Finally Spring begins to unfold and this moon (interchangeable with ‘month,’ but runs from full moon to full moon) is the epitome of the season — bright, full of life and light — a time of rebirth and renewal. Rarely is this moon really pink, but this is the time when Moss Phlox (Phloxsubulata), also called Moss Pink and Creeping Ground Phlox flowers unfold in the Northeast.
Tribes further west in the Rockies, still mired in winter, called it Ice Breaking in the River Moon.
Other common Indigenous names for the full moon in April are Egg Moon, referring to birds laying their eggs, and the Fish Moon as fish return in numbers to northern waters. Don’t forget, spring is burgeoning everywhere in the northern hemisphere and all northern peoples had their names for this time, like the Celt’s Budding Moon and New Shoots Moon.
To Slavicpeople it was the Birch Moon. In China it was called the Peony Moon, which is interesting since most peonies will be pink. Again, all these names reflect a common theme — the return of life,light and warmth to the Land.
A major reason why the Full Pink Moon was so important was that it was the first full moon after the spring Equinox, which marks the halfway point between the winter and summer Solstices. Not only is it a major turning point in the year for native traditional peoples, but it coincides with some of the holiest times of different cultures and religions.
Passover begins with the Pink Moon, or Pesach Moon. Easter, the modern Christian holiday of resurrection (inspired by the ancient Celtic holy day of Eostre, which celebrated the rebirth of Life), occurs on the first Sunday of what’s called the Paschal Moon. It is a special time, no matter how we celebrate it.
Birds eggs, yes; Fawns, no
If you can replace an egg that fell from its nest, please don’t hesitate to do so. I’m sure their parents will appreciate it. You can touch a bird-egg since they have no sense of smell. This is in contrast to a newborn fawn, which, amazingly, is born without scent. This incredible adaptation allows the doe to leave it in tall grass while she desperately feeds to regain strength, knowing that predators (Black Bear and Coyotes, for instance) will not smell it. So bird-eggs, yes, and fawns, no. Actually, if you handle the fawn you may imbue it with your scent and mom will most likely reject it, so please.
Winterspring…
As you can tell, I love spring (who doesn’t?). The only issue I have with it is that it takes seemingly forever for it to come to fruition. All of the other seasons fairly zip along, by comparison. Maybe it would help if we made four minor seasons in between the four major ones —winterspring; summerspring; summerfall and winterfall. Then it might be easier to adapt from one to the other. Still I think spring will always suffer from our green expectations after so long without verdure.
To reach “Ranger” Dave Holden, call 845-594-4863 or email woodstocktrails@gmail.com; also see Woodstock Trails on Facebook; rangerdaveholden on Instagram or www.woodstocknytrails.com.
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