June 21st was most significant in a number of ways.

As a Muslim, it marked the completion of half of the month of Ramadan 2016. Since the beginning of Ramadan is indicated by the sighting of the new moon, the midway point would be indicted by a full moon.  As this date  also happened to fall on the day of the Summer Solstice, we were blessed with a rare sighting of the “Strawberry Moon”. According to astrologers, this has not occurred in over 70 years!

I missed it the first night. My grandson said it was spectacular! It was full and so big, you could almost reach out and touch it, according to him.  the next night, I was dead set on getting a view of what remained of the moon from the previous night. At sunset, I went up and down the block with my phone in hand to look for the moon. It was nowhere in my sight of the night sky!

I came back in disappointed that I was gong to miss this spectacle entirely. So the grand-kids suggested we go up on the roof of the building! Was that ever the best idea?! Apparently, the buildings in the neighborhood had obscured my view.  Even though it was not the “Strawberry Moon” from the previous night, it was still a wonder of Allah/God (SWA) to behold.

And then there was this little added bonus as I was leaving the masjid (mosque) the following night.  After praying Isha (the final prayer before bed) and Taraweeah (the night prayer of Ramadan), I came out, looked up, and there was the moon again!

Strawberry Moon Day 3 Outside  the Masjid