So here's the short of it, 
The moon is so lovely tonight.

And here's the long.

I love hearing about the names of the full moons.  Most of the names come from the Native Americans.  Since it seems that Ma Howard was half or a quarter Cherokee, maybe some of that genetic memory runs through my blood.

We are just two days out from the full moon of February.  Our Native American ancestors had lots of names for the moons.  Here's a quote from Indian Country - a native American online news source - about the names for the February full moon.

“Some tribes also referred to it as the Full Hunger Moon or Little Famine Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult,” the Farmers’ Almanac says. “Forced to gnaw on bones and sip bone marrow soup for sustenance, the Cherokee named it the Full Bony Moon.”

The Algonquin name may have the world abuzz, but it is just one of dozens of tribal names for the February moon. Some samples are below, thanks to the site AmericanIndian.net, which actually lists the Algonquin name for February moon as wapicuummilcum, or Ice in River Is Gone.

Other tribal February moon names, according to the site: the Abenaki call it piaôdagos, Makes Branches Fall in Pieces Moon; the Anishnaabe (Chippewa, Ojibwe), from the Great Lakes, named it the Sucker Moon, or namebini-giizis. The Apache had a cheerier epithet, Frost Sparkling in the Sun, while the Assiniboine called it Long Dry Moon, and the Choctaw nicknamed it hotvlee-hv’see, or Wind Moon. Back in the wintry realm, the Comanche of the southern plains called it positsu mua, Sleet Moon, while the Canadian Cree of the northern plains called it the Old Moon. Up north in Alaska it’s also known as cepizun, or Old Moon, among the Haida, while the Hopi call it powamuya, Moon of Purification and Renewal.

On a more pessimistic note, the Kalapuya of the Pacific Northwest, in what is today Oregon, called it atchiulartadsh, Out of Food. Cannapopa wi was the name given the moon by the Lakota of the northern plains, Moon When the Trees Crack Because of the Cold.

Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/07/get-out-your-shades-for-the-brilliant-algonquin-snow-moon-96361 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/07/get-out-your-shades-for-the-brilliant-algonquin-snow-moon-96361#ixzz1lwpXvmFy


So whatever we want to call it - the sky is clear and the moon is large and yellow over the circle.  My pictures with my little phone camera turn into a small bright circle in a huge swath of black.  But standing on the porch the moon is large and bright.  It's hovering over the circle and it almost seems as though the light is puddling on the road.  It's a really peaceful feeling.

We are in for a cold weekend, and the full moon on a cold, clear night is just really special.