Monday, March 21, 2011

Super Moon

Before last Saturday, the last time there was a supermoon was January 19th, 1992. It's possible I didn't realize it. At the time I had two busy four-year-olds, we were both working some crazy hours and I was six months pregnant. I probably looked like I was carrying a big moon around under my clothes.

I find the moon romantic, dreamy and enchanting. Something about it captures my imagination and I love that we spent a fair amount of time reading stories, telling tales or singing songs about it to our boys growing up. Even if a children's book wasn't specifically about the moon, there was always a page or two illustrated with a plump melon moon or a crescent-shaped slice of moon smiling down on one character or another. In the last house we lived in I knelt on the couch with freshly  jammied little boys on clear evenings to watch it, waxing or waning in various phases, hovering in the sky above our neighborhood. There are a few urgent, "Mom...come here...you have to look at the moon..." requests that still resound. Honestly, I love the thought that no matter where in the world we are....we're all looking up at the same one, sharing its beauty and mystery.

I wanted a picture of this supermoon so we chased it around for awhile Saturday evening. We chose a spot that would give it perspective. I had visions of a colorful orb slowly rising, revealing itself between two soft hills, chunky boulders in the foreground.

Turns out we arrived early. It wasn't going to happen for awhile, so we left and returned after a pizza. Marc stayed in the car while I set up. When I motioned for him to pull forward I lost a leg off my tri-pod; it was dark and I didn't realize I had placed it too close to the back wheel. Thank goodness my camera wasn't attached! A few wobbly shots later it was cloudy and nothing was turning out, so we gave up, headed home and watched a movie.

Around midnight I noticed a break in the clouds. One more try and it turns out that the best shot was from our backyard. Goodnight Moon.



On Saturday the moon was 220,625 miles away from the earth. At it's furthest it can be 250,000 miles away.




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the picture!
I so admire your way with words. They take me into your memories and then immediately into mine... Best loved line this post....

"freshly jammied little boys".

I had some of those too. Now I can relive those moments when my grandson stays here. Nothing like snuggling a freshly bathed child while reading a good book. When the time comes for you and Marc to have this experience again, you will both be "over the moon".... so to speak. (hehehe!)
Maureen

thisfriendlyvillage said...

Thanks Maureen...so glad you liked this. Yes...I remember our boys together when they were little....It went fast! You are a good mom and grandma! OK...Let's both look at the same moon tonight... :)

Leciawp said...

Wow! To this story, to this image. The moon has been incredible all week. Happily we've had enough cloud breaks to see it. The past few mornings it's been shining brightly on the water, outside my bedroom window as I wake up.

thisfriendlyvillage said...

Thank you, Lecia. What a wonderful way to wake up!

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