Today is the full moon. Where I live, it is at its fullest at 7:48 pm. Last night when I had finished feeding the animals, I stood in the path and stared up at the moon. Its light glowed upon the snow and provided illumination to easily navigate without a flashlight. The skies were clear, and the stars were bright, but the moon dominated the landscape.
Often, the coldest days of the month surround the full moon. This month is no different. Where I live, we’ve hit -19 degrees Celsius with wind chills in the low -30s.
The January full moon is called Cold Moon. Some call it Wolf Moon because it’s a time wolves are often heard howling. The howling and the cold will certainly send a chill down the back of anyone in the woods at night.
The moon has also been referred to as Freeze Moon, Frost Exploding Moon and Ice Moon.
I prefer the name Cold Moon because typically, January is our coldest month. Back in the 1980s, the temperature typically hovered between -20 and -35 degrees Celsius. Thankfully, with Nova Scotia having milder winters, we seldom see those temperatures now.
Diane McGyver 