March, New England Woodpeckers
Through the Garden Gate Text and Illustration by Leslie Watkins The National Geographic Society describes a keystone species as, “an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether…This means that if the species were to disappear from the ecosystem, no other […]
A Return to Winter, Snow Included
Norfolk’s January Weather by Russell Russ The year 2020 was Norfolk’s fourth warmest year on record and October through December were all above normal for temperature. Snowfall for the current winter season, however, was about normal through December. What would this mean for January? As it turned out, January was a little warmer than normal […]
Another Jupiter Conjunction and a Mars Landing
The Celestial Sphere by Matthew Johnson Viewers on NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website on February 18 witnessed telemetry history—the Mars rover, Perseverance, ferrying its small helicopter companion, Ingenuity, entered Mars’s thin atmosphere at 52 kilometers per second, slowed its descent with retro-thrusters and, after deploying a parachute, touched down in the Jezero crater landing site. […]
February Viewing
The Celestial Sphere By Matthew Johnson The five planets visible to the naked eye, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, were present in our skies throughout the summer, fall and early winter of 2020, with Venus gracing the sky at dawn. The comet Neowise joined them briefly in July and August. But in January 2021, […]
Norfolk’s November/December Weather 2020
Fourth Warmest Year on Record by Russell Russ The final two months of 2020 began our journey into winter. November, being warmer than normal with below-average precipitation and snowfall, might possibly indicate that we are in for a warm winter with below-normal snowfall amounts. December’s conditions were fairly normal for December. There was some snow, […]
February, Hellebores
Through the Garden Gate By Leslie Watkins It’s winter. There’s a blanket of snow on the ground, and everything is frozen. Yet, as if to prove that there is always hope, always beauty, always something wonderful and amazing, hidden under the snow are the blossoms of hellebores. Like a precious, silent secret that we dare […]
A Bowl of Soup, the Classic Winter Warmer
Notes from a French Kitchen by Marie-Christine Perry One of the joys of winter for me is soup! From fragrant and creamy tomato and basil soup to the classic potato leek; from hearty minestrone to bacon-scented pumpkin; from thick and spicy black bean soup to clear chicken broth with vermicelli, I can cook all different […]
The Quickening Pace of Covid-19 Vaccine Delivery, and a Question Not Answered
The Body Scientific by Richard Kessin Three vaccines have passed Phase 3 tests—that last step before submitting the data to the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). These are the two vaccines made by Pfizer and by Moderna, both of which consist of an mRNA molecule wrapped in lipid. When injected into muscles the […]
December’s Great Conjunction
The Celestial Sphere by Matthew Johnson We begin the month of December with long nights reaching a maximum on the evening of the winter solstice, Dec. 21, with 14 hours and 55 minutes of darkness. After the 21st, the days begin to grow a few minutes longer each day, a time of year acknowledged throughout […]
Norfolk’s October 2020 Weather
Fourth Snowiest October on Record By Russell Russ It was a warm, pleasant and colorful October in Norfolk – until the end of the month. On Oct. 30, this month became Norfolk’s fourth snowiest October over the last 89 years. After a long, warm and dry fall it was quite a shock for many to […]
