Butterflies, Our Blog, and a Blue Moon July 31st

Butterflies

The months of August, September, and October are prime viewing times for butterflies.  Our article, "How High Does the Swallowtail Fly?" featured in the August Creekline describes how to identify some of the butterflies you'll see at Alpine Groves Park, especially in the Freedom Butterfly Garden.  As a companion to the article, the author also created a slideshow featuring the many butterflies you can see at this time of year.  Click here to open the Butterflies of September posting and slideshow.  (Other slideshows are featured in the sidebar on the Awards and Projects page.)

Our Award-Winning Blog

This website is a weB-LOG, BLOG.  It and our membership brochure won us two awards from the National Garden Club.  Read about our Certificates of Merit on the Awards and Projects page.    We also won an award from the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs for our use of this blog as a newsletter.  Get a free copy of our monthly posting by subscribing.  Our first meeting is September 10 at the Bartram Trail Library, at 10AM.   Come on down and meet us for our kick-off to the season!  Email switzerlandgc@gmail.com if you'll come!

Blue Moon July 31st

This July stargazers will be treated to a rare sight:  the second full moon in the same calendar month.  In popular parlance, this event is called a "blue moon."   It will happen on July 31. 


Before 1946, the term "blue moon" had a different meaning:  the third of four full moons in an astronomical season (which is defined by the solstices and equinoxes).  Three full moons a season, is the norm, but when that third full moon is one of a series of four, it is then called the "blue moon."

A blue moon (meaning the second full moon in a month) happens on July 31, 2015.  The last time it happened was August 31, 2012, and January 31, 2018 is the next.   However, the dog days of summer include a lot of clouds and rain in the evening, and for those of us who happen to be in northern Florida on July 31 that is what we can expect on this occasion.  The best we can do is read about it and plan for the next one - in 2018.  See Blue Moon at the TimeAndDate website.    TimeAndDate, among other features, has a calendar of moonrise/moonset times and moon phases for major cities in the world.