Buck moon #phenology

This morning I saw a flock of turkey poults, on a road a mile or so north of the property. Tonight, if the weather forecast holds true, we probably won't see the Full Buck Moon (this is the month whitetail bucks start to develop antlers) at its midnight height.  Summer heat's building up and humidity will be enhanced if the seasonal thunderstorms break, as forecast, after midnight in our neighborhood. There's a flash flood alert in place. All of which helps support an alternate name for the July full moon: Thunder Moon.

Whitetail buck in Summer velvet

Photo by J. Harrington

Many of the thistle flowers along our roadsides have already changed into downy seed heads, which should please the local goldfinch flocks. Summer's peak contains Autumn's beginnings. And the seasons, they go round and round... We're in the midst of Summer's Dog Days. The weather, and much else, is as it should be. Enjoy today, look forward to tomorrow, remember yesterday's pleasures.

A Boat Beneath a Sunny Sky

By Lewis Carroll

A BOAT beneath a sunny sky,

Lingering onward dreamily

In an evening of July —

Children three that nestle near,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Pleased a simple tale to hear —

Long has paled that sunny sky:

Echoes fade and memories die:

Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream —

Lingering in the golden gleam —

Life, what is it but a dream?

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