The harvest moon is the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. The Harvest moon is often mistaken for the modern day Hunter's Moon. In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible. The full moons of September, October and November as seen from the northern hemisphere — which correspond to the full moons of March, April and May as seen from the southern hemisphere — are well known in the folklore of the sky. All full moons rise around the time of sunset. However, although in general the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, as it moves in orbit around Earth, the Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special, because the moon rises approximately 30 minutes later, from one night to the next. Thus there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise around the time following these full moons. In times past this feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter's Moon, hunters tracking their prey). They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest Moon.
This is horsetail or scouring rush plant planted beside the new pond - it's quite a striking plant. I got some from a friend and I think it's gonna do Horsetail is one of those plants that is ideal for naturalizing or as some folks say "it will take over". Horsetail consists of many reed-like, segmented green tubes that grow straight up to a height of four feet. Attractive black and gray bands are found at both ends of each segment. It is thought that giant horsetail trees, reaching a height of more than ten feet, lived at the time of the dinosaurs and were grazed by vegetarian dinosaur species. No plant is more concentrated in silica than horsetail. It was used by the pioneers for scouring their pots and polishing their pewter. Even today, campers looking for a way to clean their cooking utensils grab fistfuls of horsetail, which is often found growing next to streams, to do the job. The silica in horsetail is highly soluble in the fluids of wounds and has been using to stop bleeding and heal broken bones. Horsetail extract is also found in herbal products that are recommended for people suffering from incontinence or high cholesterol.
