Blue Moon

Ever since I was a little girl I remember loving how nature showed me the huge night sky, taking up so much space and filled with tons of stars and the moon... These memories, the "how nature showed me" come from times when we visited a family friends house (their backyard overlooks a canyon so there are still "human-made" lights and distractions, but not as many as when you are in the middle of a city)... times when we would be camping as a family or with extended family/friends/girl scouts/etc -- from Yosemite National Park to a camp up near Mammoth Lakes to -- I think we went as far as Four Corners (Utah/Colorado/Arizona/New Mexico) but I have no idea where we stopped/slept.  (Again, in case it has not been noted enough in this blog, I really love and appreciate my parents, family, extended family, family friends, friends... So many people with their hearts in the right place who have helped me grow and maintain my roots while encouraging me to continue to spread my wings.  I would be nothing without all of the love and support I have received my entire life.  Thank you again).

My point is that being exposed to nature at night, whether at home, in a particular backyard, camping in a meadow, up in the mountains, being near the ocean... At night all of these areas had/continue to have a special place in my heart because of the night sky.  I know now what I might not have fully grasped when I was young -- the sky, especially with the stars and the moon at whatever point in its journey -- it connects everyone no matter where we are in the world.  We all have day and night; we all have memories and hopefully futures with bright spots; we all are on the same planet.

There are a few however, who do get to journey past this planet.  Tonight (technically it is still tonight because I am up late) -- tonight was special for various reasons.  The two that connect to the title of this post, "Blue Moon" are that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was laid to rest today.  The second is that tonights moon was a blue moon.  I am reminded of memories, of stories, of the past, present, and future... 

There are several images scattered in this post of the moon that I have chosen to share. Obviously the moon did not really look blue ("blue moon" is simply descriptive, do a quick online search if you do not already know what it means), so that one image was taken by someone with a blue filter (I think that is all it takes but as previously mentioned on this blog I am NOT a photographer!)... The two large clear images of the moon were also found online... And the very small (but bright!) moon came from me.

I can only guess at the number of people around the world who have memories/thoughts that are connected with the night sky and how everyone on earth looks at the very same moon every night