Three decades ago my nephew, Nathaniel, was a toddler when he discovered the full moon for the first time. For a day or two he would talk of nothing else. Then a week later he was out on a summer evening and looked in vain for the moon. He was genuinely puzzled. "Where did the moon go?" his mother asked him.
After a moment's reflection he shrugged and said, simply, "Exploded."
That explanation covered the facts as far as he was able to observe, but it wouldn't be long before the moon again dominated the night sky.
There is nothing like the full moon if you live in the countryside. Away from city lights night is truly dark. The full moon nearly creates a second day. It's not as bright as the real day of course, but in the fall the full moon extends the time you can be out in the harves…