Moonwalk in Mashomack

A group of sure-footed people gathered at the Mashomack visitor center on Sunday night, with a single purpose. After sunset, and long after the trails closed for the day, the last moon of summer was rising. The perfect time for a walk in the woods.

Naturalist Cavan McCabe laid down the rules: “We are bringing flashlights but not using them. Cindy and I are wearing light clothing, so you can see us better in the dark. I’ll lead.”

Cynthia (Cindy) Belt, (Cynthia, the moon goddess for Greeks and Romans), added that everyone should “keep your toes up” and that she would bring up the rear.  She eyed Miriam Peskowitz, who wore all black. “We’re going to lose you, Miriam,” she warned.  Ms. Peskowitz, co-author of the popular book for adventurous young women, “The Daring Book for Girls,” decided to stay near the front.

“Are you sure we’ll be able to see the path?” asked Chris Petersen, who has been coming to Shelter Island for the summer for 67 years.

She joined the trek because she liked the idea of walking in the moonlight, but expressed some trepidation when it became clear that tree roots and holes can hide since human depth perception in the dark is very poor.

Jane Kosovsky, a veterinarian and beekeeper from Southold, was along to learn more about the moon. “Why does the moon look bigger on the horizon than when it’s high in the sky?” she wondered. “I’ve read about it 25 times and I still just don’t get it.”

Shine on, shine on

According to NASA, this full moon is also a “supermoon,” or one that appears bigger and hangs in the sky longer than other full moons. It will be above us for about three days.

On top of that, there is also a slight lunar eclipse on Wednesday night, and it was also 2024’s Harvest Moon.

According to the Old Farmers Almanac, the Harvest Moon is different from all other named full moons in our calendar because it’s not associated with a specific month. It takes the stage with the timing of the autumnal equinox, which is Sept. 22 this year. The Harvest Moon can come this month or in October.

The name of the moon comes from Europe, according to astronomer Guy Ottewell, because the brightness and clarity of its light gave farmers (young and old) more time each night to harvest than on regular moonlit nights.

The Chinese also celebrate the Harvest Moon,the Old Farmer tells us, with families gathering for games and the making and eating of ”mooncakes,” made with flour, egg yolks, and sweet syrup.

What’s for breakfast?

Poets have been moon-maddened since the first one looked up at night, writing about the beauty and mystery the moon presents. “Shine on, shine on Harvest Moon” is a tune that once heard, will never leave you.

A newer version from that early 20th-century standard, by Neil Young in 1992, is also evocative of the sense we have under the Harvest Moon’s light: “Come a little bit closer/ Hear what I have to say/ Just like children sleepin’/ We could dream this night away/ But there’s a full moon risin’/ Let’s go dancin’ in the light …/ Let’s go out and feel the night/ Because I’m still in love with you …/ On this Harvest Moon.”

Moon quiz in Mashomack

The group worked their way along the Mashomack trail, stopping frequently to listen and look. Ms. Belt was the first to identify a loud, rising cry that rang through the woods like the whinny of a horse. A screech owl, she said. Ms. Kosovsky, an avid birder, confirmed.

Soon after the owl came the first sighting of the moon through the trees, already bright and almost full. The walk paused in a moonlit glade.

Ms. Belt asked, “What causes the phases of the moon?”

“The shadow of the earth on the moon?” said one. 

“The shadow of the moon on the earth?” said another.

“Actually,” said Ms. Belt, “the shadow of the moon on itself causes the phases of the moon.”

Disbelief was followed by revelation as a demo with Ms. McCabe holding a rubber ball depicting the moon, and Ms. Belt and a flashlight playing the Sun proved that the moon’s own shadow makes the phases that we see on Earth.

Next Ms. Belt posed the question, “What is the ‘dark side of the moon’ and is it dark?”

She explained that the same side of the moon is always visible from Earth because the moon revolves once for every rotation of the Earth. The dark side of the moon is not always dark. During a new moon, the entire “dark” side of the moon is lit by the sun, but no one on Earth can see it.

On the way back to the trailhead, the way was even, and the moon brighter. No one had tripped or fallen. The walk picked up speed, until Ms. Belt pulled everyone over just short of the trail house and took out a bag of candy.

Everyone got a piece, to chew hard with mouths wide open and the sparks flew. From each set of masticating jaws came tiny lights like a meteor shower in the mouth — the result, Ms. Belt explained, of the friction of chewing on wintergreen mints.

Back at The Nature Center, the group gathered for a long, look at the last moon of summer.

“My mind is blown!” said one.

Ms. Belt pointed out the moonscape. “See that dark area, like a frog, with the legs pointed to the right?” she said, “That’s the Sea of Tranquility.”

“So much cooler than an asteroid!” said another, and all agreed.