full moon lore – Page 2 – Wineberry Woods

24Jan 2024 by catbird 1 Comment

Wolf Road Donuts

My favorite interpretation of the name Wolf Moon relates it to the Wolf Trail or Road—a traditional Blackfoot name for the Milky Way. In northern climates, the stars in the winter sky are much brighter and clearer than during the rest of the year because there is so much less humidity, meaning there is no haze to obstruct your view. While teh night of a full moon isn't always the best for star gazing (but do some January star gazing for sure!), it does provide a great opportunity to learn about the Wolf Road and make these amazing donuts for a Wolf Moon celebration. I use store bought donuts (that account for everyone's allergies) making this a deceptively easy project. Chocolate Wolves: food safe silicone wolf mold chocolate melting wafers (dark,…

25Nov 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Rosehip Syrup after a Frost

Frost Moon, Full Moon, Recipes, Winter

Rosehips are one of my favorite things to forage. The woods around me are overrun with invasive multiflora rose and while its hips are quite small, they still make a delicious rosehip syrup. In North America, Rosa multiflora was originally introduced from Asia as a soil conservation measure, a natural hedge to border grazing land, and as a hardy rootstock. It proved much too hardy and quickly escaped cultivation crowding out native species with dense hedges and popping up in wooded areas. Multiflora hips can be harvested without concern, as they are invasive and not a preferred wildlife food. They are also fun and easy for kids to forage- the hips are bright red and easy to spot! Like all roses, the multiflora produces hips that are edible. Rosehips are…

26Jul 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Galaxy Smoothie Bowl for the Wolf Moon

Full Moon, Recipes, Winter, Wolf Moon

The January full moon is most commonly known as the Wolf Moon. Various North American tribes have different names for it, but names for this moon largely evoke coldness or lean times. The Algonquin people call it the "Sun has Not Strength to Thaw Moon, the Arapaho refer to the "When Snow Blows like Spirits in the Wind Moon, and the Lakota people use the most concise "Hard Moon." The only direct wolf reference I could find was from the Sioux people who call this moon the "Wolves Run Together Moon. Interestingly, the Farmer's Almanac doesn't cite any sources for the Wolf Moon name, it just refers to wolves howling this time of year. My favorite interpretation of the name relates it to the Wolf Trail or Road—a traditional Blackfoot name for…

23Jul 2023 by catbird No Comments

Full Moon Names & Phenology

Full Moon, Full Moon Names, Learning

If you were to look up names for the thirteen full moons in a year, you would almost certainly discover a fairly standardized list. The source of this list is almost always the Farmers’ Almanac, which popularized its “full moon names” in the 1930s. In turn, the most likely original source for the Almanac’s list is an earlier list entitled “Indian Month Names,” which was published in 1918 by Daniel Carter Beard in his The American Boys’ Book of Signs, Signals, and Symbols, for use by the Boy Scouts of America. Nearly every list of full moon names you find will have a vague description of the origin of the names as “American Indian,” with little or no explanation. (To their credit, the Farmers’ Almanac has recently updated their descriptions…

23Jul 2023 by catbird No Comments

Pink Moon Petal Hunt

Craft Project, Full Moon, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Pink Moon, Play, Spring

A great way to celebrate the Pink Moon is to go on a "pink" scavenger hunt and see how many bits of pink you can find creeping out after the winter. You may find some pink flowers, but pink is also in other unexpected places like leaves, sticks, and even insects! How many types of pink things can you find? Pink Moon Scavenger Hunt There are no checklists for this hunt, just look for things that are pink! They can be natural things like petals and leaves or anything else that's pink and catches your eye. You can take photos to keep track or physically collect some items. (Take care with natural items, plants are just starting over for the year so it's best to stick with things that have…

11Jul 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Thunder Cake

Free Printable, Full Moon, Recipes, Thunder Moon

We love the book Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco, especially during a good summer thunder storm. There is a cake recipe in that book of course, but being a celiac it wasn't very useful to me. Besides I was intrigued with the idea of making a cake that contained or was inspired by some food that had historically been associated with storms and lighting. I kept coming across references to truffles (the mushroom not the confection) in my search-- it would seem that the ancient greeks believed that they were born of Zeus' lightning bolts. Very poetic, but I wasn't sold on truffle cake... I considered copping out and doing candy truffles instead, but that didn't seem in the spirit of things. (As an aside there is a whole group of…

27Mar 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Worm Parfaits for the Worm Moon

Full Moon, Recipes, Winter, Worm Moon

One of the common names for the March full name is the Worm Moon. It's a muddy month, and nearly always when we start to see worm castings all over the ground as the worms start to move around again after a cold winter. Worms really don't get much love despite being incredibly helpful. They make soil, they improve out gardens and just quietly carry on with their business. Vermicomposting is a fun project to do with kids, but sometimes you want a fancy worm treat. Cue these delicious worm parfaits! Worm Moon Parfaits This is one of those desserts that looks far fancier than it is-- it's a glorified dirt pudding, but its' beautiful and never fails to impress. You have a lot of leeway with ingredients, you can…

Tag: full moon lore