by Sid Baglini
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024, 8:15 P. M.
May is all about green grass, newly leafy deciduous trees and flowers–lots of flowers. The May Full Moon is appropriately named “The Full Flower Moon” and it promises a delightful stroll under its light. While darkness fades the dramatic colors of our floral landscape, white flowers are the exception. We will be on the lookout for the components of Moon Gardens, the white flowers and silver foliage that overcome the dark and glow in the light of the Moon.
May’s full Moon has other names in keeping with vegetative growth including “The Budding Moon” and “The Leaf Budding Moon”. The gardeners of Malvern celebrate “The Planting Moon” when we can safely put cold sensitive plants out without fear of frost. “The Frog Moon” overlaps with April’s full Moon as does “The Egg Laying Moon”. The Oglala and Arapaho tribes provide my favorite names, “The Moon of Shedding Ponies” and “When Shaggy Ponies Shed Their Hair Moon” respectively. All that equine hair provided plenty of soft nesting material for the avian population.
Another fascinating event that coincides with the full Moon this month is the annual egg-laying extravaganza performed by Horseshoe Crabs. While these creatures, more closely related to spiders than to crabs, are found on beaches from Maine to Mexico, the most active location for egg laying is nearby Delaware Bay where the water is relatively calm. Peak times for egg laying are at the full and new Moons in May and June because the tides run the highest helping these living fossils to get well up onto the beach. Corresponding with this mass deposit of trillions of eggs is the arrival of Red Knots, “bird marathoners” whose annual migrations from Argentina and Southern Chile to inside the Arctic Circle is timed to provide them with a feast of Horseshoe Crab eggs. They stop to fill their tanks before continuing on to the Arctic for breeding.That conjunction of egg-laying crabs and hungry midsized shore birds is truly a natural wonder.
We will be walking under the tail end of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower which starts April 15, peaks May 5th and ends on May 27th. The combination of a bright Moon and waning meteor shower make a sighting unlikely but we can hope.
Please join us for an evening of looking down at the flowers and up at the Moon, punctuated with lively conversation and a degree of wonder. We never know what the evening will bring but the company is good, so come see for yourself. We meet behind Borough Hall and there is adequate parking on Channing and 1st Avenues.