Today—Monday, February 22—the Full Snow Moon will rise in the night sky over North America. This is my first year tracking the full moon from month to month while learning Native American moon names (according to the Farmer’s Almanac). Last month’s moon was the Wolf Moon. This month it is called names such as Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, and Storm Moon to reflect heavy snows, difficult hunting, and hungry bellies. This description fits February 2016 in my neck of the woods– it’s been the most snowy month yet—the deep snow we’ve had around here would have made hunting very difficult.
Here are two haiku for the occasion that pull together observations I have made over the last few nights:
∼
Waxing moon
winds howl over
unyielding snow
∼
Pale snow moon,
winds howl at frozen snow
holding earth hostage
∼
©2016, All rights reserved by Ontheland.wordpress.com
Ontheland 
Great story and Haiku Janice. I feel for the wolves of North America, in fact the wolves of the world are so few.
full snow moon
lone wolf in shadow
howls for more
LikeLiked by 4 people
Lovely haiku –I can see the picture. Occasionally we hear coy wolves around here. Unfortunately their howls could mean one is caught in a trap –not a pleasant thought.
LikeLike
Aren’t wolves a protected species in both Canada and the USA?
LikeLiked by 1 person
In Ontario there are hunting regulations… I believe recently they lifted restrictions on hunting coywolves (major kind of Wolf around here) saying that there are too many…an ill-conceived notion and plan. I am not sure how things are handled in the States.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fascinating to learn the wisdom of the indigenous people. We have an “Indigenous Weather Knowledge” page on our national meteorology website which sounds like the kind of thing in your almanac:
http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/
p.s. I love your haiku!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for the link — going to take a look:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
No problem 😊
LikeLike
these are poetic gems! I especially love the second one. Together they create a vivid picture.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Melinda 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love these haikus, Janice. In such deep winter as you are experiencing I can just imagine a feeling of ‘holding earth hostage’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. The description is both literal in terms of weight and frozenness– but also brushed with my human bias (I am not sure how the little rabbits, rodents and birds are doing)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Janice! Your posts are always interesting and original as are your haiku. Very nice. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Vashti :))
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Snow Moon was certainly a beauty. We were lucky to get clear skies which doesn’t happen too often these days. Loved your haiku duo. “Holding earth hostage”is so true in our climate. Wonderful post, Janice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Olga. We’ve had bright moonlit nights lately too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I recall a book called Thirteen moons on a Turtle’s Back based on Indian lore. Perhaps I ‘ll start being more observant of the moon phases and the Indian names. We have to purposely go to open land to see the moon because of the trees in our neighborhood.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds like an interesting book. My goal this year is to follow the moons month to month.
LikeLiked by 1 person