San Andreas is rather shifty today..maybe it's the heat..cuz it's is cooking out there..and most everywhere else. We remain in the catbird seat, another 1.2" of rain over night have things green and almost cool..
Today On Earth
August 2023 - On & Off Earth
We all have things we put off doing and reasons and excuses for their avoidance. It might be reconnecting with an old friend, digging into a garage or storage locker (why am I keeping all this stuff..) or re-visiting an old haunt. But, what ever you have been putting off, waiting on a Blue Moon, you procrastination time is over. August has two Full Moons! That makes the second full moon, a Blue Moon.
To squeeze two full moons into a month, a lunar cycle, being 29 1/2 days, requires the first full moon to be very early in the moonth (a term I used in class to see who was really paying attention). The Full Sturgeon Moon obliges, lining up behind Earth just over 14 hours into the month. The Blue (or Fruit or Barley) moon gets back around Earth again late on the 30th. Both will be near Earth (perigee) and Super moons. The Blue moon will be about 90 miles closer and the closest the moon gets to Earth for 2023. Huge tidal swings will flood coastlines worldwide.
No planets are visible in the evening sky this month until Saturn rides across the sky above and right of the Blue moon. The annual Perseid Meteor shower peaks on the night of the 12-13th but the vast size of the dusty, debris field left by Comet Swift-Tuttle increases the likelihood of spotting a shooting star on any clear August night. The sun moves from Cancer into Leo on the 12th.
Recent studies have found our brains do an amazing job filtering through the vast amount of visual input our eyes send its way. Tiny details are ignored, we see the important, relevant in that moment, view of the world. While waking to a bear in my yard and having a copperhead cruise across my patio are really rare, Blue Moon, events, they have both altered my brain’s filter settings during walks in the woods. On all recent walks, most sticks and roots are double checked for snaky-ness and any large, dark object, caught in my peripheral vision, must now pass through a ‘not a bear’ filter.
August presents other perils for outside excursions. There are still ticks and mosquitoes, flies and spider webs (yuck..) as well as the heat and humidity, although, we have mostly been spared of extremes so far this summer. Much of the Northern Hemisphere has not been so lucky and continues to deal with either record smashing heat or catastrophic rains and flooding. Let’s not get cocky or complacent, our hot days are likely ahead and hurricane season’s peak is yet to come.
August perils aside, recent rains have our world lush and green and August beckons for all the joys that only summer allows. The sweet corn is amazing these days and every meal now includes cucumbers and tomatoes fresh from the garden. But, this August adds a twist, your once in a Blue Moon reminder to stop procrastinating and get it done. I’m heading to my storage shed; again, why do I still have all this stuff.
On a sad, closing note, public education in Louisa took another hit with the sudden, too soon passing of Ava Pippin. A Louisa native, Ava’s life was dedicated to education in this county, first in the class room and later as president of the Louisa Education Foundation. She, along with longtime beau, Sherman Shifflett, are both dearly missed but their influence and contributions to education in Louisa County will long be remembered.
No rain in the Spring
Shrooms will just wait
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