FEBRUARY 2018 BEACON

People who know me well have often referred to me as a Lunatic, and that’s when they’re being kind. Literally, it’s a term identifying people who pay too much attention to the moon, I always just figured I was born under a Full Moon. I think it’s also because I have a way of looking at things in a way that doesn’t occur to most people and then saying what everyone else is thinking but can’t figure out how to verbalize. Recently I looked up the old lunar calendars and found that while I wasn’t born under a Full moon, there’s a very high probability that I was conceived under one, which explains a lot. See what I mean? As a child my dad often showed me the moon particularly when it was full, I’ve always looked up to see it and still remember wondering why I could see it during daylight in the morning one day in the early 1960’s. One of my favorite things about our house in Casco is the farm fields to the North of our home. The nearest street light is a mile away. As a result, I get many great views of the moon all the time and rarely miss a chance to look up for it each night. I also like to look North and find the North Star, (Polaris) especially when there’s no moon. My dad also showed me, as a child, the Big Dipper and how to use it to find the North Star, which is also the end of the handle on the Little Dipper. I’ve used these and other celestial wonders to find my way home from out of sight of land several times without the aid of anything more advanced than a magnetic compass. In case you haven’t heard, there’s quite a hoopla for the Lunar Enhanced among us this month. The night of January 31-February 1, marks a rare event for us, the second full moon in January is a Blue Moon, this one however is also a Super Moon, a Blood Moon, and will feature a full eclipse if you’re in the Southern Ocean, these features occur early morning Jan 31. What a Great way to finish the month and segue into February. The cover was shot at Nokomis Beach early this morning Jan 31. Speaking of Hoopla, the Commodore’s Ball went off with out a hitch. This marks the kick off of our new season at the Club and Randy and Linda deserve a big round of applause. Many photos were taken and some are featured on Face Book if you’re so inclined. The photographer will send finished photos for our March Beacon. Also see page 38 for Great Lakes Water Levels. You can click the link on page 39 to see more detail on these. Blue Skies; Following Seas, Ron