First Blue-Jay Moon

From the beginning I have had a real thing for Blue-jays. They are fast, powerful, beautiful, confident, and extremely smart.  They can be aggressive, loud, and intrusive. They can also be curious, gentle, and are considered guardians of the wild. They are communicators. They let you know when they are around. Even in breeding season, although they tone it down, they are marvelously vocal. They have always, for me, been part of the chorous of the year round wild.  My first appreciation of music came from these Jays. Most often you will hear them before you see them. At Protection Farm, no matter what the season or circumstance, they are constant and consistent voices in the air.

These attributes encouraged me to pay attention to them from since I was very young.  In fact, this bird helped introduce me to a lifelong passion for nature and birds.


I have known Blue-jays from the time I was born.  My mother used to tell me that Blue-jays attended my birth. Or at least they were outside the windows when I was delivered, and remained nearby even after we returned home.  She used to tease me that Blue-jays followed me around when I was outside.  It may have been true then, and it certainly is now. She told me that the Blue-jays inspired her to knit a fabric wall hanging of a white-tailed deer fawn while she carried me in her womb. I still have that. She also made a copper/enamel piece that showed me holding a dove. She said that the image came from a first Blue-jay Moon dream. 

My mother made this copper/enamel plate and told me that this child is me

In my birth year of 1953 I spent a lot of time outside. We had a place on Newfound Lake in New Hampshire, and I was nourished by those mother waters until I was nearly 20. In my first winter, I was outdoors quite a bit up there in the piney woodlands and lakes of Northern New England. My parents loved the outdoors and they made sure that I was very familiar and comfortable with the out of doors. That first winter for me, the Blue Jay moon of January was every bit as famous as it is today. It was celebrated outdoors. Not a loud celebration, but noted, and somewhat cerebral.

My family  noted First Blue-jay Moon.  The ancestors apparently adored the day, the concept and the experience. It has been passed down to me.  I think my ancestors must have adored me. I always try to think of what they did to plan for a better future for me. I want to hand this down. First Blue-Jay Moon occurs on the first full moon of January.  The concept is to go outside and celebrate nature and future generations.  It has been handed down as the day that the ancestors worshiped those generations to follow. It is kind of a twist on the Mexican Day of the Dead. Instead of revering and celebrating those that have passed, First Blue-jay Moon is a day to celebrate the future and those that will come. It can be described as a 7^th generation planning exercise. How can we make the future better for those that come after us all the way to the following 7th generation? At the same time it is about the immediate future.  What can we do better this year for instance? Probably one of the reasons that First Blue-jay Moon comes just after the somewhat narcissistic New Years Resolution time.  This year (2011) the First Blue-jay Moon, and the only Blue-jay Moon, falls on January 19.