Ring Around The Moon

Last night JD mentioned how pretty the moon was. It was a perfectly round shape and a brilliant silvery white. What was really fascinating about it was the ring around it. The sky on the outside of the ring was foggy and misty looking, yet the sky within the circle was perfectly clear. It was almost like the moon had been framed and hung up there for our enjoyment. We took a couple of pictures of it. I believe that if you click on the picture it should enlarge big enough for you to see what I am talking about. As it some times goes though, the picture doesn't do it justice. We have had such an unusually warm fall that I was starting to wonder if we are going to have a winter this year. wiki.answers.com has the following to say about what we saw which answers my questions about where winter has gone:

"Moon Ring Weather Folklore:

Folklore has it that a ring around the moon signifies bad weather is coming, and in many cases this may be true. So how can rings around the moon be a predictor of weather to come? The ice crystals that cover the halo signify high altitude, thin cirrus clouds that normally precede a warm front by one or two days. Typically, a warm front will be associated with a low pressure system which is commonly referred to as a storm. It is believed that the number of stars within a moon halo indicate the number days before bad weather will arrive. Give it a try the next time you observe a moon halo."

I received a surprise in the mail yesterday from my brother. He had a VCR tape of a family Christmas in '92 and burned it to a DVD. As I watched my mother in the DVD and heard her voice again it felt like she was giving me a warm hug. Even though it has been 8 years since she lost her battle with cancer, I still miss her so much during the holidays. I will never be able to express how appreciative I am to my brother for the DVD that he sent to me. I was blessed to have had her for my mother. To my way of thinking, my life would have been well lived if just one person feels that my presence in their life was a blessing and that I had made a difference for just one person.

May your week ahead be filled with blessings and love.