A Full Moon Risin'

"I see the bad moon a-rising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin'
I see bad times today
Don't go around tonight
Well it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise" - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Those are the lyrics to a song that John Fogerty wrote in the late sixties in the midst of the following backdrop:  Times were uncertain, apocalyptic, even.  There was turmoil and chaos, protests and rebellion.  Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy had just been assassinated.  There is a lot going on today, too.  I don't let it worry me.  Last night that song did pop in my head.

Last night about 10 pm on the patio, the whole backyard and pasture was lit up in light.  It looked odd, so I stepped out and saw a big full moon in the sky.  On normal nights I can't see anything.  There is little light pollution out here in the country, so it is normally pretty doggone dark.  But not last night.  I could see the cows and the goats by the hay bale.

Something caught my eye.  The moonlight was reflecting off of the fronds of one of our big palm trees.  I snaked around to get a photo of the moon and the palm tree together.

Now if the moon would have been a crescent moon instead, we'd be looking at a pretty good rendition of the South Carolina flag.  I like to look at license plates and state flags.  I've always liked the Palmetto tree and the crescent on South Carolina's flag.

South Carolina's flag is based on a flag designed in 1775 for their troops fighting in the Revolutionary War.  It is one of the earliest Revolutionary War flags.  The flag had a blue field with a crescent with the words "Liberty" on it.  In a battle in 1776, Colonel Moultrie raised the flag over the fort on Sullivan's Island defending it against a British fleet that had never lost a battle in a century.  The flag got shot down, but Sergeant Jasper ran out in the open and raised it again.  This heroic act rallied the troops and Charleston was able to be defended.  That flag was the symbol of liberty in their state and in the nation.

The palmetto was later added to the flag in 1861, because the fortress withstood attack from the British by laying palmetto trees over the sand walls to protect from cannon attack.

Yep, gotta admit.  That's a cool state flag.  Now let's go look at the moon and listen to some more Creedance!