to me!” But there’s another option. I’ll try to capture tomorrow’s “technically full” moon, and perhaps twice, early as it rises and later as it sets.

Meanwhile, it’s good to know something about moon names. Native Americans named the moons to depict key aspects of a tribe’s lives and labors during a particular month. February brings heavy snows and is named appropriately for Central Oregon. During most of this month, we’ve dealt with snow, and this season an icy mix. Last evening, while crunching across the landscape’s chilly grayness, that rising moon accurately reflected my world below it.

Our perceptions of moon beauty correlate to predictability. After all, moons establish periods suggesting temperatures to expect and kinds of work to accomplish. We wonder about future generations of humans, who’ll achieve a closer and more intimate relationship with the moon. We wonder if they’ll find it as beautiful and love it as we do.

I’ll try for photos of tomorrow’s full snow moon. If there’s a good one, I’ll go to a hobby shop for the makings of a lapel pin to preserve my image. This might be in kinship to early cave dwellers who depicted on cave walls the elements that captured their imaginations. I’ll pin on my lapel the image of an officially very-full snow moon.

Dear Readers, enjoy this day, and watch for tomorrow’s special moon. Diana