I have always been fascinated with the harvest moon, especially with how big it looks. I know we're supposed to think the huge size is an optical illusion nowadays, but I must say I am not really convinced that some trick of resonance with golden pumpkins and ripe corn doesn't inflate its image as seen by earthlings during harvest season. Or warm air cooling, or something.
Every year, I feel a pull from that moon, a need to go outside and look at its shape and whatever I can see of its mottled surface. I love its yellower-than-usual color and how it seems to hang right over the tops of the trees, brushing them with bright moonlight. I'm sorry to say Halloween was not a favorite holiday when I was a kid, being too closely associated with Twilight Zone and similar fantasies, but the moon made the season worthwhile. I kept sketches of its shape every night during October most years.
Today, it's hard to remember there IS a moon, we are so insulated. But moonlight sneaks around the curtains and stripes the blue bedroom rug, and I have to go and look. Is it round? Gibbous? Waxing or waning? When does it rise and set each night? You do realize (or maybe not) that rising/setting times change a lot each day? If you're not a moon-watcher, give it a try this season. It will pull you in.
cheers,
Lorelei
1 comment:
Shine On, Harvest Moon used to be my favorite song because it reminded me of the banana yellow ball of fall, and I agree, it's totally bigger than at other times of year. In harvest, it's yellower too and you can see why people used to think "cheese."
Rilette M
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