moon caught in a web

moon caught in a web

of black limbs, snow moon, hunger moon,

opening buds moon

Native American tribes of the north and east often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon, since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month. Hunting was difficult in such harsh weather, so some tribes also called this Moon the Full Hunger Moon. Paradoxically, if the weather was mild, the warmth would induce trees to bud, giving the full Moon the name Opening Buds Moon.
          We have had almost no snow this winter and not a long cold spell. But today the wind is blowing strong from the northwest, making it feel much colder than the reading on the thermometer. The full Moon, rising through a web of bare black limbs, looks like a baseball I found in the woods, its white leather cover rotted away, revealing yards of string wrapped around the hard core.