I did a post nearly a year ago for 2018. Last year, the Strawberry Moon appeared after the Summer Solstice. It’s also referred to as the Flower Moon and this year, it is also a Fathers’ Day Moon (I just made that up). Full illumination occurred at 4:30am EDT. Howl for me! ~Vic
Standing in my driveway.
I supposed my photos could be impressionist like Monet.
The colorful name is closely linked with the spread of warmer weather across the Northern Hemisphere and many Native American and, First Nations peoples, have special names for this full moon. The Algonquin tribes of what is now New England coined the nickname Full Strawberry Moon because the phase marked the best time of year to harvest the wild fruit. Similarly, the Cherokee of the southeastern woodlands knew the moon as the Green Corn Moon, the time of year when fresh corn ears grow best.
The sweetest full moon of the year is June’s full moon […]. While the full moon itself is inedible, despite how round and delicious it may seem, the Full Strawberry Moon marks strawberry harvesting season in North America. Most Algonquin tribes understood that it was a sign that wild strawberries were starting to ripen and ready for the harvest. Delicious though ripe strawberries may be, June’s full moon has another name that’s even sweeter. What could possibly be sweeter than strawberries? Try honey. In Europe, June’s full moon was actually known as the Honey Moon. Other European names for it included the Hot Moon, signifiying the beginning of hot summer days, or Hay Moon, because of the first hay harvest. Those names aside, European names for the Full Strawberry Moon overall tend to have sweet, romantic connotations, a good example [being] the name Full Rose Moon. June’s full moon is also called Mead Moon, which could refer to the mowing of meadows during summer but, there’s another more romantic interpretation as well.
Power lines always get in the way.
In Europe, it’s traditional to gift mead or honey to a newlywed couple during their first moon of marriage. The name Honey Moon, itself, has now become a common word in the English language, used to refer to the honeymoon holiday that couples go on right after they’re married. It used to be that newlyweds in ancient Europe would go on a sweet romantic holiday around the time of June’s full moon because the moon phases were seen as a symbol for the phases of a marriage with the full moon signifying the fullest and happiest part, the wedding itself. The Full Strawberry Moon is tied to romance and marital bliss all around the world. In India, for example, June’s full moon is celebrated as Vat Purnima where married women perform a ceremonial ritual to show their love for their husbands. Vat Purnima is based off a legend from the Mahabharata about a beautiful woman, Savitri, who is determined to save her husband, Satyavan, who is doomed to die an early death. Savitri fasts for three days before Satyavan dies, upon which she successfully negotiates with the King of Hell for the resurrection of her husband. Similarly, married women nowadays dress up in beautiful saris, fast and tie a thread around a banyan tree seven times to wish that their husbands will lead long, happy lives.
Peaking through the Willow Oak.
It is no wonder, then, that the Pagans also call June’s full moon the Lovers’ Moon. This is an excellent time to work on the connections in your life, romantic or otherwise, by showing affection to your loved ones and allowing yourself to be vulnerable to encourage intimacy in your relationships. During this Honey Moon, some Hoodoo practitioners will even use honey in magic rituals to sweeten other people’s feelings towards the practitioner. An example of a sweetening ritual is to pour honey into a saucer containing the target’s name before lighting a candle on top of it. Another example of a honey ritual is to tie two poppets together with honey between them in order to heal a broken relationship between two people. Honey rituals aside, true magic may happen when you invest your time and effort during this month to work on your relationships and, appreciate the love you have in your life.
This is a Chrysanthemum that I planted back in 2014. It must have been very happy where I put it because it was huge two years later. It finally gave up the next year. ~Vic
In November of 2015, Patrick Dougherty of Stickwork was commissioned by the Hillsborough Arts Council to craft a sculpture for our Riverwalk. The saplings were sustainably harvested from the Ayr Mount Historic Site. In December of last year, the heavy snowfall damaged the original piece and it was finally taken down. I’m glad I got some photos of it. ~Vic
These beauties have their own timetable. They bloom early, even when it is still cold…or snowing, no less. They are quite happy underneath Mr. Sugar Maple. ~Vic
I climbed into a guy’s car for a road test and met his little friend. I asked him if he minded me taking a picture of it. He posed her a little bit for me. Then, I asked him “Favorite past-time?” “Nah.” was his response. “It was gift from a friend…a female friend, no less.”
This comes under the heading of Things You Don’t See Everyday. I DO miss this job sometimes. ~Vic
I snapped this at my friend’s house with my old flip phone. It was trying its best to grow up on the porch. I have no idea what it is…other than pretty pink. ~Vic
From October 2014 to August 2016, I was a Driver’s License Examiner. I had several interesting encounters and experiences. The job wasn’t bad but, HQ was a terrible problem. Politics is a nasty business.
This kid was the customer of one of my co-workers but, I started to giggle when I read it. He didn’t mind me taking a picture. ~Vic
Cosmic-Observation 