A harvest moon occurs at a specific time of the year. The moon officially turns full when it reaches the spot opposite to the sun. The harvest moon happens on 13:59 Greenwich time on the Saturday nearest to the fall equinox, which is September 23rd. Once in every three years we get the same full moon in October, but the one in September is called the harvest moon because farmers can continue their harvest late into the night by the light of the full moon. The same moon appears three days in succession, but the one that appears on Saturday is the one that receives this name.
Other names for this moon are the Wine Moon, the Elk Call Moon and the Singing Moon. It received the name of harvest moon because it appears in the Northern Hemisphere at the time of the year that coincides with the harvesting of crops.
Gazing Upon a Harvest Moon
The moon during the year rises about 50 minutes later each day, but near autumn equinox the time shortens to 30 minutes. Some years there is an extra treat for moon watchers when they do their gazing between dusk and dawn. Wildfires in North America and dust storms in Africa sometimes fill our air with aerosols. A low hanging harvest moon can give an array of colors that is not usually seen. There is also an added treat to watching a harvest moon. This is called moon illusion because the rising or setting moon looks bigger than when it does high in the sky.
As I suited up, I noticed the swell was flowing more than the last few days, this would be exponentially felt underwater. As usual, I dropped down to about 10 feet and started my hunt. The kelp that I have been swimming in for the past few days was laying flat on the sand today and the surge was WHIPPING me around. I knew today would be a tough go at it and I'd probably have difficulty in the shallows. I decided to head in the opposite direction today to look for new spots, not a wise choice. As I got closer to the round tip of the jetty, the underwater eddy of water was so powerful that I have to claw my way back to the starting point by hanging onto boulders. As I headed back to the areas that I was familiar with, the surge lessened and it was easier to get into the cracks and mini caves.
I didn't see many lobster out and about (the reason you dive for them in the dark- they come out of the rocks and look for food) but those I did find were too small. As I headed back towards my entry point at the end of the dive, I started poking around in the rocks in the shallows. There, I found quite a few LARGE lobster. I thrust my hand in one hole, got a hold of some horns and stared the fight. This bad boy wasn't giving up and after a few seconds got free. As I pulled my arms out I felt a stinging sensation and the sleeve of my right arm was up around my mid forearm. I pulled it down and continued the dive.
After getting out of my gear, I looked at my arm to find a nice size chunk of skin and soft tissue missing
Max depth: 14 feet, Dive time: 80 minutes, water temp 64F, ZERO lobsters, surgy.
So, today I lost and the ocean won. Payback hurts sometimes...
