The Old Farmer’s Almanac says January’s full Moon is called the Wolf Moon because wolves could be heard howling in winter to define their territory, locate their pack members, reinforce their social bonds, and coordinate their hunting. Assiniboine people of the Northern Great Plains call the January full moon Center Moon  because it marks the middle of the winter cold. Along the same lines, the Cree call it Cold Moon or Frost Exploding Moon, Algonquin refer to it as Freeze Up Moon, and the Dakotas say it’s the  Severe Moon or the Hard Moon which means fresh fallen snow on the hard crust of older snow. Other records show: Canada Goose Moon (Tlingit), Great Moon (Cree), Greetings Moon (Western Abenaki), and Spirit Moon (Ojibwe).

And now we also have “Voodoo Moon”! Of course in Western Australia, where Voodoo Moon comes from, it’s the middle of summer, and not cold at all! Under a brightly lit sky, Marshall grilled us the “ultimate burger” blend from Main Street Meats in Ventura which we served with a hearty helping of arugula plus sweet potato oven chips to pair with this Western Australian wine from Margaret River’s Vinaceous Wines “Voodoo Moon Malbec.”