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Monday, October 5, 2009

harvest moon



The Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special, because around the time of these full moons, the time difference between moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than usual. The moon rises approximately 30 minutes later, from one night to the next, rather than the 50 minutes that is normal.


traditionally, this time of year has been focused on gathering all that has been planted and grown for the year, pickling and canning, and storing up for the cold months ahead. of course, this is referred to as harvest. in my neighborhood, things are much the same. we have planted 3 new elm trees and a maple this last weekend. and we have many bulbs to plant before the first frost so they may come up next spring.

i also remember there being some great celebrations at this time of the year. in the small town where i grew up we had a fall festival. pumpkins, gourds, squash, carnivals, homecoming football games and dances, the last rites of autumn. halloween and all souls day even fall into this time slot.

this time of year, it would follow, is appropriate to celebrate and be grateful for what we have been blessed with this year. so much bounty and abundance. in my case, this is very true. a new job and perhaps career has come my way. i have stepped into peace of mind that i have never known before. my relationship with my family has become more mature and second nature. and i even have started to think that loving others is an option for me in ways i had forgotten i needed.

i understand well that there are many issues in this country that we feel are unresolved. the economic situation is most likely at the fulcrum of all this discomfort. and if i remember correctly, our current leadership did very little to create this situation. far from it actually, our president inherited this "shit hits the fan" game plan and has been saddled with the daunting task of running with it. he is doing as much as is humanly possible, trying to create consensus, and enduring criticism and back-seat drivers every step of the way.

i, for one, am thankful i don't have his job. and i still believe i voted for the right guy. i think the fixes for the situations we numbly and voluntarily zombied ourselves into over the last 8 years (and more) will take time to crawl back from. but with perseverance and plenty of teamwork he (we) may be able to pull this off.

today's sound choice is classic neil young with "harvest moon". in the menu bar after the vid finishes, there is a fantastic version of this song by eddie vedder (pearl jam)..






Documents

3 comments:

Mark said...

I don't know of anybody who regrets his vote for Obama, given the alternative. That doesn't mean he doesn't need to agressively lead instead of this time-consuming and wasteful attempt at achieving "consensus" with an opposition that had no intention of co-operating no matter how much goodwill and concession.

Unknown said...

I like the image of the moon. It hangs so silently, waxing and waning, changing but remaining unchanged. The moon makes me think of patience,a virtue that I find lacking in myself much of the time, but one that I'm working to achieve. I like the tranquility that you convey in your words here. That's what I wish for the president, that he may find moments of tranquility. I agree that I wouldn't want his job but I think that he has far more patience than I do.

I admire your ability to count your blessings. You model a good path and I think that I will focus on being grateful for my own blessings. Thank you.

Unknown said...

P.S. I have never heard the Eddie Vedder cover of Harvest Moon. I like it!

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