Smoky Mountain Long Cold Full Moon

Smoky Mountain Long Cold full moon is on the rise!

Smoky Mountain Long Cold full moon is on the rise!

Smoky Mountain Long Cold Full Moon is on the rise! The final full moon for 2019 and the decade will reach its apex at 12:12 a.m. on December 12th. This lunar event is sometimes called the “Long Night’s Moon” or the “Full Cold Moon.” During this moon phase the moon will sit above the horizon much longer than it normally does.

The “Long Cold” moon is the harbinger of the bleakness associated with the beginning of winter. This event is followed by colder average temperatures and more hours of darkness. The winter solstice (the official start of winter) occurs on December 21st, a full week after the Long Cold Moon.

Be on the lookout for the moon to appear a few minutes before sunset. The moon should be visible in the Smoky Mountains by 5:10 p.m. That time assumes you are in a spot with a good vantage point like Clingmans Dome or Cades Cove. If you are down in a deep holler it could be much later and depending on the surrounding mountains you may not see the moon at all.

Bonus Smoky Mountain Astrological Tip – Don’t miss the Geminid Meteor Shower! This is the most active meteor shower of the year and you should be able to see hundreds of meteors in a few hours. This event happens early to mid December each year. Typically the best viewing is December 13th. This year the show may be a little more difficult to see thanks to its competition with the moon. With the Full Cold moon happening almost in unison with the shower the sky will be brighter than normal. Try your luck around 9:00 p.m. on the 13th by looking toward the darkest region of sky in your area.

Watching the full moon rise and counting meteors is a Smoky Mountain tradition for the team at HeySmokies.com. We count shooting stars until our neck hurts and then we count some more. We will be making a special shooting star wish for peace and happiness for all our HeySmokies fans! We appreciate your support this year and look forward to sharing more of our Smoky Mountain secrets with you in the new year! We hope all of your shooting star wishes come true!

Smoky Mountain Full Beaver Moon

The Smoky Mountain Beaver moon is on the rise!

The Smoky Mountain Beaver moon is on the rise! Photo credit – eyeofhorus

Smoky Mountain Full Beaver Moon is set to rise November 12, 2019. There is no place more special to view the rise of a full moon than Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This month is the famous Beaver Moon.

In ancient times it was common practice for humans to observe and track the changing seasons according to the lunar month instead of the solar year. Our modern calendar is based on the solar year. The ancient peoples of Native American tribes and folks across Europe gave names to the months based on lunar phases observed in the Northern Hemisphere seasons.

You have probably heard the expression, “Busy as a beaver.” There are few times of the year that beavers are more busy than November. With winter fast approaching beavers begin to hoard food and fortify their dwellings. Winter beaver dams are constructed to give additional protection from predators as well. Ancient hunters observed the beaver activity and knew that it was now time for them to prepare for winter too.

This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Beavers make dams of wood and mud. In the middle of the ponds this creates they build dome-shaped homes called lodges with underwater entrances. Beavers continue to grow throughout their lives, and so do their teeth. They constantly gnaw on wood, but because the enamel in a beaver’s incisors contains iron, their front teeth never wear down. Once the beaver dams and lodges were constructed they had a safe refuge for the winter.

Smoky Mountain Beaver Moon will be on the rise soon.

Smoky Mountain Beaver Moon will be on the rise soon. Photo credit – consciousremi der

There once were more than 60 million North American beavers. However, because people have hunted them for fur and their glands for medicine, among other reasons, the beaver population has declined to around 12 million. Beavers have begun to make a come back in the Smoky Mountain region in recent decades and beaver dams and lodges have been detected in the foothills nears Greenbrier.

Beavers don’t get all the credit for the November moon. Other names are the Frost Moon, November Full Moon, Trading Moon, Snow Moon and sometimes the Oak Moon.

Some of our favorite places to view the Beaver Full Moon is Cades Cove, the porch of Oconaluftee Visitors Center, Cataloochee and Clingmans Dome.

 

Smoky Mountain Hunter’s Moon

Smoky Mountain Hunter's Moon is on the rise!

Smoky Mountain Hunter’s Moon is on the rise! Photo credit – Victoriabuzz.com

Smoky Mountain Hunter’s Moon is on the rise this month. This full moon is often called the Blood Moon, Sanguine Moon and the Full Hunter’s Moon. The native Cherokee knew that the Hunters Moon meant leaves are falling and the deer are fattened up after a long fruitful summer in the mountains. Settlers and Native peoples made plans to stock up on food for the winter as cooler weather takes hold. It was the Hunter’s Moon that helped them fill the pantries.

Similar to the Harvest Moon in September, the light of the Hunter’s Moon made it easier to see game in the hours that are normally dark. This Moon rises about a half an hour later than sunset each night. This rise time happens more quickly than normal Moon rise. The big, bright moon would be in full view as the evening twilight faded into night. This allowed hunters to pursue prey long into the night.

Fields were traditionally harvested and reaped in the early weeks of fall which allowed hunters to see game more easily as they search for discarded grains. Elk, deer, fox, rabbits and other animals could be spotted in the shimmering light of the moon. The Hunter’s Moon is given a special honor of “feast day” in Western Europe and Native American tribes being the last big celebration before winter.

