The first day of spring here in the northern hemisphere was last Saturday. We are having our typical springtime weather, so I didn't dare walk too far Saturday or Sunday because of the intermittent rain showers marching through our town. Yesterday was more of the same, but I decided to take my chances so grabbed the trusty walking umbrella that served so well when I was trekking the Himalayas a couple years ago and set off.
If interested you can read about the trek to Everest Base Camp in posts to this blog in May and June 2018. Here's a link to the first part of that trek: https://hrodenbergersblog.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2018-05-20T01:36:00-07:00&max-results=20&start=15&by-date=false
In order to find that link I had to scroll back through several posts and got sidetracked looking at the old photos. Reminiscing is fun, but back to today. Thought I would need the umbrella right away because of a light drizzle, but it soon stopped and the umbrella stayed wrapped despite the ominous clouds that glowered at times.
Out walking there were signs of spring everywhere. The blackberry brambles were sprouting new leaves and the Scotch broom was eagerly opening early flowers.
Wild currant was blooming profusely, much to the delight of the hummingbirds.
Salmonberry flowers showing their colors and also feeding hummingbirds.
There were several boisterous clumps of Oregon Grape flowers but I didn't see any hummers around them. Maybe they aren't yet open enough.
Edmonds features corner gardens at the ends of downtown blocks. They don't take up much room, serve to enforce the corner "no parking" areas, and give some welcome beauty to drab concrete corners. Although they are maintained by city workers, they are supported by citizens paying a fee for a small sponsorship sign in each garden. The sign usually memorializes relatives or other significant people.
In honor of the advent of spring, I replaced my 2' x 3' winter flag with the 3' x 5' flag that flies from our balcony during warmer weather.
What about the moons, you ask. Well, this spring we are privileged to have three "super" full Moons in a row. Next month we have the Pink Full Moon on the 27th. "Super" because it will be only 222,212 miles away from Earth. Next comes the super Flower Moon on May 26th at 222,117 miles away. The super Strawberry Moon on June 24th barely sneaks into the "super" category at 224,662 Miles.
It seems as if super Moons have been around since I was young, but that's not the case. Astronomer Richard Nolle came up with the idea of super Moons in 1979. He decided that any Moon, full or new, would be "super" if it were at least 90% of the way to the perigee (closest point to Earth) of its orbit. That point translates to about 224,791 miles from Earth to Moon. Incidentally, such distances are measured center to center of the bodies concerned.
Or, maybe we'll have only two super Moons. It seems there is no official definition of such a Moon, so different authorities use different standards. I'm using the original Nolle definition, but Sky and Telescope uses 223,000 miles, and Timeanddate.com uses 360,000 kilometers (223,694 miles). According to these two, the Strawberry Moon in June doesn't quite make it. Maybe someday there will be an official distance. Meanwhile, I'll just admire the super Moons, no matter how they are measured.
There are also super new Moons. Of course, we can't see those so I won't spend time on them. I say we can't see them but occasionally a new Moon, even though we can't see it, will give us a solar eclipse. That's a good example of a syzygy, when three or more bodies are lined up in a gravitational system. It isn't often I get to use that funny word, so had to take advantage of the opportunity. ;-)
In addition to super Moons, there are Blue Moons, which I'm sure you all know as either two full Moons in a month or four full Moons in an astronomical season, i.e., the three months between a solstice and equinox or vice versa. Then there is the Black Moon, which sometimes happens in February when there is no full Moon at all, or when there are two new Moons in the same month or Astronomical Season.
So there you have it. I need to stop before I become a lunatic or go loony, or get moonstruck.
One more item of interest. Here on the West Coast, we'll be able to see a lunar eclipse of the June Strawberry Moon. That is if the clouds stay away.
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