Kate Douglas Wiggin, artist, date unknown. Larger.
California—land of natural wonders—draws countless admirers to its stunning landscapes. Look up, however, and you also notice the wonders of the heavens.
Kate Douglas Wiggin came to California with her stepfather, a Maine doctor whose own illness required a healthful climate. Alas, California didn't save the good doctor, but the image of a southern California moon stuck with young Kate throughout her life.
"Orange Moon, Red Flash," photograph by Stefan Seip as featured on the official NASA Web site. Larger.
On and near the foothills and in the canyons the wild hyacinths were out, lupins and poppies, too, and acres upon acres of baby blue eyes in damp hollows and shady places. There was a breath of sweetness from budding fruit trees, fragrance of orange blossoms, and every poor man's garden was the equal of a millionaire's conservatory.
The sun was never shy, surly, indifferent or capricious; he seemed to have an adequate idea of his duty in the world. So also had the myriads of stars. . . ; and for the moon—that orb is responsible for enough mischief in temperate climes, but the Southern California moon is in a class by itself. This assertion may not be entirely scientific, but its admirers, or those who have been affected by its rays, will swear the moon is far brighter, bigger, yellower, and more dangerous, than elsewhere, and that it is suspended in its clear blue canopy of sky in a way unlike other moons in other skies.
Kate Douglas Wiggin—author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and other books for children—organized the first free kindergarten on the Pacific Coast. Her autobiography appeared in 1923.
below to hear radio segment.
