Monday Musings

Last week’s focus was bright sky objects. I’m going to flip the switch to dark sky. Birds have begun their annual southward migration. In fact, we are already in the midst of the Full Fall Migration Period: August 15 — November 30, 2024. During this period,  light pollution is deadly to birds . We can ameliorate the danger by taking several actions. The first is “ Lights Out ” during critical migration periods. BirdCast  is a fascinating website which allows us to see the predicted bird migration over our location. You can type in the local zip code and see live alerts. In addition to looking out into my yard at night, how do I know how dark my personal region is? I’m fortunate to live in a relatively dark(er) sky area near the Blue Ridge Parkway of North Carolina. The red and pink regions are bright skies. According to the world  light pollution map , the eastern half and the Western Coastal areas of the US have the worst light pollution. This blog holds critical informa...

  Tomorrow evening, our satellite moon will provide a celestial treat. The lunar trifecta will include a supermoon, a partial lunar eclipse, and a blood moon. A  supermoon  is defined when the moon’s orbit is within 90% of its closest point to Earth ( perigee ), per astrologer Richard Nolle. The term applies to both new and full moons, but since we can’t see new moons, we turn our attention to the full moon supermoons. A  lunar eclipse  occurs when the Earth is between the sun and a full moon, and the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow.  According to NASA , the peak lunar eclipse will occur tomorrow, September 17, at 10:44 EDT (02:44 UT). The upcoming eclipse will only be partial: only the upper part of the moon (top 8%) hidden behind the  umbra  (the darkest portion of the Earth’s shadow). A  blood moon  is noted when the planet’s  penumbra  (the lighter area of the Earth’s shadow) gives the visible portion of the lunar di...

The nights are progressively cooler; a quilt feels cuddly. Indian summer lies ahead, but for the moment, we are on the cusp of fall, the precipice of winter. The garden has waned. The beans no longer produce green and golden pods; a couple of small cucumbers struggle, and the Sugar Baby Watermelon vines promise only a few more sweet treats. Dill and marigolds still brighten the raised beds filled with withering plants. We’ve enjoyed a prolific zucchini and summer squash crop this summer. A neighbor shared a delicious Summer Squash Gingerbread Loaf recipe. I cheated a bit by blending in both summer squash and zucchini, but the results were tasty, if not foreboding, of the pumpkin spice onslaught ahead. Mums dot the yard with their colorful buttons. As the landscape outside begins to brown, I’ve brought more cheer inside with a bouquet of stunning dahlias from the farmers’ market. True fall is less than two weeks away, on September 22, the 2024 Autumnal Equinox. While it seems I just set...

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