The name “Worm Moon” is thought to relate to the emergence of earthworms from the thawing soils. That is a distillation of the conversation that had gone through full mugs of coffee. The change in soil composition, for example. The little worms start to turn. Ground is softer, with consideration for how armored vehicles might operate upon it. There is minor preparation for the seasonal impact of that clock change thing- “Spring Ahead, right?” over the weekend.

We are still scoping the hourly heavenly perspective from the patio of the HQ suite down on the First Floor. The illumination of the fullness of this bright lunar phase was visible only briefly, hovering above the West Wing of the complex. Then the cool gray clouds came in.

The full-moon had started things off but the topic drifted over to other things in the sky. Around urban Arlington, we are blessed with an abundance of big black birds with distinct proud ‘caw!’ as their signature.

“Full Crow,” is the name that helps us focus here at Big Pink because of the noise. There are factors, of course. They all include the “Full” part of it except one as we tip on the slide between Winter and Spring. In the earth, slithering things wake from chill slumber. Machine movement is slowed under the bright rays of the Worm Moon.

We only have a general understanding of the relevance of the other names for this moon’s fullness. “Worm” celebrates awakening of a sort. “Full Crust” could refer to the richness of the baking process, enveloping a spicy filling with the richness of lightly browned pastry. “Full Sap” would be obvious, since it is stating to run in the channels of the ornamental trees planted in the Kennedy Administration on the flanks of the big mass of concrete and mauve brick of Arlington’s first high rise apartment building. December’s full Moon was named “Cold” for the obvious reasons, though this last one was warmer than usual.

We like the attribution for the sake of the Black Birds. They are active this morning, swooping from wherever they sleep to crow on their way elsewhere. The symbol of The Farm had been the doleful majestic swoop of the Turkey Buzzards. The formations of those large silent gliding things above the back pasture was always a treat. It seemed to demonstrate the interplay of all life systems associated with the property, including the seasonal transients. Viewing Washington’s developments in that context is a useful tool.

That was the case this week with the President’s Budget (PB). There was a visible recoil from Buck, our resident independent-contract Economist. Submission of that document to the House of Representatives used to begin a highly contested process. After the Roll-Out, the proposed appropriations in the PB would be submitted to specific committees for debate, discussion and decision. It doesn’t look like anything like that is going to happen this time, although that too is now typical. Rather than a budget document, the PB is a sort of policy assertion that will be hanging as we approach the Debt Ceiling.

That matter has been deferred due to the various crises in progress. Janet Yellen told us she could take some “extraordinary measures” that would keep the Government operating after the government hit the borrowing limit in the New Year. To June of 2023, as an emergency measure. Subsequent examination of the records suggested things could actually be deferred to September with Fiscal 2024 arriving at Midnight on the 30th.

That means the next chapter of that matter will have some drama about a real big fiscal crisis and government shut down in October. So, the news cycle is going to feature a continuation of crisis-government operations with increasing volume. We took a poll to pre-determine volume levels of the three-unit media distribution network at the HQ and decided “low” was probably good enough.
The list of things we will be panicking about later is already impressive. This morning? A former President is liable to be indicted about some real estate thing in New York. A current Chief Executive appears to have some family fiscal arrangements which may include heated discussion. But that is just one matter in the imposing stack of domestic issues. The ones overseas include actual ground combat, movement slowed under the Moon by mud.

The Full Crow.

Copyright 2023 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com