We walked at Our Lady of Fatima shrine this month
My granddaughter, Ellie, came to visit for our walk when the moon is full adventure this past weekend.
We picked poke berries and mashed them to make paint with a mortar and pestle. We cut open milkweed pods and discovered silky seeds. We picked Jewelweed pods and popped them open. We found a box turtle and counted scute rings to speculate its age.
We searched for Jiminy Cricket in the garage and experienced the wonders of surround sound and marveled about how one tiny insect could be so loud by just rubbing its forewings together. We chased grasshoppers even as she kept up her “I’m so scared of bugs” narrative.
As night fell, we drove to a nearby outdoor shrine to walk under the full moon. She brought her American Girl doll and we carried flashlights. We spoke about how waaay back when, before electricity, farmers finished gathering their crops after dark by the light of the harvest moon.
As we walked around the reflecting pool, we witnessed several large frogs jump in and we watched the koi swim in the murky depths. When she asked about the statues, I told her the story about Our Lady who appeared in white, as bright as the sun, in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, to three young children with a message of hope.
About that time, my husband shined his flashlight down from above her head, she looked up, and I took a photo that captured a marvelous expression with the statue and full moon in the background.
Later, she pointed out the clouds on the moon looked like rippled sand she’s seen on the beach. I know sand ripples are called saltation, but what’s the physical process called for rippled clouds, I wondered.
We wrapped up our moon time with a bedtime story or three, only this time around, she read them to me.
“Be brave to explore in the daring unknown. Be brave to return to the cozy of home. Be brave to BE YOU on your journey begun. Let your heart lead the way…be brave little one!”
See you in October for the Hunter’s Full Moon! xox