~ PINK MOON O'ER CHARLIE'S FARM ~

Irishwhistler · Apr 7, 2020

~ Pink Moon O'er Charlie's Farm ~

I ventured out tonight, me intention being to photograph the pink super moon. I had concern that the weather may not cooperate and that the cloud cover that comes with the predicted rain might likely obscure that which I hoped to capture.

As I jumped in me truck, I rested me cased camera on the adjacent passenger seat. I took brief pause in deciding upon a location from which to shoot the evening sky. Heading out o' me driveway, I turned right and traveled up to Charlie's farm, a wee bit o'er a mile north o' me home. Having shot many images at Charlie's farm, I knew it would afford me a grand perspective looking southeast.

Upon me arrival at the southernmost pasture o' the farm, I could see what I estimated to be near 30 whitetail deer grazing whilst backlit by the super moon hanging low in the eastern sky. I had hoped to capture that image but the deer had a different idea, they scattering o'er the ridge they had been feeding upon, fleeing o'er its crest to the safety o' the other side. I continued north to the spot I had originally intended to shoot from, having shot the evening sky from that location many times in years gone by.

As I looked south and east, I was looking out o'er the area I had always considered the most beautiful location o' Charlie's farm. The night was particularly still, the typical hooting o' the Great Horned owl and howling o' the Eastern Coyotes were absent. I could hear me own heart, its beat periodically interrupted by the noise made by me camera as I pressed the shutter release. The beauty o' the evening sky was mesmerizing and it was clear to me why Charlie loved his farm so completely. Born to the farm and the life it demanded, Charlie had lived his entire life in dedication to the land and the animals it supported, both his cattle and the wildlife he loved so dearly.

Me neighbor and friend Charlie passed on last week at the age o' 93 years, the last two spent in decline and that eventually leading to his remaining time spent in a long-term care facility. Most certainly his longest time spent away from his farm. I attended a small graveside gathering o' friends last Friday at the Catholic cemetery in town where Charlie's ashes were entombed, that being nearly ten or more miles from the farm. As I viewed the night sky and the pink super moon casting its warming light across the pasturelands before me, I had little doubt that Charlie had been reunited with the farm he loved so dearly.

God rest ye Charlie.

Mike