Strawberry Full Moon Rises on Monday, first day of summer 2016

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Gentle cricket hum,

Aromas waft in night air,

Summertime is here.

I was out in the garden at dusk tonight.  Under the bright light of the almost full moon, I contemplated the imminence of summer—the official first day being on Monday.  Many people celebrate the arrival of sun and heat, but to be honest, heat is not my favorite summer feature.  I enjoy escaping the heat in the shade or by a cool lake.  I also enjoy long summer evenings, the comfortable feel of night air that is not too hot nor too cool, the steady sounds of birds and crickets, and familiar summer smells of earth, flowers, and trees.

This year is a special Summer Solstice—the longest day of the year will be graced by June’s Full Strawberry Moon.  Apparently the last time these two events occurred together was in 1948.  Where I live, the moon has been bright and almost full for the last two nights—full moon viewing is expected for both Sunday and Monday (for those who don’t have cloud cover).

June’s full moon became known as the Strawberry Moon in North American native traditions marking the time when strawberries bore fruit.  I have been excited to observe recently that tiny strawberries have been appearing on wild strawberry plants around my house.  I took a picture this evening:

image

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!

©2016, all rights reserved by ontheland.wordpress.com

Published by Janice

My name is Janice.  I started blogging as Ontheland when I moved from Toronto to a rural area near Kingston, Ontario in Canada.  Over time I have found myself writing poetry, mostly in Japanese forms, such as haiku and haibun.  One of my deepest interests is the natural world: the joy of it and how we can look after it better.

10 thoughts on “Strawberry Full Moon Rises on Monday, first day of summer 2016”

  1. Thank you for the information. How wonderful to have wild strawberries growing around your house! We’ve been having some lovely weather, not too warm and cooler at night. I wish it would last.

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    1. You’re welcome 🙂 I ‘ve been enjoying the weather lately too. The wild strawberries are nice, especially their white flowers in spring. The fruit is extremely tiny though–much smaller than a wild raspberry. The photo closeup makes them appear more ample. It’s funny– I woke up this morning dreaming I had discovered a giant strawberry in the yard!

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  2. Janice, lovely new facts for today and I adore the phrase Strawberry Moon – it’s just so evocative. Wild strawberries taste so good – enjoy. My mother has lots of strawberries at her place and I happily help myself to a few!

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    1. I like Strawberry moon too…another name is Honey moon referring to the shade of the moon I believe and they say in Europe it can be called the Rose moon which makes sense given all the rose photos I’ve seen.

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    2. Unfortunately the wild strawberries around here are extremely small–they could be picked but there would be much work for a tiny yield…I am sure birds and other little creatures enjoy them:). (I replied to you twice as my first message was sent before I finished).

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