Monday, February 6, 2023
On the beach between BW 1 and 2
Sunset – 5:56 pm
Moonrise – 6:52 pm
High Tide – 8:50 pm
Full Snow Moon
The actual full moon is Sunday at 1:30 pm but to allow us to hopefully see the moon rise out of the ocean, we have scheduled the bonfire celebration on the beach for Monday, February 6. The forecast is for the evening to be warmer than the cool weekend but still cool enough to enjoy the fire, perfect for a great time for a fire on the beach with family and friends.
To keep things simple, each person brings what you want: food, drinks, chairs and a stick of firewood for a big bonfire. Nothing will be provided but a beautiful beach, a bonfire and, hopefully, a full moon.
People ask if the bonfire will be held if it’s rainy…. the bonfire will be cancelled if it is raining or rain is threatening as few would be comfortable attending. The bonfire will also be canceled if the temperature is forecast to be below 40 degrees.
By terms of the permit, the fire needs to be out no later than 10 pm. The earlier sunset gives us plenty of time to enjoy the evening.
There are no International Space Station flyovers, meteor showers or other events in the night sky that I could find for this evening. I even looked and the next SpaceX launch is February 26 at 2:07 am (I don’t think I’ll stay up to see that). Mars and Jupiter should be able to be seen.
Put these dates for the Full Moon Bonfires on your calendar:
Tuesday, March 7
Thursday, April 6
Friday, May 5 (yes, Cinco de Mayo)
There’s always plenty of room on the beach for everyone, so invite a friend or your house guests.
How the Full Moon Got Its Name
Per The Old Farmers Almanac:
February: Full Snow Moon – February is typically a time of heavy snowfall. On average, February is the United States’ snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service. In the 1760s, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had visited with the Naudowessie (Dakota), wrote that the name used for this period was the Snow Moon, “because more snow commonly falls during this month than any other in the winter.”
Other Full Moon names for February:
• Bald Eagle Moon (Cree)
• Bear Moon (Ojibwe)
• Black Bear Moon (Tlingit)
• Month of the Bony Moon (Cherokee)
• Eagle Moon (Cree)
• Goose Moon (Haida)
• Groundhog Moon (Algonquin)
• Hungry Moon (Cherokee)
• Raccoon Moon (Dakota)
I found another website that also says the Cherokee Indians called it the Bony Moon and the English Medieval name was the Storm Moon.
Another website says the Chinese call it Budding Moon.
Almanac.com also provided these Moon Facts and Folklore:
On February 6, 1971, Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golf ball on the Moon.
Did you know that the Moon’s diameter is 2,160 miles? This is less than the width of the United States (approximately 3,000 miles), and 0.27 of Earth’s diameter (7,926 miles).
Wolves have howled at the Moon for centuries, yet it is still there.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the Moon. —Edward Lear, English poet (1812-88)
-Submitted by Judy Morr