Chapter 231127: Flambé’s latest Misadventure ………………. Full Beaver Moon of November

Keep on reading to learn more about the November 27th Full Beaver Moon, concluding a “Full” year of named Moons. It’s been a fun trip around the Sun learning about the different names of each Full Moon and interesting facts describing our only natural satellite that lights up the night sky with her smiling face. Flambé has looked forward to the rising of every Full Moon, happy to share her cautious to exciting encounters with the cast of characters that name each month’s Moon. Follow the link below to read Kat’s conversation with a sleepy beaver who is about to fulfill her naming obligation for another year.

November 27, 2023

The Full Beaver Moon of November

So why is the November Full Moon called the Beaver Moon?

There are two likely reasons behind the name “Beaver Moon.” At this time of year beaver take shelter in their lodges, which are stuffed full of enough food to last for the long winter ahead. It’s also at this time of year when beaver are usually trapped for their very thick, winter warm pelts.

But what may not be so likely …… the real story why the November Full Moon is called the Full Beaver Moon goes something like this!

Flambé is quickly growing her heavy winter coat, and not a day too soon. With the first snowstorm already fallen and melted, and freezing overnight temperatures more common than not, can winter be far away? With that “rhetorical” on her mind, Kat was itching to take one last Full Moon illuminated walk down by the river before teeth chattering weather officially sets in. 

As she was silently scoping out a fully foliaged fern frond for a mess of mice with the midnight munchies, Flambé realized her snooping was being critically scrutinized.  Thanks to the brilliant glow of the Full Moon, a trio of rare river blue fungi, thinking it was daytime, had popped up from the roots of an equally rare lunar flux tree. As Kat gazed skyward at the hilariously grinning ‘shrooms, she gasped as the silhouette of a ginormous rodent, contentedly feasting on a fistful of wilted flower stems, came into focus.

Recovering from her shock encounter, Flambé realized this was no mere mouse on steroids. This extra furry creature with a tail that could paddle a canoe or even whack one of those little red rubber balls on a rubberband tether, was unmistakably the continent’s largest rodent. A Beaver, perfectly backlit by Moon glow and the tree’s radiant river blue berries, had his backside propped against the tree. 

“I know you, Beaver,” hollered up Flambé. “But what are you doing out on this late night in November? Shouldn’t you be tucked away in your cozy lodge this time of year?”  

That Beaver turned ever so slightly, looked down at Kat, and said, “Don’t you know that after my dam is well built and my lodge is beautifully constructed and fully stocked with enough tree branches to satisfy my appetite until Spring, I have one more duty to fulfill before sleeping?”  

Flambé flipped her tail and crossed her green eyes in puzzlement. “Tell me, Beaver, what job is so important that it requires you to remain awake this night?”

And the dedicated Beaver said, “My last official job of the year is to pose like a statue in front of the Full November Moon until she sets.  Not until this work is done, can I enjoy my well deserved winter rest in safety knowing that all who pass my river banks on this night will know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I, Beaver, live here. And once night turns to day, and the Full Moon falls below the horizon, my “Do Not Disturb Until Spring” sign is posted for all to see and heed. Now leave me, foolish feline, so that I can complete my task and finally retreat to my lodge to sleep.”

And with that most unsocial of social calls, the gargantuan Beaver resumed his post with backside against the tree, displaying his perfect silhouette against the glow of the Full November Moon, unmistakably the Full Beaver Moon!

Alternate November Full Moon Names

But the name of this month’s Full Moon isn’t only to highlight the beaver behavior as they prepare for winter. The actions of other animals was recognized by the Tlingit who called the Full Moon “Digging (or Scratching) Moon.” They noted many animals forage for fallen nuts and collect shoots of green foliage, and that bear dig their winter dens at this time of year. The Dakota and Lakota named the Full Moon “Deer Rutting Moon” noting this is the time when deer seek mates. “Whitefish Moon” was used by the Algonquin noting this is spawning time for this fish.  

Seasonal changes that take place in November were referenced by the Cree and Assiniboine who named the Full Moon the “Frost Moon.” The Anishinaabe called the Full Moon the “Freezing Moon.”

This draws to a close my one-year project to learn all about the many names given to our Full Moon and the history behind those names. But what I didn’t encounter on this quest was the reason we call Earth’s only naturally occurring satellite “the Moon.” So, in a footnote to my Full Moon collection, I’ll add these tidbits …..

Earth’s only natural satellite is simply called “the Moon” because people didn’t know other moons existed until Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610. In Latin, the Moon was called Luna, which is the main adjective for all things Moon-related: lunar.      (Source: NASA.gov)

The word moon can be traced to the word mōna, an Old English word from medieval times. Mōna shares its origins with the Latin words metri, which means to measure, and mensis, which means month. So the Moon is called the Moon because it was a way to measure the months. (Source: space.com)

And there you have it!
Please let me know if you enjoyed reading all 12 of Flambé’s misadventures, along with my 12 posts sharing the wide variety of names for each month’s Full Moon. It was fascinating learning where these names came from, who was responsible, and why the names were important, especially to native peoples. And Flambé? She makes me laugh! Enough said!