Last Thursday night (July 12) at 12:25 p.m. MT one of the five <em>super</em> moons due this year shone from the sky.

<em>Super moon</em> is the name coined by Astrologer Richard Nolle over 30 years ago for the times when the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit. <a href="//earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-supermoon" target="_blank">Technically, the definition </a>is a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit.

Folklore calls this moon Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon. Why?

Because at this time of year deer bucks start growing their antlers, thunder storms rage, and farmers struggle to pile up hay in their barns for the coming winter. All of which are evident here in the San Luis Valley.

Unfortunately, last Thursday night clouds hid the super moon from view  so I missed it.

Four days later, on my daily daybreak walk with the dogs the Super Moon remained huge.

As we walked, I was admiring the gorgeous sunrise as I do every morning

<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/sunrise.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4924" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/sunrise.jpg?w=300" alt="sunrise" width="300" height="180" /></a>

when I rounded the curve to see this:

<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/supermoon-07-14.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4925" src="http://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/supermoon-07-14.jpg?w=300" alt="supermoon 07-14" width="300" height="225" /></a>

The picture is a bit fuzzy, but there’s a good reason...

I gasped when I spotted the gigantic orb in the sky. That, in turn, made the dogs think I’d seen a bear or something.

Toby and Buster, ever watchful on our walks, squiggled around checking the roadside and mountains for wildlife. Thus shaking the hand that held my phone camera.

Sad to say, I also missed the full super moons on January 1 and 30. Those were <em>new-moon</em> super moons according to<a href="//earthsky.org/tonight/july-12-supermoon-first-of-three-superrmoons" target="_blank"> EarthSky.com</a>

I’m ready for the August super moon, which will be the closest super moon of the year at 221,765 miles from earth. It should be a spectacular sight.

I’m also marking my calendar for September 9, the last of 2014 super moons.

Why don't you do the same? We'll compare pictures.