Contrary to popular belief neither the Harvest Moon nor the Hunter’s Moon are any larger or brighter than any other full Moon. Due to the Moon’s non-synchronized orbit and phase cycles, some years it may appear closer or further away.

Some of our favorite places to view the Hunter’s Moon in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are Cades Cove, the porch of Oconaluftee Visitors Center, Cataloochee and Clingmans Dome.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Bans Backcountry Campfires

Smoky Mountain campfire ban in effect.

Smoky Mountain backcountry campfire ban in effect.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park bans backcountry campfires. Park officials have placed the ban due to recent drought like conditions in the mountains and surrounding area. These conditions sharply increase the chances for wildfires starting and spreading. Backcountry visitors should expect the ban to remain in place until conditions change.

Only people enjoying trail shelters and backcountry campsites will be affected by this ban for now. Front country camp sites like Cades Cove, Cosby, Elkmont, and Smokemont are still allowed to use the fire rings at campsites. Picnickers can continue to enjoy charcoal grills for now also. Visitors are advised to use extreme caution with fire and always be sure and use water to extinguish them. The use of backpacking stoves with pre-packaged gas canisters is currently still allowed in the backcountry.

“The park is experiencing abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions throughout the park,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “With little rain and hot, dry conditions predicted over the next week, it is imperative that we reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires.”

Finding  drinking water may also be difficult for hikers and backpackers. Some locations that still have running springs have significantly reduced water flow. If flowing, a quart – sized bottle may take over five minutes to fill. The water sources at campsites 5, 16, 26  and Mollies Ridge Shelter are currently bone dry.

When entering the backcountry use your head and plan your route to maximize available water sources whenever possible. If you know you are heading into a dry area carry as much extra water as you can. Unseasonably high temperatures continue to dry out the region and heat stroke is a real possibility.

Symptoms of Heat Stroke

  • Throbbing headache.
  • Dizziness and light-headedness.
  • Lack of sweating despite the heat.
  • Red, hot, and dry skin.
  • Muscle weakness or cramps.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Rapid heartbeat, which may be either strong or weak.
  • Rapid, shallow breathing
Source material AMA and GSMNP

Smoky Mountain Fairy Rings

Smoky Mountain fairy rings are cool!

Smoky Mountain fairy rings are cool!

Smoky Mountain Fairy Rings. Finding a Smoky Mountain fairy ring is always a special event! Last year was one of the wettest on record, more than 13 inches of rainfall above the norm.  And one of the consequences of so much rain is mushrooms.  As you hike through fields and woods this year, you may notice an arc or circle of mushrooms.  In grassy areas you may also see circles of either dead grass or exceptionally green grass.  All of these are fairy rings!

The visible rings are fascinating and have been the subject of mythical lore from ancient times.  In fact, it’s still fun to imagine a midnight meeting of fairies, gathered in their circle beneath a waxing moon to dance and sing while other sprites watch from their seats on the surrounding mushrooms.  But the real magic is taking place underground.

Purple puffball mushroom. Photo credit: fichas micrologicas

Purple puffball mushroom. Photo credit: fichas micrologicas

Fairy circles start with a few mushroom spores being naturally deposited in a given area, usually by rainfall or by an animal brushing against a mature mushroom.  When conditions are favorable (think wet weather, think 2018), the spores germinate to form mycelia (the mushroom equivalent of roots).  The mycelia emit enzymes that dissolve the nutrients in the soil so that the mycelia network can absorb them and grow. As the nutrients and moisture are used up around the original spot of germination, the mycelia move outward to form a circle.  The resulting lack of nutrients can cause the vegetation within the circle to die.  This happens within the circle of the flat-topped mushroom called the giant funnel (Leucopaxillus giganteus).  But the enzymes of another mushroom, the purple puffball (Calcatia cyathiformis), actually releases nitrogen into the soil, creating a circle of richer, faster growing grass.  Little wonder that legends about these fairy circles variously attribute both good and bad luck to their appearance!

When a fairy ring appears in the lawn you’ve spent so much time and money to develop, you may not care all that much about moonlit midnight dances; you want to be rid of it.  Treatment, however, can be difficult.  If you have a brown circle, try hand watering the area and applying a lawn fertilizer.  If the circle is green, try applying nitrogen to the entire area to mask the circle. But the best strategy is prevention. Most fairy circles develop in lawns because of thatch build up.  Annual removal of thatch followed by soil aeriation, typically done in the early spring, are the best preventative actions.

But when you find fairy circles in our meadows, fields, and forests—just enjoy them; the fairies do! A few of our favorite places to find fairy rings in the Smoky Mountains are Cades Cove, Cataloochee, and Oconaluftee.

HeySmokies.com is honored to have Carl Parsons as a contributing writer. Carl is Deputy Editor for Storyteller Magazine, a member of the Writers’ Guild of Sevier County, TN, and a Tennessee Master Gardener.

 

Source material credit: Fairy rings