“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Once in a blue moon  by Avinash

There's mischief in the air, and in the sky
Rises fair, sublime, and rare - Blue Moon
~From "Once Upon a Blue Moon" by Andrea Dietrich

MUCH ADO ABOUT BLUE

Where to begin. . .
There is actually more than  one definition for the term Blue Moon.  The older one, appearing in early issues of the Maine Farmer's Almanac, was pretty complicated. It had to do with "tropical years," the timing of seasons, Christian calendars. . . It was confusing--even to astronomers!

Anyhoo, according to the Farmer's Almanac, a Blue Moon is the fourth full moon in a season that has three full moons. (The third moon of the season, not the fourth, is considered the Blue Moon. Say what??)

Why, you might ask, does anyone care that there is a fourth full moon in a season that already has three full moons?

In a nutshell, it messes everything up.

Some years have an extra full moon -- 13 instead of 12 --

~which is a problem~

Many cultures throughout the world have given names to the 12 full moons; Native American tribes used moon phases to keep track of the seasons and gave each recurring full moon a unique name, which was used to identify the month in which it occurred. That 13th one, though. . . that was a head-scratcher. . .

The identities of the twelve moons was very important in the Christian ecclesiastical calendar, too, as I mentioned before.  They also had names for 12 moons.  The 13th, not so much.

Then, in 1946, an astronomy writer by the name James Hugh Pruett came along. He tried to make sense of the Farmer's Almanac's complicated explanation of that 13th moon. 

In an act of pure inspiration,  he decided to call it a Blue Moon (like in "Once in a Blue Moon," which is a phrase that means "rarely"), because it rarely happened.  The term stuck! It served to identify the anomaly, and everyone pretty much breathed a sigh of relief.   BRILLIANT!

OH, THOSE CALENDARS. . .

Calendars are based on ordinary, observable natural events such as the sun's cycle through the seasons and the recurring phases of the moon. It's organized into 12 months. Very tidy.

Seasons are determined by he equinoxes and solstices and not calendar months. 


It's possible for a calendar to have 12 full moons, one each month, yet have one season with four full moons instead of the typical three (which would equal 13 in all for that calendar year.) 

Hmm. . .. here's why: There's a full moon about every 29 days. (That's called a lunar month). Our calendar months consist of 30 or 31 days (except for February, of course.)

That's why the full moon doesn't happen on the same date every month and why there's sometimes an overlap of full moons within a single month.

FACT: The only month that will never have a blue moon is. . .

FACT:  Because Blue Moons only come along every 2.7 years, we won't see another Blue Moon until January 31, 2018.

FACT: Every 19 years or so, there's actually two Blue Moons in one calendar year -- in January and March. In order for this rare phenomenon to occur, it's necessary for February to have no full moons at all, which can happen since February has 28 days and the lunar calendar is 29.5 days. 

The last "double whammy" was in 1999.
~The next one?  January & March of 2018~
 ~then not again until 2037~

Do Blue Moons really exist, you ask?

Yup. Sometimes.

For example:  A volcano named Krakatoa erupted in 1883, spewing plumes of ash to the very top of the earth's atmosphere.  Scientists say it was as powerful as a 100 megaton nuclear bomb!                               

Krakatoa's ash clouds were filled with tiny particles that blocked out some of the light from the moon. Moonbeams that were able to shine through the haze appeared blue.

A Blue Moon persisted for years after the eruption.

It also turned sunsets such a vivid red that people believed there was a massive conflagration (that means huge out-of-control fire), and fire engines were actually called out!

Sunset after Mt. Pinatubo Eruption in 1991

Heavy smoke from Wildfires will create the same effect.

TO REVIEW:



Blue moons may seem absurd. . .

. . .But what else does the term "Once in a Blue Moon" mean?

It means rarely, like in. . .

Finally, and just because it's a cool song, 

here is Blue Moon, performed by Beck.
(which, by the way, has absolutely nothing to do with 
anything we were just talking about. . .)

