Once in a Blue Moon

Aug
4


Thursday night (August 2), when Morgan and I were driving home from visiting Shortcake, we noticed the full moon. It was a vibrant moon. When we got home, Morgan investigated and discovered that the full moon in August is known as the Sturgeon Moon. Native Americans believed that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes were most easily caught during the full moon of August.

Further investigation revealed what I believe is the answer to the lunch time trivia on the radio station I listen to when I’m driving. The question was–what happens only a few times per century? (Their questions are always vague like that! Then they narrow it down with clues as people call in to guess.) I wasn’t in the car long enough to hear the answer (which is generally annoying!), but I think I know now.

August is one of those rare months that has two full moons. A full moon occurs once every 29.5 days. This means that there is one full moon every month, only every month but February has at least 30 days in it. This presents the potential for two full moons in a month. This is very rare, of course, occurring once every blue moon.

Look for August’s second full moon (blue moon) on August 31!





Comments

  1. wvhomecanner says:

    Thursday night’s full moon was beautiful and a bright peach color to boot! Looking forward to the blue moon!

    dede

  2. yvonnem says:

    Beautiful! Gorgeous! Awesome!….And I totally missed it!

  3. StrandedinPA says:

    Actually, a blue moon is not all that rare. We get one at least every few years. The next one IIRC is in three years. I found it interesting that the blue moon of this month (according to my Old Farmers Almanac) will be called the Full Red Moon.

  4. Old Geezer says:

    And then, on the 31st, Shortcake will sing:

    “Blue Moon
    You saw me standing alone
    Without a dream in my heart
    Without a love of my own
    Blue Moon
    You know just what I was there for
    You heard me saying a prayer for
    Someone I really could care for

    And then there suddenly appeared before me
    The only one my arms will hold
    I heard somebody whisper please adore me
    And when I looked to the Moon it turned to gold”

    And, if you are my age, it will begin with this chorus from the chickens:

    “Bom-ma-bom, a-bom-bom-a-bom, ba-ba-bom-bom-a-bomp,
    b-dang-a-dang-dang, b-ding-a-dong-ding.

    Blue moon, blue moon, blue moon,
    Dip-de-dip-de-dip.
    Blue moon, blue moon, blue moon,
    Dip-de-dip-de-dip.
    Blue moon, blue moon, blue moon,
    Dip-de-dip-de-dip.

    Bom-ma-bom, a-bom-bom-a-bom, ba-ba-bom-bom-a-bomp,
    b-dang-a-dang-dang, b-ding-a-dong-ding.”

  5. Cheryl LeMay says:

    Nice shot.I’m glad to see you have a barnyard light. You can see the chicken coop and door. Have they learned to go in there for the night or do you still have holdouts? Is that a dog on the goat shed roof? Interesting to see what they do at night.

    • Suzanne McMinn says:

      Cheryl, that’s actually an optical illusion! I had to go back and look at the photo again to see what you were talking about. That is a piece of plywood that was leaning against the fence that day, outside the fence, and that is a dog standing in the barnyard. The photo is positioned just right so that it looks as if the piece of plywood is a small house and that the dog is standing on top of it, but that’s not it at all! (Piece of plywood now put away.)

  6. lattelady says:

    Get a shot like that in the winter, with snow, and you have a great Christmas card.

  7. easygoinglady says:

    what a beautiful sky! and yes it is fun to see what they are doing at night. Thanks for sharing your view with us.

  8. sunshineonmyface says:

    :sun: Old Geezer – I am happily going to have a mental image of a hen singing “b-dang-a-dang-dang” all day. Suzanne – this is one of my favorite photos (although, since I love them all, I don’t have an Absolute Favorite). I love the night; your photo captured its essence. Maybe you should consider adding photography to your course listings at Sassafras Farm?

  9. Britishtea says:

    Suzanne, what camera do you use? I’ve tried to photograph the moon without success but I’m sure I need to upgrade my camera. Love your night shot! That shot with some cricket music would be “almost heaven.”

  10. oct4luv says:

    Interesting! I always wondered where that term came from. This last full moon was beautiful here in California too.

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