Chapter 231028: Flambé’s latest Misadventure ………………. Full Hunter’s Moon of October

Keep on reading to learn more about the October 28th Full Hunter’s Moon, some interesting facts about a top oceanic predator, and a near Misadventure triggered by Flambé. Luckily, Kat still has 6 of her 9 lives, and lives to take on the world tomorrow!

October 28, 2023

The Full Hunter’s Moon

Ocean Cruising Soaking Wet Kat (Flambé’s Carnival Life)

As the Full October Moon climbed stealthily but surely over a horizon lined with restless waves, the ocean came alive with eerie sounds.  Slipping like silk through the clear black water was a pod of Killer Whales; an armada of 17 led by the 26 year old matriarch. Following the brilliant glow of the Hunter’s Moon as it spilled across the waves, she was guiding them south to their winter feeding grounds, encouraging the pod to keep in close formation by communicating with whistles, chirps, squeaks and a sound akin to the opening of a rusted door hinge! 

Not whales at all, these mammals, best referred to as Orca, are the largest member of the dolphin family. Averaging 26 feet long and weighing as much as 6 tons, Orca are considered apex oceanic predators, as they have no natural predators themselves. Feeding on everything from fish to seals, penguins, sea otters, sea birds, octopus and dolphins, Orca are skillful and formidable hunters. Sometimes called “the wolves of the sea,” they have learned how to “stalk” in packs. Another hunting strategy is intimidation through the use of scare tactics. When they sense a bounty of beach basking prey such as seals, one Orca quickly rushes up to the water’s edge, frightening the animals back into the water right into the open jaws of the waiting pack!

It was this very night that almost cost Flambé the hair on her chinny, chin, chin (or worse!). Lost in dreamy thought, Kat was calmly afloat on the ocean to cool off from a hot sticky day of kat-napping. She was about to call a few fish friends to join her (maybe for or as a late night snack), when the smooth yet brilliant glow of the Full October Moon on the water jiggled ever so slightly. Curious about this disturbance, she parted the kelp-like flotsam to peer intently beneath the gentle waves. Good thing her feline vision quickly adapted to the gloom, because barely a whisker away was a gargantuan black and white rubberized wetsuit with a toothy grin, curiously looking right back at Flambé! Meowing a bubbly meow of surprise, she tried to kat-paddle at her toppest speed only to become hopelessly entangled in the fronds of the floating foliage. Fearing her fate was sealed, a deafening chorus of whistles, clicks and chirps filled her ears. Unbeknownst to Kat (she doesn’t speak Orca at all!) a rapid-fire discussion about their strange encounter spread rapidly throughout the pod. “What is this soggy mess of wet fur?” “Is it edible?” “Let’s take it with us as a play thing!,” exclaimed one of the yearling calves. 

When the Orcas gathered in a circle around the hopelessly entangled mystery, it was decided that if “it” could leap out of the water, it would be fun to have this oddity to show off when they reached their wintering grounds. So the Orcas tugged and pulled away all of the strings and strands ensnaring “it” and while the freed and very relieved Flambé watched in amazement, the yearling calf jumped high and clear of the water demonstrating what she was to do to become an initiated member of the pod.

Well, have you ever seen a kat swimming in the ocean, let alone able to jump high and clear of the water? But as quickly as she realized her dilemma, Flambé hopped on the back of the energetic calf, surprising him into once again jumping high and clear of the water! Kat had done it! And as promised, she became an official adopted member of the pod, and off she cruised south with these Orcas in their black and white wetsuits. 

Several months later, I received a telegram from Flambé describing her amazing voyage. Of course she now knows how to speak “Orca,” and has learned some new hunting strategies that might just work on land. And those gargantuan oceanic creatures know more than they ever hoped to know about the life and times of Flambé! 

Now, what about this month’s Full Moon?

Why “Hunter’s Moon”?

October’s Full Moon has been called the Hunter Moon since the early 1700s. This name is pretty intuitive, as Fall is typically the time when game animals have been and are still hunted today. By now, animals such as deer, elk, turkey, pheasant, etc. have fattened up in anticipation of winter, and cooler temperatures makes preserving game meat ideal. In addition, tracking and hunting is made easier as falling leaves from trees and brush greatly improves visibility.

On an historical note, this is the time of year when fox hunting in Anglo-Saxon regions of the world took place, because the stubble in harvested fields provided favorable conditions for spotting and pursuing these animals.  

The multitudes of alternative meanings and names for the Full Hunter’s Moon

Rather than referring to the person who hunts, the Stockbridge-Munster (Wisconsin) and the Tunica (Louisiana) tribes call this Full Moon the “Hunting Moon” in association with the action.

To show the association with hunting as a bloody season, in Pagan, Wicca, and English Medieval traditions, this Full Moon is called the “Blood Moon” or “Sanguine Moon.”

A name related to food harvest,“When They Store Food Caches,” is the name used by the Ponca tribe of the southern Great Plains.

October weather conditions such as dropping temperatures, falling leaves, and frosts resulted in several related Full Moon names: “Falling Leaves Moon” (Ojibwe, Abenaki, and Arapaho); “Moon When the Wind Shakes off Leaves” (Lakota); “Wilted Moon” (Shawnee); “White Frost on Grass Moon” (Algonquin); “Moon of the First Frost” (Potawatomi); “Moon when Freeze Begins on Stream’s Edge” (Cheyenne).

October’s Full Moon names have been influenced by changes in animal patterns and people movement: “Moon the Birds Fly South” (Cree); “Bears Hibernate” (Haida); “Travels in Canoes Moon (Wishram); “Travel Moon” (Iroquois and Algonquin); “The Moon When Quilling and Beading is Done” (Dakota).

That’s All for this month. 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.