Sturgeon Moon

Blog: 8/12/22 Hideaway Pond — hideawaypond.com

August. How did that happen? Didn’t we just celebrate Memorial Day? That old necromancer, Father Time, is plying his magic again.

Yet it’s been a very busy time on the Pond. Auxo, goddess of summer, has danced with her small Hideaway critters all season. Ever see a critter do a plie’? Me neither.

Squirrels skitter about the property seeking roots, nuts, & buds. And rabbits make a non-stop assault on the clover. Embarrassing. A reclusive woodchuck occasionally joins the party from his home beneath the porch. There may be a Charlotte under there too. Still water runs deep.

Three does with fawns of different age and size visit several times a week. They often graze by the ledge while a buck wades in the nearby water and enjoys pond side vegetation.

Turtles sun bathe on a log near the island. Reptile indolence. While a large heron makes a daily poaching run on our star crossed fish. Nary a word of thanks.

While we’ve seen no cubs yet, adult males are out and active. A male will mark his territory by scratching his back on a tree to leave behind hair and scent. One can see bare areas on trees where Smokey has made his mark. Feels good too. Or so I’m told.

A few years ago a bear mistook one of our power poles for a tree. He broke the line that fed power to the house. I’m sure it wasn’t his best day either.

Tonight is a special night in the Catskill skies. A full “super moon“ will fly overhead. It is so named because this is the closest it comes to Earth in its elliptical orbit. Its parigee. Thus making it appear slightly larger than usual. The September super moon was also named the sturgeon moon by early American natives. This was the time of year when sturgeon were most frequently caught in the Great Lakes and Hudson River.

The moon will share the heavens with the Perseid meteor shower tonight. The Perseid meteor shower occurs each year in mid-August when the Earth passes through the dusty trail of the Comet Swift-Tuttle. When those comet bits slam into Earth’s atmosphere, they can spawn bright trails as they streak across the sky. They appear to radiate out from the constellation Perseus, hence their name.

So a special drama will drift above and light the Catskills tonight. The Sturgeon moon and Perseid meteors will dance together in the cosmos. Then gradually fade into morning, late August. And September.