“Flower Moon Rising on Bogue Inlet Pier”

Photo of the Week: May 18-24, 2015

Photograph by Gladys Buzzell of Swansboro.

While you can’t see the sun set over the ocean off the N.C. coast, you can watch a less bright orange orb rise from the watery horizon after dusk. Photographer Gladys Buzzell took this shot of May’s full moon with the Emerald Isle pier in the foreground. The moonlight illuminates the green pilings of the pier and the moon’s reflection across the ocean, like a trail or glowing shadow.

But, why is May’s full moon dubbed the “Flower Moon”?

According the Almanac, Native Americans named full moons to help different tribes track the seasons. They referred to the May full moon as the Flower Moon because of the springing abundance of flowers. It’s also called Mother’s Moon, Milk Moon and Corn Planting Moon because May marks a time of increasing fertility with temperatures warm enough for safely bearing young and a near end to late frosts.