"The whole world again marvels"

Fly me to the moon

Could you see the beautiful full moon last night?  We're socked in again with freezing fog this morning, but last night it was clear for a while after an early sunset at 4:10. December's full moon is sometimes called the Cold Moon or Long Night Moon.

It didn't seem to get much attention in the media, but the Chinese successfully launched and landed a rover on the moon this week, leaving the first wheeled tracks on the surface in nearly 40 years.  From the official statement:

“Now as Jade Rabbit has made its touchdown on the moon surface, the whole world again marvels at China's remarkable space capabilities,” said Xinhua, China’s state news agency, in an article following the landing.

Here's a poem by May Sarton.

December Moon

Before going to bed
After a fall of snow
I look out on the field
Shining there in the moonlight
So calm, untouched and white
Snow silence fills my head
After I leave the window.

Hours later near dawn
When I look down again
The whole landscape has changed
The perfect surface gone
Criss-crossed and written on
Where the wild creatures ranged

While the moon rose and shone.
Why did my dog not bark?
Why did I hear no sound
There on the snow-locked ground
In the tumultuous dark?

How much can come, how much can go
When the December moon is bright,
What worlds of play we’ll never know
Sleeping away the cold white night
After a fall of snow.