Flagging up Sap Moon

Eclipsed

So it might have been hard to notice, what with the mostly thickly clouded and rainy skies lately in much of the UK, but the moon is waxing and will ripen to sap moon fullness on Tuesday 3rd March. From parts of East Asia, the Pacific, Australia and the Americas, you will be able to observe a full eclipse of this moon that night, but sadly not from the UK or Europe.

Glass sculpture by cornish artist Abigail Reynolds

The sun has certainly also been noticeably eclipsed by near-constant clouds and rain where I live, and the ground is entirely saturated in water. I’m beginning to struggle with the sheer lack of direct sunlight especially, and it seems that the flowers and blossoms too are struggling to fully emerge in such persistently inclement conditions. Many little birds sit lined up and dripping in my garden hedge each morning, waiting for their next ration of fat balls, in the absence of any flying insects.

And yet the sap is rising in the trees, the days are gradually lengthening, and there are moments of sudden brilliance when the sun briefly bursts through. May we race into Spring with the speed of the rivers and streams in full spate, and the warmth of the fire horse!