Blossom Moon, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, May 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
The May Blossom Moon rose quietly over Lake Michigan. Saturday night, she dodged high cirrus clouds and streaks of intermittent rain. Sunday she was more sure of herself, dressed in pale yellow with a silvery sheen on glacial tides. Does the Moon pull the tides across the Great Lakes? I think she does.
The Chippewa and Ojibway called May’s moon, Blossom Moon. The Eastern Cherokee, the Planting Moon. The Farmers’ Almanac blends into Flower Moon. In some climates, blossoms are slower to the surface than others. Spring arrives in southern New Mexico or east central Georgia much quicker than it does to parts of the Midwest or Minnesota.
There are moon references to shedding horses from the Sioux and the Northern Arapaho — When the Ponies Shed Their Shaggy Hair. That reminds me of a horsehair carriage blanket I inherited from my Aunt Cassie. I had it hanging on the wall for a time in Missoula. The horsehair served as a lapwarmer.
I was surprised at how stiff and coarse the blanket was. How did they weave it together? With white-knuckled fingers, long needles, and bleeding fingertips? Two artists in the Casket Arts Building are working with horsehair in their art. One has incorporated it into an oil painting. The other, as hair sprouting from a clay-fired face.
Yesterday, I walked in our small gardens. The bleeding heart bells are in full white regalia. The day lily greens rose a foot over the weekend I was in Wisconsin. Four of the rosebushes we transplanted late last year show signs of life. We lost three of them. Not bad odds.
We lost the bush clover. The deer ate it last year when we transplanted it down by the lilac bush. So Liz dug it up and nursed it back to life in a planter on the deck. At the end of the season, we transplanted it again and put a wire cage around it from the Garden Lady across the street. We were sad when it didn’t make it. Why? Too little water or rain? Or was it the clay-like earth in the spot where we planted it.
The strawberries we moved to the sunny rock garden hill are wild and flowering. I couldn’t see the moon last night. I think we are into the New Moon phase now. Blossom Moon was full last Monday. Sunday night, we all walked down to the beach to take a closer look at her full moon skin. You could hear the lake tide lapping the shore. The remains of Maurine’s funeral pyre rested on the sand. There was a light wind.
I took a few shots without a tripod. I never know if they will come out. Handheld night shots are risky. But I wanted to capture the energy — the Full Blossom Moon sinking into the lake. She floats on top for a time, mesmerizing me, making me want to dive into the light. But the Mermaids know better. Never fall headfirst into the Siren’s call.
posted on red Ravine, Sunday, May 25th, 2008
-related to posts: winter haiku trilogy, PRACTICE – Wolf Moon – 10min, PRACTICE – Snow Moon (Total Lunar Eclipse) — 20min, and PRACTICE – Wind Moon – 20min, PRACTICE — Pink Frog Moon — 15min
I’m glad you attempted the photo in spite of not having a tripod. It came out amazingly well.
I love the second image, with the moon reflected in the lake. Beautiful!
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Thanks, yb. It was an amazing night. Well, both nights, walking over to the small cabin after dinner and conversation. I loved being that close to the water and the moon. I wish the moon reflected in the lake photo was a little closer and a little clearer. But I got what I got!
We had a few storms kick up last weekend, but nothing came of them. Right now, as I write, there are tornado warnings for the Twin Cities. We have all the windows open and were reading on the bed. Suddenly, the wind picked up and the sky darkened and we turned on the news. Touchdowns and large trees down in Coon Rapids, about 20 minutes from here. You just never quite get used to tornado weather in the Midwest!
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No Tripod! Nice shot Steady Hands!
I would have had to back up against a wall to stand still long enough.
High fiver Girl!
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Heather, thanks. I did have to hold my breath. 8) I’d love to get a small traveling tripod someday. Used to have one, but it died somewhere along the way. I’d love to someday take some close-ups of the many faces of the Moon.
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ooooo, lovely! I’m so glad these turned out. I remember asking you, on the beach, if it was ever possible to capture that sparkle of moonlight on the lake, and you said, something like, well, we’ll see, as you snapped your photos.
Very nice results, o ye of the steady hands and open eye.
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jude, thanks! Yes, I remember you asking me that on the beach, and I kind of hemmed and hawed because I wasn’t too sure if I had captured it or not. Or even if I had held steady enough with the hands. This was the only one with a bit of Lake Michigan sheen that came out.
It seems like it was lighter out that night, with all the moonlight. But the shot doesn’t show it. I’d have to keep the exposure open longer and use a tripod to capture all the grays of a moonlit night. For now though, I’m happy to have these shots!
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You are a keen observer of the moon, as well as other signs of the changing natural worl around you. Many beautiful images to mull over in the post, qm.
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[…] to posts: PRACTICE – Blossom Moon & haiku […]
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Christine, thank you. I think nature’s one of the things that makes me feel alive. And grounded. I sure seem to write about it often. I don’t know if I’d survive long surrounded by concrete and asphalt all the time.
Nature can be formidable though. The storm I was talking about in Comment #2 touched down in the small town of Hugo, MN and did quite a bit of damage. Whole houses were flattened down to the basements.
One little boy died when he was thrown from his house out into a pond. There are clean-up efforts going on there tomorrow. Events like that keep me in touch with the powerful forces around me. Not so much fear, as respect.
Well, I’ve gone off on a tangent. I’ve had too much time to reflect today. Heading out for the day soon. Thanks for stopping by.
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[…] to post: PRACTICE – Blossom Moon – 15min Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Strawberry MoonSpeaking to the […]
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