Late summer new moon
The new moon is waxing, accumulating size like a burning candle, as we prepare to leave the hollow for the coast. I watched it rise yesterday evening and will watch again tonight its almost tropical aspect above the tulip poplars and black walnuts that rim the sky.
“Bland the days linger”, wrote the great poet Iris Murdoch, “but they are weary of summer.”
If my astronomical information is correct, we will return to a spectacular eclipse of the full moon. In between, we’ll see in the autumn equinox on Ocracoke Island Wednesday, September 23rd at 4:24 am with a bottle of Thibaut-Janisson, a fine Virginia sparkling wine from Afton made in the Champagne tradition.
Autumn approaches with near-drought conditions in Charlottesville and surrounding counties as a calm hurricane season has deprived us of usual soaking rains. Any trees, shrubs or perennials planted last spring need to go into fall well-watered. Don’t waste your water on established plantings, which must take their chances, but focus on 1-3 year old woody plants that still have a chance to get a foothold.
We always look forward to traveling southeast through the ecological regions from the foothills through the piedmont to the shore and experiencing the contrast of the ocean’s roar against the quilted quiet of the hollow.