You've got to admit,

a Blue Moon, even though most often not blue, 

is a thing of love songs.  Cue the music:

Gotta love the '50s. . .

Really confused guy  Questioning guy   Smurf dude   Calendar   Moons of many colors   Volcano gif   Blue moon friends gif    
Cat/moon fold art   Native American feather design  DancingHobbes gif

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” William Faulkner

A Brief History of the 4th of July
An Animated Documentary

Did you know? . . .

• The Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2, 1776, but it wasn't approved until the 4th.
• Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th. Most people signed on August 2, 1776.
• 56 people signed the Declaration--Benjamin Franklin, 70, was the oldest signer, and Edward Rutledge from South Carolina was the youngest at 26.John Hancock was the first to sign.  His signature is the largest.
• On July 4, 1778, George Washington celebrated the anniversary by issuing double rations of rum to his soldiers. 
• Our 30th president, Vermonter Calvin Coolidge, was born on July 4, 1872.
• Three of the first five presidents actually died on the Fourth of July: the second president, John Adams, and the third president, Thomas Jefferson, died within hours of each other in 1826--the 50 years to the day after Independence Day. James Monroe, our fifth president, died on July 4, 1831. 
• In 1777 Philadelphia hosted the first 4th of July celebration with a parade, bell-ringing, bonfires, and, yes, fireworks--and a cannon salute!
• Congress officially declared Independence Day a federal holiday (like Christmas and New Year's Day) in 1870. In 1938, they made it a paid holiday.
• John Adams, our second president, didn't eat hot dogs to celebrate Independence Day.  Instead he and his wife Abigail had celebratory turtle soup, poached salmon with egg sauce, green peas, and boiled new potatoes with Apple Pandowdy for dessert. 
• Benjamin Franklin was disappointed that the bald eagle was chosen as our national bird.  He thought it had bad moral character.  He believed the turkey was a better choice. Though a bit vain and silly, he thought it was a bird of courage, willing to defend its home territory from anyone.
• The Fourth of July is the biggest hot dog-eating holiday of the year. Out of the 20 billion hot dogs eaten by Americans each year, 122 million are consumed on July 4th according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.  Imagine this: that's enough hot dogs to stretch from Washington DC to Los Angeles, California more than 5 times!  Good grief!

 

Bet you didn't know. . .

from the History Channel

Liberty's Kids: The First Fourth of July

Fun Things To Do On the Fourth of July 

Cool ideas found HERE

1. Invite your friends and decorate your bike, trike, wagon, and strollers and have a parade. 
2. Blow bubbles. At night, break a glow stick and add the contents to the bubbles and blow glow-in-the-dark bubbles. 
3. Make patriotic pinwheels. 
4. Have some relay races- 3-legged race, sack race, wheelbarrow race. 
5. Have a water balloon toss. 
6. How about a squirt gun fight? 
7. Play a game of kickball. 
8. Make homemade ice cream. 
9. Have a barbecue . 
10. Play in the sprinkler. Don't have one? Make one. 
11. Who doesn't like a good Slip and Slide? 
12. Go swimming at a local pool, or lake. Many lakes have picnic areas and beaches for swimming. 
13. Go on a picnic. 
14. Invite neighbors over for a "BYOB" cookout. Have them "Bring Your Own Burgers" or hotdogs. It could be "bring your own basket" and let them bring food for their family, you just offer to grill it. 
15. Fly kites 
16. Dress up in Red, White and Blue. 
17. This one is for the girls. Paint your nails all Red, White and Blue. 
18. Play an old fashion game of Horseshoes. 
19. Play Corn Hole 
20. Hang your flag proudly. 
21. Decorate your front door and porch.
22. Catch lightning bugs. What we southerners call fireflies. 
23. Set a festive table.
24. Watch Fireworks!

Look HERE for more great ideas!



Interesting information found on these websites:  TIME, HISTORY.COM