Sanguine Moon

This is a blurred shot of the Islander and a huge moon which visited us earlier in the week. On Sunday I'll post a much better shot, but for today here's a glimpse of how gorgeous La Luna has been. So just glimpse at the moon and close your eyes when you scan the rest of the picture.

I always thought this was the harvest moon, but Wikipedia convinced me otherwise. Evidently the harvest moon is the full moon closest to the equinox in September, and the hunter's moon occurs in October. The calendar says it's October, so Sherlock CBW is going to say this is the hunter's moon.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say on the topic:

The Hunter's Moon (also known as Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon) is the first full moon after the harvest moon, which is the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox. *****!!!!

"The Hunter's Moon is so named because plenty of moonlight is ideal for hunters shooting migrating birds in Northern Europe. The name is also said to have been used by Native Americans as they tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. The Hunter's Moon and Harvest Moon are not brighter, smaller, or yellower than during other times of the year, but all full moons have their own special characteristics, based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that they are visible. The full moons of September, October, and November, as seen from the northern hemisphere — which correspond to the full moons of March, April and May as seen from the southern hemisphere — are well known in the folklore of the sky.

...All full moons rise around the time of sunset. The Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special because - as seen from the northern hemisphere - the time of moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than usual.

...Thus there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise, around the time of these full moons. In times past, this feature of these autumn moons was said to help hunters tracking their prey (or, in the case of the Harvest Moon, farmers working in the fields). They could continue tracking their prey (or bringing in their crops) by moonlight even when the sun had gone down. Hence the name Hunter's (or Harvest) Moon.

In the northern hemisphere, the Hunter's Moon appears in October or November, usually in October. Traditionally, it was a feast day****** in parts of western Europe and among some Native American tribes, called simply the Feast of the Hunter's Moon, though the celebration had largely died out by the 1700s. There is a large historical reenactment by that name in Lafayette, Indiana during the early part of October.


*****!!!! The word "moon" is used six times in one sentence, and I didn't write this sentence, Wikipedia did. Why do I feel vindicated?

******There you have it, folks. Wikipedia is telling me that I must feast to keep the tradition going strong. That's my interpretation, anyway. Pardon me, I have some eating to do.

p.s. What do you think - is this a late Harvest Moon or the Hunter's Moon? Am I the only one who hadn't heard of Hunter's Moon before? Or, am I the only one whose brain revolted and dumped all functioning memory cells in a ditch somewhere between U.Va., Northern Virginia and Mathews a few decades ago?