Northwest Harvest Moon

Ferry at Vashon Island under the Harvest Moon.

Tonight, Dave and I waited for the Harvest Moon to rise over the water from the old ferry dock in Gig Harbor. No one else was there except for a woman with her rescue dog, Angel ... it was peaceful and quiet.

To our right from where the moon appeared, we were treated to pink alpenglow on Mt. Rainier, as seen here beyond Tacoma. Before the moon rose, I snapped this boat heading into Gig Harbor. Everything was soft pinks and blues and hushed.

So why is this moon – the moon closest to the autumnal equinox – called the Harvest Moon? According to http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/harvest-moon-2 :

"The shorter-than-usual time between moonrises around the full Harvest Moon means no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise for days in succession. In the days before tractor lights, the lamp of the Harvest Moon helped farmers to gather their crops, despite the diminishing daylight hours. As the sun’s light faded in the west, the moon would soon rise in the east to illuminate the fields throughout the night." 

(Check out the website for more fascinating Harvest Moon facts.)

Friday night's moon over Portland, OR, from I-5.

Being a full moon lover, I've been photographing the moon for several days now.  Above is last night's moon, which I snapped while twisted around backwards in the passenger seat as we sped out of Portland on I-5.

Below is Thursday's nearly full moon glowing above Bend, OR, where I stationed myself on top of Pilot Butte for an hour to photograph the high desert sunset. (You'll have to wait for the next blog to see those fiery photos.)

Thursday night's moon over Bend, OR.

Between Bend and Portland, I stopped at the famous Stitchin' Post quilt shop http://www.stitchinpost.com/ in Sisters,OR. Look at the moon quilt that glowed inside!

Now I'm itchin' to get stitchin'

by the light of the moon!

Have a colorful night