Under the strawberry moon in June
- Melissa Herrera: Not Waiting for Friday
- June 30, 2024
- 408
Late last week my daughters and I found ourselves under the strawberry moon. We had just finished cleaning up at my daughter-in-law’s bridal shower in Berlin, and I came out to the car and they were staring up at the sky.
“Let’s go through Panther Hollow and see the moon,” one of them said.
It was an extremely hot night, the kind June in Ohio almost never sees. Sweat dripped down my back as we jumped into the car and pointed it toward Saltillo and that familiar hollow. As we drove out of Berlin, the moon popped up in all its glory and a hush fell over the car.
She was gorgeous, spikes of color projecting out of her like solar flares from the sun. Her light burnt orange color radiating out over the lush, humid countryside. We felt like we were floating, our arms outside the windows of the car, and as we dipped down into Panther Hollow, she welcomed us with her cool branches.
My mind had been full of wedding planning, and I let it all fall away as our excitement built. I closed my eyes and reopened them as I navigated the curves of that tiny country road. I know Panther Hollow lost some trees when the derecho came through several years ago. Gangly limbs and forlorn branches lay all over Holmes County. But at night this was when all was hidden, and the jewel that she is shined through.
When we popped out on the other side of the hollow, the moon met us in her full glory. The fields lay flat on that end of her, and we stopped the car to take photos. Our iPhones can’t truly do it justice, but I have several pictures just to reflect on how the night made me feel.
We wound our way over back roads, past the Angel cemetery and back into Berlin. Then we headed north to Canton and home. There I fell dreamlessly into bed, and the moon encircled me from outside my window.
The wedding weekend moved on and ended with a beautiful sunny evening for the event. But the moon, she stayed with me. She soothed the ruffled edges of my brain and sent down her magic when I needed it most.
This morning I’m sipping coffee in my happy place, my table that is covered in a worn tablecloth and my cat sleeping beside it. The festivities are over, and we are coming down gently, gently, one minute at a time.
I am grateful for that small hour with the moon that injected the needed energy into my soul when I most needed it.