Here’s February’s full moon rising over the Naskeag peninsular Sunday, a big start for a short month. This full moon traditionally is called the Snow Moon, based on the Farmer’s Almanac records of mostly Native American terminology.
Native Americans, especially their children, loved to play in the snow, according to the literature. In fact, the toboggan sled reportedly originated from the Algonquin people; it originally was designed for hauling, but children used it for thrilling slides down snowy hills. The Lakota and Dakota children reportedly used sleds made from buffalo rib bones, leather, and wood for their winter thrills.
With that history of wonderful times in mind, I thought I’d see what the Snow Moon would look like with one of today’s native (small “n”) Americans having similar fun on it:
(Real moon images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on February 1, 2026; merged image based on Leighton Archives material.)