Harvest Moon

Jess gazed over the hushed hayfields, twilight cradling them with a golden haze. He was happy. They had finished cutting the last of the fields today. They could start baling the day after tomorrow. And now there was the aroma of Sally’s roast beckoning him from the kitchen. 

Suddenly Jess grabbed two blankets from the barn and ran toward the house.

“Hey Sally,” he said slamming the kitchen door behind him. “What’ya say we drive over to McDonald’s Hill after dinner?”

“Why?”

Jess wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist and whispered,

“’Cause it’s a harvest moon tonight.”

“Oh.”

***

I wrote this in response to Charli Mills’ September 21, 2017 Flash Fiction Challenge. In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about what it is to gather a harvest. You can use the phrase or show what it means without using the words. Go where the prompt leads.

Mine lead me to the Harvest Moon and romance.

The Harvest Moon is the bright orange full moon that appears anywhere from two weeks before or two weeks after the autumn equinox. It’s the full moon closest to the first day of fall. It generally rises at twilight or just after and its effects tend to be most pronounced in the northern latitudes. The term Harvest Moon roots itself in Europe where the extra light was used by the farmers to harvest their fields. Based on a song Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon written in the early 20^th century, it became synonymous with the last full moon to cuddle outdoors with your sweetheart. The song was written by Nora Bays and Jack Norworth in 1903 and released by various artists throughout the decades, including The Four Aces in 1955.

In 1992, Neil Young released his twentieth studio album called Harvest Moon. The title song Harvest Moon had a similar theme to the one written back in 1903. Here is Neil Young’s version.

Feature Photo Source