Moons and mammals

On my way to the gym this morning, I was struck at what seemed to be light from the rising sun shining behind the clouds in front of me. But I was heading west. 

When the clouds parted, I could see that it was an enormous almost-full moon, not the sun, that was shining bright in the early morning.

Tonight will be the final supermoon of 2015, the Hunter's Moon. While it won't be bringing a total lunar eclipse with it, the full moon will appear slightly larger, the optical illusion that makes it a supermoon.
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September's supermoon had the added bonus of a total lunar eclipse. It became a "super blood moon" loaded with potential conspiracy theories. Despite the "end of days" talk, the supermoon total lunar eclipse was mostly a good show for those who looked up out of curiosity. 

The whole end of days things reminds me of a scene in the stage production of A Man For All Seasons, when the Common Man, who serves as a sort of Greek chorus, is spotlighted out of the darkness of the tragedy.

"I'm breathing. Are you breathing? It's nice, isn't it?"

 After every prediction of the end of days, I wake up breathing. It is nice.

October's supermoon will only be a Hunter's Moon as it is the next full moon after the Harvest Moon, September's full moon that took place closest to the Autumnal equinox October's full moon gets its name because Native Americans would take the opportunity to hunt ahead of winter, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Given how bright the moon was this morning, and not quite full, I can see why they did so.

And a note on wildlife: Lately I have seen wild turkeys, foxes and even elk on my trips to and from the gym. Seeing elk sounds exotic, but I pass an elk farm on the way, so it is not much more unusual than seeing llamas and alpacas here in Wisconsin. Farm animals!