My friend Luna exploring my hand.
Thought for the Week
A few years back, on a September day like this, I found the big Luna Moth caterpillar above (also known as a Moon Moth) listlessly inching its way along a fallen sweetgum twig. “Luna” (I name everything) was the first of its kind I’d ever seen, and apparently I was the first of my kind it had ever seen–it thoroughly explored my hand. Following our lovely little interspecies encounter…
I transferred Luna to a branch full of fat, deciduous leaves, and that was just the wake-up call my new friend needed! He or she went right to work fulfilling his or her glorious purpose — becoming one of the most beautiful creatures in North America! And aptly so, considering the root of the word luna means “to shine!”
Do you or someone you know need a wake-up call? How about this: today is Monday, “Moon Day” in Old English. And this week we’ll see a rare combination of Harvest Moon (full moon right before the coming equinox) and Supermoon (full moon just when it’s closest to the earth). And finally, on Sunday, during the lunar/autumnal equinox, the moon will finally shine as long as the sun! So don’t moon around.
Spread your wings and fly!
Luna Moth in its ultimate (imago) form.
Fabulous! I was looking at the moon last night and marveling at the clarity in which I saw it. I was thinking of writing a poem about it, and now I have your Moon Day information to add to it. THANK YOU!
I’d love to read your poem when it’s done, Joanne!
I’ll do my homework and share it with you soon!
Great!
Homework’s Done! This one’s for you, Mitch!
Supermoon
In late September,
a watercolor moon
rises in the night sky.
A blue-gray smudge,
Earth’s shadow,
across her glorious face.
She is bright and full,
bearing much promise,
a Harvest Moon.
A time of celebration
for summer’s fruits
and fall’s bounty.
She continues to rise,
resting on a ribbon of clouds,
glowing through the haze.
Rising up and up and up,
as the sky darkens
to an inky blackness.
She remains shining,
Luminous in the
autumn night.
Lovely and evocative, Joanne. I particularly liked:
“She continues to rise,
resting on a ribbon of clouds”
What a beautiful caterpillar and even more beautiful of a journey that lies ahead!
I did notice the full moon last night. Here’s to a week of shine ahead!
Harvest Moon tomorrow!
Hi Luna! She or he was lucky to have you as a friend. 👍
Aw, thanks, Iman.
May the moonlight shine brightly and happily on us all.
Lovely, interesting post!
Thank you, Anonymous.
I studied butterflies and moths when I was young and was always fascinated by the Luna Moth. I have never seen one. You are truly blessed to have found one.
I still chant this nursery rhyme I recited to my children as toddlers when we admired the night sky: “I see the moon, and the moon sees me, God bless the moon, and God bless me!” 🙂
We also have an eclipse here, I believe, tomorrow.
I enjoyed my own Luna moth encounter in North Carolina years ago, as it lay sleeping on a porch rail while I sat reading. Haven’t seen one since. They are a spectacular species! Close encounters with God’s creatures do thrill our hearts. And I can’t help but wonder if interacting with the animals will be one of the new delights we get to enjoy on the new earth (Revelation 21)!
I can’t help but think it will, Nancy, though possibly in a way we’d never imagine.
Miraculous! Just watched Apollo 13 documentary last night. God is great and He has created amazing creatures, not to mention people.
He has indeed.
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