The Ripe Corn Moon

Tonight is July’s full moon, which is known by many names in the Northern Hemisphere.  Algonquin tribes called it the Buck Moon, in honor of the fact that antlers begin to appear on the foreheads of buck deer this month.  (We’ve seen evidence this in our own backyard!)  To the Cherokee, July’s moon was the Ripe Corn Moon — and if you’ve tasted fresh corn lately, you’re likely to agree on the aptness of that name.  To Colonial Americans, this month held the Hay Moon, and to the medieval English, the Mead Moon.

A toast to tonight’s moon!  With mead, if you’ve got it.