Chapter 230703: Flambé’s latest Misadventure ………………. July’s Full “Buck” Supermoon  

“Your growing antlers are proof of your intimate place in the forest—for of all the things that live and grow only the trees and the deer shed their foliage each year and replace it more strongly, more magnificently, in the spring.” – Felix Salten

A Fairy Tale in Silhouette – as told by Flambé 

Once upon a cloudless night, in a field of Warts ‘n Wobbles, roamed a fabled Vipson deer. The young buck, proudly dressed in softly felted antlers, quietly sniffed the air. He detected an artificial Hush afoot; a loud quiet in disguise, deeply hidden in newly-cropped Walu. His common-sense caution, an inherent trait which has served Vipson for as long as a day is honest, was suddenly overcome by his curious nature. Even tangles of braided Irevir wound tightly around his hooves were only momentarily effective in distracting the buck from investigating. The lush Oasis he called home has surely been invaded by a PdA …… a pesky darn anomaly, a peculiarity desiring admittance, a paradoxically divergent aberration ….. and the source must be rooted out, tout sweet!

don’t stop now! …………

His immediate dilemma was the ferreting out, the tracking down, the turning up of this pretty dang annoying trespasser. But Vipson deer aren’t known for their night vision, which is why they sleep from the moment it gets dark to the first snickers of daylight in the morning.  So what to do? If the PdA isn’t located soon, the buck won’t be able to rest. While pondering this pressing dilemma, the night sky seemed to grow brighter by the minute as a great yellow super torch rose into the cloudless night, illuminating the fields of his Oasis. The drab grey landscape magically transformed into every color of the rainbow until suddenly night became day. At that moment, deep beneath the protective cover of a striped Zedbra, a slight purring-stirring became audible. “Could it be possible?” huffed the Vipson. “Is this none other than a pretty dreadful actor imitating a ferocious furry feline lying in wait until I nod off?” 

Her rest disturbed and hiding place revealed, Flambé peered skyward.  There, in silhouette against July’s Supermoon, was a fabled Vipson deer, a young buck, exactly like the one in the bedtime story told by her mother. Except that fairy tale of old had come true, proving the real reason for the name of this month’s Full Moon! Kat was agog, and blinked her eyes just to prove she wasn’t seeing things ……. or was she? When she looked up again, the field full of Warts ‘n Wobbles was empty; not a single sign of the Vipson anywhere! 

Was Flambé imagining things? Did the young Vipson buck return to make friends? Was Kat actually sleeping in a field of Warts ‘n Wobbles? If not, what woke her? Have you ever watched a Super Buck Moon rise into the summer sky? Now …….

Now a Bit About the Super Buck Moon

Independence Day Eve, July 3rd, will be illuminated with this month’s Full Buck Moon, a Supermoon.  This Super Buck Moon will be 17% bigger and 30% brighter than many other Full Moons rising during 2023, but detecting the “bigger” & “brighter” Supermoon will take super-vision. Otherwise, it’s just cool to know the July Full Buck Moon is the first of four Supermoons to appear throughout the remainder of 2023.

July’s Full Buck Supermoon will orbit closer to Earth than many of the other Full Moons this year, its nearest point will be 224,896 miles away. The only closer Supermoon will be the August Blue Moon (but that’s a story for next month!).

Check out the Full Moon Fun Facts, below, to read more about Supermoons.

July’s Full Moon is called the “Buck” Moon because antlers of male deer (aka Bucks) are in full growth mode this time of year. 

Alternate July Full Moon Names

It’s not surprising that there are many other names for the July Full Moon, and like the commonly used name, Buck, several alternates also reference animals; Feather Molting Moon (Cree) and Salmon Moon (Tlingit).

References to plants, including fruits, are also names used for July’s Full Moon.  Examples are Berry Moon (Anishinaabe), Moon When Chokecherries are Ripe (Dakota), Month of the Ripe Corn Moon (Cherokee), and Raspberry Moon (Algonquin Ojibwe).

And of course, the stormy weather associated with the summer season have inspired names like Thunder Moon (Western Abenaki) and Halfway Summer Moon (Anishinaabe). 

Full Moon Fun Facts ……… what exactly is a “Supermoon?”

The Moon takes about 27 days to orbit Earth. During this time there is a point where the Moon is closest (perigee) and furthest (apogee) to Earth. A Full Moon is referred to as a Supermoon when it occurs at the same time as perigee (its closest point of orbit). The Full Moon earns its Supermoon status only when it is within 90% of perigee.

Three to four Supermoons occur in a year, but usually don’t take place back-to-back. This year, 2023, seems to be an exception. The first Supermoon of the year happens July 3rd (the Super Buck Moon). The next three Supermoons quickly follow ….. August 1st (Super Sturgeon Moon), August 31st (Super Blue Moon), and September 29th (Super Harvest Moon). 

A Few More Moon Fun Facts

July 20, 1969 …. Neil Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the Moon, placing a U.S flag there to mark the momentous occasion. As he stepped down on the surface, he proclaimed, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since that historic day, July 20th has been and continues to be celebrated as National Moon Day, a reminder of this remarkable achievement in space exploration.

July 31, 1999 ….. some of the ashes of Eugene Shoemaker, astrogeologist, were carried to and deposited on the Moon by the a Lunar Prospector Mission (2 years after his untimely death). Eugene was one of the co-discoverers of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, that hit Jupiter in July 1994. (From our personal telescope, we were able to watch this incredible event from our home in Klamath Falls, Oregon!) 

Until next month and our next Full Moon, don’t forget to look up!

As always, Flambé invites you to follow her Zentangle-inspired antics (ZIAs) by visiting her page called Tangled Up, to see what trouble she always seems to find, past and present.