Harvest Supermoon Thoughts

Across the Fence 513

The moon is full tonight as I sit here writing this column. This is the Harvest Moon of September, because it falls closest to the fall equinox. It’s also a Supermoon this year. This occurs when the moon makes its closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit, and appears larger to us. I guess we can call it a Harvest Supermoon.

I haven’t seen any werewolves during this Supermoon, but it stirred up a lot of thoughts in my mind as we find ourselves in the transition from summer to fall. For those of us in the North Country, that means winter is just around the corner. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac we’re in for a nasty winter with biting cold and lots of snow. Uff da, I was hoping for a mild winter after last year. But first we need to enjoy the fall.

The Harvest Moon that I’m looking at signals the arrival of fall and the harvest season. Before the advent of tractors and equipment with lights, farmers relied on the full moon of September to help get their crops in as they worked late into the night. Maybe that’s why it’s called the Harvest Moon.

Mid-September also heralds the arrival of the Vernon County Fair, the last fair of the year in Wisconsin. The weather this time of year is always a roll of the dice. Sometimes it’s shorts and t-shirts and other times long underwear and winter jackets. Since I’m now retired, I won’t be working long hours in the Co-op Building every day. This year I can go to the fair, stroll around, enjoy it, and not feel like I need to hurry back to our booth.

I’ve been attending the Vernon County Fair since I was a young boy in 4-H and showed cattle and hogs. Even then we had time to wander around the fairgrounds, play some carney games, go on rides, and of course, eat good, nutritious, fair food. One of the big attractions of any fair is the food. I’ll be the first to admit that eating a lot of it will get you a fast ticket to Cardiac City. I’ve been in training for months now, walking three miles a day, doing planks and sit-ups, and getting in shape. I’m trying to get my heart and lungs pumping at peak efficiency so they can flush out all that damaging cholesterol. Then I can eat my way across the fairgrounds without dropping over from the Big One. Just thinking about all the fair food makes my mouth water and my circulatory system shudder.

There are several food stops that are mandatory when I go to the fair. Hub’s Fries has become an institution and people had withdrawal symptoms last year when they weren’t at the fair at the base of the grandstand. This year I know for a fact that they’ll be back in their usual spot. Another must stop is Kjelland’s deep-fried cheese curds right beside the Co-op Building. It was much too handy when I spent long days in that building the last seven years. 

OK, that’s just two of the food hotspots, there are plenty more, and each person has their personal favorites. I’ve got to have at least one of the BBQ pork on a baked potato with all the trimmings. Then there’s funnel cakes, gyros, mini-donuts, or the 4-H stand for hamburgers, BBQ, and a piece of pie a-la-mode. I have to patronize my old alma mater, since I spent many years in 4-H. You can top everything off with a hand-squeezed lemonade and some more deep fried cheese curds from the guy who seems like he’s had that little stand at the fair since the beginning of time.

Foot-long hotdogs were one of my favorites back when I was a kid at the fair. They didn’t taste any different from ordinary hotdogs but I guess it was the novelty of it. If all those choices aren’t enough, there’s a variety of deep-fried food on a stick; deep-fried candy bars and deep-fried S’mores, to name a couple. That way, you can walk around the fairgrounds and get a little exercise while clogging your arteries. Thank goodness it only happens once a year. As you can see, that Harvest Supermoon really stirred up some memories for me. 

Another incident happened today while I was on my morning hike. I actually saw a Monarch butterfly. It landed in a tree and sat there, all by itself. There were no other monarchs around. Then about two miles into my walk, another monarch began flying ahead of me. Those are the only two I’ve seen in a long time. It continued flying a few feet in front of me for about half a mile, as if accompanying me. Then I heard a truck sound coming up behind me on the country road. “Get out of the way,” my mind shouted at the monarch, but it was too late. It became a hood ornament on the pickup. One less monarch will head south for the winter. 

Under the Harvest Supermoon, I think of my brief association with that monarch and remember how fleeting life is. Here one moment, gone the next. As the moon disappears behind the approaching storm clouds it reminds me that we need to cherish every moment we have, make the best use of the time we have, and don’t worry about eating fair food once in a while.

*