Moon Shadows

Each month's full moon has its own name. Most often these names come from native traditions. Here are the full moon names I've discovered from the Farmers' Almanac. These are obviously names for northern climate full moons. I'm sure natives on tropical islands elsewhere will tell you differently.

January is the Wolf Moon and the wolf howl can be heard for miles on the crystal cold air. Also Old Moon, and Snow Moon.

February is the Snow Moon when the snows can be their heaviest. Also Hunger Moon.

March is the Worm Moon and heralds the return of the robins. Also Crust Moon and Sap Moon

April is the Pink Moon for the early wildflowers of spring. Also Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon and Fish Moon

May is the Flower Moon when flowers become even more abundant. Also Corn Planting Moon and Milk Moon

June is the Strawberry Moon for obvious reasons. Yum.

July is the Buck Moon when new antlers begin to appear in velvet on the buck. Also Hay Moon

August is the Sturgeon Moon named for the best time for Sturgeon fishing in the Great Lakes. Also Red Moon, Green Corn Moon, and Grain Moon

September is the Corn Moon when the corn is harvested. Also Harvest Moon

October is the Harvest Moon and farmers can work late into the night.

November is the Beaver Moon for the time to set beaver traps for their warm winter furs. Also Frosty Moon

December is the Cold Moon or the Long Nights Moon as the cold settles in to go the distance and the nights become long.

During the light of a full moon, I become a night walker, keeping my head down to avoid getting smacked in the face by an unseen branch.
Sometimes, when I'm in particularly thick woods, I turn on my headlamp. But I prefer to travel at night without it. I like the mystery. Without sight, sound and smell become more acute. I pick my way along the creek by listening to the water's flow. I judge the distance I've traveled by the smell of the familiar cedar trees and swamps along the creek.

By the light of the full moon, I can see just enough shapes beyond the immediate three feet in front of me and the trip becomes more interesting as my mind becomes more engaged. The small white pine branch gently waving in the breeze becomes something else in my mind. Is it man or beast? Is it watching me? Could it be following me?

Not long after we begin our walk, the dogs move on ahead and well out of the range of my senses. They don't have the dependence on sight that hinders my night travel. Sometimes, they are led by their noses in a big circle and come back to me from behind. I stand frozen as I hear their thundering approach and it takes me a few seconds to interpret what has happened.

Unlike the day, when blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees and ravens fill the woods with sounds, full-moon nights are for the owl. One will call close by and the other will return the call from a distance, both cries echoing off the steep banks of the creek.

Occasionally a tree will fall. It happens infrequently enough that it takes me a few minutes to calm myself and remember that the beaver, like the owl, are night workers.

A quivering pine branch, the rustling of leaves behind me, a falling tree, and the hooting of a couple of great horned owls, all in the backdrop of a full moon, are the perfect formula for a messy mind to create all kinds of mystery and peril. But there's nothing to do but go on. I'm in the middle of it now and going back will not be less difficult than moving forward.

And finally there are lights. It's the hunting camp of my friends who come north to hunt and explore the woods just south of my house. Another passage into the unknown has been navigated successfully and I'm rewarded by warmth and friends. I'll visit for awhile, rest and enjoy the campfire. Then the dogs and I will follow the two-track back to my home.

As I reach the end of that two-track and cross the open field that leads to my house, I'm awed by the beauty of that field under a full-moon night. The lichen glistens like pools of silver and the dead grasses bend to those silvery pools as though drinking nectar.

I sometimes wonder why I choose to start my full-moon walks through the woods along the creek, picking my way, when this perfectly good
two-track can easily serve as a way to accomplish dog walking after dark and avoid the dangers, both real and imagined, in the woods. But I know the truth about myself. I love the mystery and the unknown of the woods at night. And a full moon brings to the front of my mind all those mysterious and dangerous things that folklore associates with such a moon. And, truth be told, the adrenaline isn't bad either. I feel so much more awake and alive when I reach that campfire.

Coach's Challenge: Get to know a place in the wilds. Get to know it well by day. Then experience it on a full-moon night and get to know
yourself anew.

"Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That and surprise." ~Julia Cameron

"Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity." ~R.
I. Fizhenry