What do you call your moon this month?

Moon watching is something I'm doing more of now that I'm on land, rather than big city living. A full moon means I can move around in the dark without a flashlight. I can't do that when it's a new moon. The moon rise changes every day, so whether the moon is up at a helpful time, or being out-competed by the sun is something useful to know. I've been researching on the web for a couple of years about the geology of North America (although some of the "background" information predates that name by several epoch!) However, the Moon affects the Earth and vice versa, in some extremely important ways for life to continue as we know it, so it's worth knowing a bit about it.

Moon Trivia

1. "Scientists estimate that, in the last several hundred million years, the diameter of the Moon has gotten about 150 feet (50 meters) smaller." https://moon.nasa.gov/inside-and-out/dynamic-moon/overview/

2. "So, a million years ago, the Moon was about 16 miles more or less closer to the Earth. The moon is moving about 3.8 cm every year so based on this the moon will be 380000000 cms or 3800 kilometers further away from the earth in a million years." https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-history-of-the-Moons-distance-from-the-Earth-and-how-will-its-distance-change-over-the-next-one-million-years

3. "When the Moon is the farthest away, it's 252,088 miles away. That's almost 32 Earths. When it's closest, the Moon is 225,623 miles away." https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-distance/en/

There's a much more complex dance happening between the moon and the earth than I expected, and things that happen to earth, like large meteor strikes, huge earthquakes/tsunamis, and tectonic plate changes, affect that relationship at least on a geological scale. People are paying more attention. This spring our government weather site issued a warning when a large spring high tide corresponded to an expected windstorm. Caution was advised.

Moon Names  https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-names

However, I've also noticed in the last few years, that in the news and on the web, the Moon is being given extra names. It makes sense to me that in prehistory, the moon affected Humans and their actions, and it would have been an important time-keeper for them. But those "extra names" are more geographically, and environmentally related than just calling it Moon.

For example, the Cree called the December Moon, " Frost Exploding Trees Moon". I can't imagine Indigenous People in Florida relating to that name! Whereas, "Long Night Moon" (Mohican) would make sense all over Europe and North American, but the Australians would suggest that was backwards.

One name for March's moon is the Worm Moon as this was the time that insect larvae would emerge from the bark of trees. Most earthworms were wiped out in North American by the last ice age, and were reintroduced by humans, so now many gardeners think of those worms when they hear that name. However, the Full Worm Moon is about to happen overnight March 24/25 and it will be exta-special, as some areas will be treated to a moon eclipse. Check the local time if you want to see a show that's been intriguing humans since antiquity.

The Challenge

What would be appropriate names for your region and ecosystem? We don't get much snow, but our Crocus' seem to show up and bloom in February. The Fawn Lily erupt from the ground in March as if by magic. I'm expecting to see actual fawns any time now.  Do you all have some favourite "moon times"?

Northern Moon.  The roads in my immediate area take a number of odd curves and turns.  It is very easy to get confused as to what direction one is driving in.  Houses and property often sit at odd angles rather than the more normal Midwest checkerboard lay out.  There is a stretch of road that approaches my home where everyone I have ridden with is certain is heading north. At night they are shocked to see that we are driving into the moon.

Seed Moon

Sowing season and symbol of the start of the new year.

Many great perspectives, and guides to life, come from indigenous peoples, who lived permaculture type lifestyles before the term "permaculture" was ever coined.

Hawaii is a great example of this.  Here is a presentation about the Hawaiian moon calendar and the Hawaiian perspective of the natural environment.  The moon phases greatly affected day to day life and choices for gardening, fishing, and spiritual activities.  



I was able to find the video at this web link, which strives to bring deeper understanding and perpetuation of Hawaiian cultural practices.  

https://www.kuleanahawaii.org/moon-calendar-planting

After watching it through a telescope, I can't un-see those ridges and craters. We call it Moon any month. Every month but we have different image in our minds.
Overall, it's a mysterious beauty as the rest of the Universe

"We went to the moon and discovered Earth".
Neil deGrasse Tyson

Jay,

I'm from northern Indiana, where the Iroquois tried to extend the longhouse (the colloquial name for their nation) into Algonquin territory along the Great Lakes. They found the Miami people who were mostly agrarian and peaceful to be the mightiest of warriors when necessity demanded it. The Miami are Algonquin by language group, and a remnant of those relocated by the government decided to stay behind. They continue as a community headquartered in Peru, Indiana. The Algonquin had some pretty descriptive and interesting names for the twelve full moons, though there is a lot of variation. These were the most common:

January - Wolf Moon: When packs of hungry wolves would move closer to settlements
February - Hunger Moon: For obvious reasons
March - Worm Moon or Sap Moon: When the ground thaws allowing earthworms to emerge and tree sap to run
April - Pink Moon: When serviceberries bloom
May - Flower Moon: For obvious reasons
June - Strawberry Moon: When strawberries are ripe
July - Buck Moon: When male deer get their antlers in preparation for mating season
August - Green Corn Moon: When fresh corn is ready for harvest (not for grain)
September - Harvest Moon: The full moon allowed for harvesting later into the evenings
October - Hunter's Moon: Also a continuation of Harvest Moon, hunting was possible by moonlight
November - Beaver Moon: When the beavers begin preparing for winter
December - Cold Moon: For obvious reasons

j

Worm Moon would be one of those that doesn't make sense in the geography of the Canadian prairies - our average high for March 24 in Winnipeg is 1.5C and average low -8.7C - any larvae that emerged now would become bugsicles.

Growing up as the son of a farmer, the only one I heard about was the Harvest Moon.  The lights on machinery decades ago weren't what they are now, so having a bright orb in the sky made it much easier and allowed them to continue to combine until the straw got tough as temperatures dropped and moisture condensed on the swaths.  Depending on the crop, where I grew up, harvest started in mid- to late-August and continued until done or snowfall, whichever occurred first, so there could be a couple month's worth of "harvest moons" rather than a particular month.  During harvest, enough grain dust can be in the air which can give the moon some spectacular colour as well.

Of course Monday (Lundi in French) is named for the moon.

Another bit of trivia folks may not know is that the moon cycle plays a role in our calendar.  Easter Sunday is chosen as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere).  So, the earliest Eastern can be would be about March 22/23 theoretically, but this year on March 31 is quite a bit earlier than usual.  

On the Weedy Garden YouTube channel (from Australia) yesterday, I watched a video about planting crops based on the lunar cycle - it was suggested planting different types of crops (leafy, fruit, root) based on different parts of the lunar cycle.  I found it intriguing, but for us, with a relatively short growing season, frost dates are probably more critical such that delaying planting by a few weeks to get the "ideal" part of the lunar cycle could potentially be disastrous for obtaining a yield.

Derek Thille wrote:On the Weedy Garden YouTube channel (from Australia) yesterday, I watched a video about planting crops based on the lunar cycle - it was suggested planting different types of crops (leafy, fruit, root) based on different parts of the lunar cycle.  I found it intriguing, but for us, with a relatively short growing season, frost dates are probably more critical such that delaying planting by a few weeks to get the "ideal" part of the lunar cycle could potentially be disastrous for obtaining a yield.

Here's the YouTube video - Weedy Garden Planting by Moon Phase

Here in my town, we have the Invisible Moon, so named for the fact that we never see it through the rainclouds...

I think this month it would be deer rutting moon. They seem to have started calling early this year.

This time of year it might be a harvest moon.

Though ever so often it might be:

https://permies.com/t/150633/Blue-Moon-Special-Moon-Night