Sunday 30 September 2012

Harvest Moon




I stood outside in the chill, stillness of dusk. As the robin was singing a goodnight melody and the bats flitted overhead, the bright moon was rising in the eastern sky.

It was the moon that I was waiting for. A special moon; the Harvest Moon.




Ok, let's come back down to earth from the poetic idyll.
So, you say, it looks the same as any other full moon, what makes this one special?
The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox and is said to have gained the name due to the useful light it gave during the busy harvest time, thus extending the working hours.

According to my diary, the equinox was on 22nd September and the full moon is today, 30th September. Right? Well, yes, it is and we all seem to have the notion that the full moon should be in the middle of the night, making the moment of full moon during the hours of darkness tonight. Which is why last night I went out with my camera for the set-up shot, ready for THE shot tonight. That is fine as far as it goes, but if you really want to split hairs, I have already missed the moment of the full moon. That occurred at 4.19 this morning, on the 30th, which in sleeping terms, equates to last night and I certainly wasn't around for that moment. By tonight, when I set up the camera again (clouds permitting) the moon will be on the wane again but to most un-trained eyes, no-one will notice the difference. Therefore, I will try for a more exciting shot of the Harvest moon tonight, seeing as I was thwarted by a patch of cloud during the lovely deep blue dusk sky phase last night. If I don't manage another shot, at least I have these two but then...
there is another opportunity with the Hunter's Moon also known as the Sanguine Moon. This is the next full moon after the Harvest Moon, apparently named for a similarly obvious reason.

And the poetry? Actually, it really was a lovely evening.







Wonderful...  TW
 
The sky never ceases to wow, does it?  KL


Excellent !  DC

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