Continuing my journey across the Great Plains this morning, I was heading toward the Hunter's Moon; our large, bright satellite was gleaming from the clear, western sky. Its title, of course, reflects the season in which it appears, highlighting the vital importance of hunting in our evolutionary past, in preparation for the lean, harsh months of winter. By contrast, hunting is now more of a leisure activity than a necessary one across most regions of our planet.
A half hour after my initial sighting, the moon disappeared behind a cloud bank that stretched across the western horizon. Within another hour, I was beneath that gray, rumpled overcast, enveloped in chilly air. It seemed as if the transition from bright sunshine to relative gloom reinforced the message of the Hunter's Moon.
While many of us enjoy winter, we evolved in the Tropics and our collective memory has instilled some trepidation as we face the coming cold and darkness. We also "know" that it is the culling season, when the old, the infirm and the very young have long been potential victims; we acknowledge that fact in our observation of nature but prefer to think we humans are immune.
