The Fields of Summer Moon

It's so quiet outside tonight, the air is sweet with the smell of fresh cut hay. The full moon and soon the Persiads, it makes for a magical feeling.  Days are noticeably shorter now, and though there are birds everywhere, they are quieter.   Summer is reaching peak even in this cold and rainy year.

Lammas, the start of the harvest festival, sometimes lends it's name to this full moon.  Call it Sturgeon Moon because the huge  fish is so easier to catch at this time of year, or Barley Moon after the once very important grain crop, The Berry Moon for the abundant fruit ripe and ready for picking, the Blueberry Moon, the Blackberry Moon, the Mulberry Moon.  The  backyard gardens are producing beans and cucumbers, unlikely but fun to think about would be  The Zucchini Moon.   The Corn Moon as it is known in England.  The Dry Moon, the Dog Days Moon, by contrast this is more like late September weather, so perhaps the Woodcutter's Moon, or the Wort Moon would be more appropriate.  Lightening moon,  Wheat Moon and Harvest Moon are names also given to this moon.   The elk begin calling later this month and lending the name Elk Moon.  The haze and humidity of the Dogs Days cause the moon to appear reddish or orange, and thus the name Red Moon.

The ripening corn, pumpkin, wheat, soybeans, green beans , cabbage and other crops that line the country roads.     And the lush green fields, that will soon be harvested

remind me of the fields on my grandfather's farm, and so to me this is The Fields of Summer Moon.

 

 

photos from~~https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Woods

This year the moon is closer to earth and appears much larger.  The moon always seems to look larger when it is closer to the horizon, and was truly spectacular tonight.  This year we soon will also be treated to the Persiad meteor showers.