A Magnificent Missouri May Moonrise

A Magnificent Missouri May Moonrise

 

  

I arrived 30 minutes early for Saturday night’s show but a large, restless, noisy crowd had already gathered as I took my seat.  Though we all shared a love of nature, I was different from the rest.  I was the only one present with only two legs. 

At 9:21 PM a full moon was scheduled to rise above the tree line east of our home.  I knew it because I checked it out on the internet.  Everyone else knew it by instinct.  Camera in hand, I patiently waited, hoping the mosquitoes had other plans for the evening.  From the cheap seats deep in the woods, a lonely coyote began to rehearse an ancient haunting, high-pitched song.  Moments later, it was joined by a comrade, and then another, a trio of voices rising into the night.  Not to be outdone, a barred owl joined in from the balcony.  “Who cooks for you?  Who cooks for you, too?” were the strange lyrics.  Then a whippoorwill added its semi-soothing, semi-frantic namesake call to the mix.  WHIP-POOR-WILL, WHIP-POOR-WILL, WHIP-POOR-WILL.

From their watery seats, a chorus of bullfrogs added an impressive bass section to the natural symphony.  And then, contributing to the spectacle, thousands of twinkling lightning bugs began to rise from the earth to add a sparkle to the black backdrop of the forest.

Right on time, gracefully, regally, the moon began its ascent in the east behind a curtain of new green leaves.  A warm breeze washed the landscape as the giant orange-hued lunar orb cleared the tree line and illuminated our yard.  The music of the night seemed to quicken and the wind set the tallest branches of the dignified oaks visible on the newly-lit horizon into an involuntary, graceful, sweeping dance at the feet of the moon.  

Anyone who thinks the country is quiet and still has never been to the country on a warm moonlit evening.

Inexplicably, the words to an old country song came to my mind.  Written by Carl Perkins and sung by Johnny Cash, Daddy Sang Bass sat atop the charts for six weeks in 1969.  My momma always hated that song.

Daddy sang bass, momma sang tenor,  

Me and little brother would join right in there,

Cause singin’ seems to soothe the troubled soul.

Me and  MY little brother could put forth a rousing rendition of that song.  Now you have a clue why our momma hated it.

Saturday night though, the lyrics that came to my mind were different.

The bullfrogs sang bass, the coyotes sang tenor

The owls and the crickets just joined right in there.

Mother Nature’s song is soothing for your soul.

Sorry, Carl.   Changing lyrics to Johnny Cash songs just comes naturally.  Like,

 

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine. 

And I hold my pants up with a piece of twine.

Because you're mine, you can pull the twine!

In case you were unable to attend a local presentation of Saturday's "RISE OF THE FULL MOON", here is a one-minute video I took of the central Missouri edition, music of the night included: