over the Wolf Moon

For a few months I brain-stormed over the Moon off and on, the time came to be more on with the brain-storming than off! After a few hours of full time brain-storming dedication, I came up with a plan to put in place.  I want to create a painting of a Moon for each month this year.  Each of these paintings will be the monthly photo on a 2025 Calendar.  The intent is for each month's Moon painting to have a story behind it from my experiences or my photographs. I have always admired the Moon so it should be an easy task to search back through my photos and stories to find something relatable.  I may or may not have photos of the actual full moons.

The Full Moon in each month has been given a name, which intrigues me.  I did some homework on that then created this chart from information I found in the The Old Farmers Almanac.  In addition to the Moon name and date when it is full, the reason behind the name is also explained.  

   

This year the Full Wolf Moon will rise on January 25th from the northeastern horizon around sunset time. The Old Farmer's Almanac states it is traditionally believed that wolves howl due to hunger during winter.   It is now known they howl for numerous reasons such as defining their territory, locating pack members, reinforcing social bonds and coordinating hunting activities.  

"The Wolf Moon"

This watercolour painting was created from a vision I had in my mind.  You can see the shape of a wolf's head in the Moon. Splatters of white gouache make up the stars.  I added a shooting star here and there.  The shades used were intended to give a frigid night time view which I feel I succeeded with. 

The only reference I used was from a photo taken of a wolf on April 7, 2012 while we were driving along Highway 40 (where life begins) in Kananaskis to our snowshoe trailhead. I cannot remember which friend who was sitting in the back seat snapped this photo.  It was the first time ever that I saw a wolf out in the wild.  

This was the other wolf on the opposite side of the road.

My second sighting of a wolf on January 12, 2013 was a terrifying one while it was happening and even afterwards as we sat in the vehicle with the doors locked and I looked out and saw this looking at me.  This photo was taken from the safety of inside the vehicle and I did not zoom in to capture this photo.  As it turned out, this Timberwolf was a pet that was roaming free in the area that we were hiking. You can read the full story in the link provided at the first of this paragraph.  

My plan is to be out somewhere at sunset time on January 25th 

to actually witness the rising of this year's Wolf Moon!

If all conditions align for an ideal viewing, I will be over the moon!