Full Moon

Tonight we will be able to see the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. Full moons are actually given names, which is a tradition dating back to the Native Americans who used the names to keep track of the seasons.

This full moon has been given the name of Full Wolf Moon, which is described as such on Space.com:
"Jan. 30, 1:18 a.m. EST -- Full Wolf Moon. Amid the zero cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. It was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule. In some tribes this was the Full Snow Moon; most applied that name to the next moon. The Moon will also arrive at perigee (it's closest point to Earth on its non-circular orbit) less than three hours later, at 4:04 a.m. EST at a distance of 221,577 mi. (356,593 km.) from Earth. So this is the biggest full moon of 2010. Very high ocean tides can be expected during the next two or three days, thanks to the coincidence of perigee with full moon. "

You can read more about the full moon names for 2010 here. Enjoy the full moon and all its glory!

Golden and Delicious

Check out this lovely golden cauliflower that I bought from Chino Farms. I was told it is the sweetest of the cauliflowers (they also offer white, purple and green varieties). It also contains quite a bit more Vitamin A than the white cauliflower.

Check out those florets. They are perfect. Or should I say were, because I ate them raw today as a snack.

Paperwhite Narcissus

So it is winter time, and not much is blooming out there in the garden, but the paperwhite narcissus is flowering.

There are two suggested origins for the name of this flower. One is that the name derives from the Greek word meaning narcotic, as the Greeks believed that this genus of flower emanated evil, and its scent caused headaches, madness or even death.

The second origin points to the ancient myth about the beautiful youth Narcissus who became so enthralled with his own reflection in a pool of water that the gods turned him into a flower.

How ever these flowers got their name, I welcome their addition to the winter landscape.

Winter Sunset

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Looking Back

Another year has come and gone, and with the beginning of a new decade upon us, it seems only natural to engage in a certain amount of introspection, of looking back at the year gone by and evaluating the events that transpired. And then from there, we build hopes for the future.

May all your dreams come true in 2010.

Happy New Year!

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
-Mother Teresa