Moon Shots

I received this photos from my friend, Mary who used to live in Duxbury. She recently sold her home and is presently residing with her son and daughter-in-law  in the Rutland area. They took a ride last week to watch the "Sturgeon Moon" rise over Lake Bomoseen. I wasn't aware there was such a moon, but I Googled it (of course!) and found it is a name given to the full moon of August. It is also sometimes called the "Full Red Moon" due to it's reddish color, "Green Corn Moon" or "Grain Moon." According to the Farmers' Almanac, it was named by Indian fishing tribes for the sturgeons in the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water. It seems August was/is a good month to catch the big fish.

Mary is such a good photographer. I've often tried to capture good pictures of the moon and almost always fail dismally. She said after they watched the moon the went to a place called "Roxie's" for creemees. She was also remembering a place between Plainfield and Marshfield on Route 2 that she used to visit with her family when she was young, and wondered if I knew it. It was called "Merrybob's Snack Bar," and she described it as being "just past Plainfield heading towards Marshfield. I don't recall the name, but wonder if it was near where the little covered bridge is now, across from the big barn that was used as storage for many years but is now falling down. There's a little park area on the right, and what used to be a snack bar on the opposite side that now has second-hand furniture and other stuff. Someone may remember Merrybob's!


I made applesauce today. Our old tree is loaded with apples, but is already dropping them, and they aren't full size yet. They are not very good quality, but I was able to find enough for a small batch of sauce. Even our big old Transparent tree is dropping its fruit early this year. Probably due to the heat and dry weather we've had.

Our dry spell is being cancelled out tonight. We are getting a steady rain - it's muggy, and there are some rumbles of thunder, but it doesn't seem to be a bad storm - yet. Electrical storms are not a favorite of mine. We are supposed to be getting more of this same  weather through the weekend and well into next week, but with off and on sunshine. I know we need the rain, but it's also going to be very humid so nothing will ever get really dried out, inside or outside.

We are growing tomatoes in containers this year - I have one pot on the back lawn and another on the front deck. They are doing well, but in containers they need to be watched carefully to keep them sufficiently watered. It isn't like having them in the ground where they can absorb water from deep down. It is convenient, though, and pest control is much easier. I grew a little lettuce this year in a container, as well, and use coffee grounds around it to keep the snails off. I love having fresh lettuce - and tomatoes right off the vine (in a few more weeks). The tomatoes are showing signs of ripening and they will come around quickly now, I think. I had one small ripe one last week, but it was damaged on the bottom and spoiled. The others look fine. That is the extent of my gardening these days!