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Wolf Moon rises over Island

The first full moon of 2021 rose through splintered clouds just after 7 p.m. last evening.

January’s full moon is known as the Wolf Moon, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, for several reasons, the most common being that wolves are heard howling especially vividly in the clear, cold air of deepest winter.

The wolves aren’t howling from hunger, The Almanac says, but more “to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting.”

The almanac lists other names for January’s full moon, including Native American designations such as “Cold Moon (Cree), Frost Exploding Moon (Cree), Freeze Up Moon (Algonquin), Severe Moon (Dakota), and Hard Moon (Dakota).”

As for the wolves, besides all the practical reasons given above for baying in broken choruses at the bright, cold sky, it also must feel good to just let it all out in the moonlight.

Credit: Adam Bundy)