From the Sky

Although we've had a busy summer, the sky has provided some of the most dramatic shows. There was the blue moon of late August, called blue moon not by the second full moon in one calendar month but based on astronomer's designation:

The last Blue Moon that we'll see until 2015 is up in the sky until Wednesday morning. It's not really blue. The phrase "blue moon" for many people commonly refers to a rare second full moon in a month, although the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, while noting disagreement among the public, describes it as, " ... the third full moon to in an astronomical season in which four full moons fall." This kind of moon appears only once every three years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

So call it what you will-- blue corn moon works for me-- it was spectacular.

And then to finish off August with a sky show, we got one of those spectacular sunsets which is fairly rare in our part of the Pacific Northwest.  This sunset kept revealing new dimensions. As we looked across our farm to the west.

The explanations for why we get a gorgeous sunset once in a 'blue moon' are many, but it doesn't seem obvious to me other than the right amount of smoke or dust in the air as well as interesting layers of clouds to reflect the colors. That air quality has played havoc with my sinuses in August but gotta say it was beautiful when the sun got hold of it.

 Sometimes we just have to remember to look up!