May’s Full Moon

'Full Moon over Kilauea' by Jules Tavernier  - oil on canvas 1887

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Child Moon

The child's wonder

At the old moon

Comes back nightly.

She points her finger

To the far silent yellow thing

Shining through the branches

Filtering on the leaves a golden sand,

Crying with her little tongue, 'See the moon!'

And in her bed fading to sleep

With babblings of the moon on her little mouth.

Carl Sandburg 1878 – 1967

Quite why May's New Moon should be called the 'Milk Moon' I don't know. Could it be that it coincides with the cows being turned out to pasture from their winter quarters? I think they may go out earlier so perhaps by May the milk is reflecting the benefits of fresh Spring grass.
I can understand the moon being called the 'Planting Moon' for May is the month in which many seeds are planted though I suspect it may derive from farming lore. We did a lot of planting a few days ago and already the flowering plants have put their feet down and lifted their heads and many of the seeds are germinating. The goldfish and rudd in the pond are becoming very active, racing to the surface for their food and flicking their tails to dive again, so a different sort of planting will be taking place soon – or rather a sowing of seed. Not much of the spawn survives – it is laid and then eaten by the prospective parents, the resident frogs and newts, developing dragonfly larvae (these somewhat unattractive creatures are known as 'nymphs' – isn't that picturesque?) and visiting crows and magpies. Those few eggs that go on to hatch must still elude the snapping jaws of the community they hope one day to join. We usually see two or three baby fish each year and there is little fear of the pond being choked with half-starved fish - the numbers have not increased dramatically over the years.
'Flower Moon' is an equally appropriate name for the May full moon. The garden is alive with colourful blooms and a thousand buds foretell the blaze that will erupt in June.