Tag: October

October – The Hunter’s Moon

Published on by Joan Hall45 Comments

Hey, everyone. We’re entering the last quarter of 2021. This is the tenth in a series of posts about the names of full moons. If you missed the others in this series, you can click the following links.

A Hunter’s Moon sets in the western sky

In years when the Harvest Moon doesn’t fall in October (see September’s Harvest Moon post for an explanation), this month’s moon is known as the Hunter’s Moon. October is the time when the game is fattened up for winter. Native Americans hunted and stored provisions for the winter months during October, hence the name.

Interesting Facts

  • Other names for the October moon include Moon of Falling Leaves and the Migrating Moon.
  • The full moon is often associated with a higher occurrence of strange things, but this belief is probably a misconception. People have this feeling because they pay better attention to unusual things during the full moon. In fact, strange things happen during the rest of the month too, but people usually don’t tie them to celestial events.
  • Some wild animals behave differently during a full moon. For example, lions usually hunt at night, but after a full moon, they’re more likely to hunt during the day, likely to make up for the tough going on a moonlit night.
  • This year’s Hunter’s Moon is Wednesday, October 20.

Superstition

Though nobody can be sure of when a baby will be born, some moon lore suggests that births are more likely to occur 7 days before through 7 days after a full moon. Some nurses and midwives claim the new moon is also an active time for births. According to folklore, babies born the day after the full moon enjoy success and endurance.

Were you born on a full moon? If you’re interested to know, click here to enter your date of birth. You can share in the comments. Despite my attraction to full moons, I was born during the last quarter (a waning moon) when it was in the constellation Sagittarius.

Welcome, October #ThursdayThoughts

Published on by Joan Hall23 Comments

Hey, everyone. It’s the first of October, which is my favorite month of the year.

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I’ve been on vacation this week. For the first time in several years, we’re having fall-like weather. Lows in the fifties, highs in the mid-seventies to low-eighties. Yesterday, I took advantage of the temps to sit on my porch for a while.

Leaves are still mostly green, but a little color starting to show.

Look at those crystal clear skies. And speaking of that, tonight is the Full Harvest Moon. Here’s a shot I took of a full moon in 2013. This was actually in November.

Yes, I have a fascination with full moons. You couldn’t tell it by my blog header, could you? This year, October treats us to a second one on the 31st. It’s known as a blue moon.

In yesterday’s WIP Wednesday post, I shared the playlist for my upcoming short story, House of Sorrow. It’s the prequel to the first Legends of Madeira book, Cold Dark Night. I won’t tell you a lot, but let’s say full moons play into that story.

Although I haven’t written a lot of new words this week, it’s been productive. I’ve edited, designed a book cover, and written the first draft of the dreaded book blurb.

What’s your week been like? Drop me a line. I’d love to hear from you.

Full Moon #ThursdayThoughts

Published on by Joan Hall20 Comments

As I wrote in yesterday’s post, I’m taking the month of November off from blogging in order to particpate in NaNoWriMo. I realize I’ve just gotten into a regular blogging schedule, but I’m going to need all the time I can get if I hope to reach 50K words.

A few weeks ago, I shared a photo and rather than giving my thoughts, I asked readers to chime in. I had fun seeing everyone’s answers.

Since this is the eve of NaNoWriMo, I’m trying to preserve brain cells. 🙂 So, I thought I’d let readers chime in on this one.

You probably know by now, I’m fascinated with full moons. (Full moons will factor in each of the books of my new series.)

As you know, today is Halloween. I took this photo of the rising full moon a few years ago. The picture invokes all kinds of story possibilities. Tell me what you see. (And I’ll see you in December!)

Tell Me What You See #ThursdayThoughts

Published on by Joan Hall22 Comments

Hey everyone. I thought I’d do something a little different for this week’s Thursday Thoughts. I plan to keep the majority of October’s posts related to the mysterious and unknown. But while looking through some photographs for tomorrow’s post, I came across this one:

The only thing the photo has in common with this month’s theme is that I took it in October. Nothing particularly mysterious or spooky. Or is there?

It occurred to me that with a little imagination, all sorts of stories could come from this photo. So, I thought I’d give readers a shot. What pops into your head when you see this? Doesn’t have to be paranormal or involve ghosts. It could be something pleasant and relaxing.

Tell me what you see. Let your imagination soar and share in the comments.

Of course, I have to leave you with a video.