The full moon for this month on March 28, 2021 is called the Worm Moon. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it’s “spectacularly bright.” It is indeed. I took the picture below around 8:30 PM.
It’s also known by other names including the Eagle Moon and the Crow Comes Back Moon, Wind Strong Moon among others. By the way we had a Fire Weather Warning around here for today and tomorrow advising against outdoor burning because of elevated grassland fire risk due to windiness.
It’s not clear what kind of worm is connected with this moon. It could be a beetle larva or an earthworm. Maybe the earthworm is connected with the return of robins, who eat the earthworms. Which makes me wonder what earthworms eat. They commonly eat parasites so you don’t want to snack on any raw earthworms.
Yes, in fact you can eat earthworms. You can but I won’t. I’m a finicky eater and I’ve been called the slowest eater in the world. I prefer to call my pace mindful eating. It becomes slower (I mean more mindful) when I encounter stuff like shredded coconut, which I chew forever because somehow, I can barely bring myself to swallow it. It has the consistency of cellophane, to which I have a personal policy against eating. I’m not sure you could eat earthworms mindfully, but I bet you couldn’t get your mind off what you’re eating.
Mindful eating was something I learned about when I took the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course several years ago. Mindful eating guidelines include keeping the different tastes: salt, sweet, sour, bitter in mind, so to speak. In addition to those there’s another taste called umami (pronounced oo mommy). I think it’s close to savory, not to be confused with Smack Ya Mama, a Cajun seasoning, which you might use in gumbo.
Gumbo comes from a West African word for okra, another thing I would rather not eat because it’s slimy (sort of reminds me of earthworms). Mindful eating could include setting down your utensils or food in between bites. I could easily set down my utensils and okra—but I probably wouldn’t pick them up again.
There is no connection I know of between the Men in Black (MIB) Worm Guys and the moon. They don’t come from the moon but they’re definitely not from this galaxy. I don’t know what they eat but they like gourmet coffee and cigarettes. You can cut them in half and it doesn’t kill them; they just pull themselves together. If you cut an earthworm in the right place, behind the half that contains the head, several hearts, etc., it grows a new hind end.
The moon is a fascinating thing. It stabilizes the earth, keeping it from wobbling on its axis so that our seasons and temperatures don’t change wildly. It’s slowly moving away from us, according to scientists. But it’s a very long goodbye. It will be many Worm Moons before the moon goes. And by then, there won’t be anyone to notice.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 