News of the September Sky
By Matthew Johnson The September or autumnal equinox will arrive on Sept. 22. The autumnal equinox marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The term “equinox” is derived from the Latin aequinoctium, meaning equal night. On both the spring and fall equinox, the earth experiences 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours […]
The End of the Beginning: Covid-19 Clinical Trials
By Richard Kessin It takes gall to channel Churchill’s World War II phrase, especially when we could be looking forward to the beginning of the end. But let’s keep our attention on the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. All of the vaccines are designed to present a SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein to the human immune system and […]
Norfolk’s July Weather
Warmest Month on Record by Russell Russ Historically, July is Norfolk’s warmest month of the year. It is the summer season, and it is supposed to be warm during summer, but July 2020 was something special. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for many states in the Northeast, South and East it […]
“A Small School with a Big Heart” Plans for Reopening
By Virginia Coleman-Prisco Under the direction of Governor Ned Lamont and the Connecticut Department of Education (DOE), school districts have been required to develop plans for three scenarios for fall 2020: a full reopening of school with in-person instruction, a blend of in-person and remote instruction, and full remote instruction. School superintendent Mary Beth Iacobelli says […]
Discovery of a New Comet
By Matthew Johnson The discovery of Comet NEOWISE proved to be astonishing, especially to those who hunt for such objects. It surprised astronomers when it passed by the Sun emitting a bright tail as well as a darker dust tail. The comet was discovered March 27 by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-Field InfraredSurvey Explorer. This space […]
Masks, Mistakes and Progress on Covid-19
By Richard Kessin We are currently arguing about masks and disease prevention. Virologists and others (including me) thought that because the Covid-19 virus is so small, it would pass through a normal surgical mask. But masks are useful because viruses come packaged in large respiratory droplets that are blocked by the mask, and they also […]
Norfolk’s June 2020 Weather
Warm and Dry By Russell Russ June was a fairly pleasant summer month. The trade-off with having beautiful weather is that it can become very dry with such little rainfall. While many other parts of the region did record decent rainfall, even impressive rainfall, Norfolk kept being missed by the larger storms. On numerous occasions […]
August, Joy & Freedom
Through the Garden Gate By Leslie Watkins “Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.” —Hans Christian Andersen Butterflies bring life into our gardens. Select a few plants that they are attracted to and they will come. Like flying jewels, they flit from flower to flower seeking […]
Rooting Out Invasives
Early summer is still a great time to go after many of the invasive species that are crowding out native plants and reducing food sources for birds and pollinators. Japanese barberry fruits have yet to ripen and garlic mustard seed pods are drying out but have not yet popped open. (Barberry can take over the […]
It’s a Waiting Game for Norfolk Educators
Botelle Beat by Clinton J. Sosna “We educators are planners. We are very good at planning,” says school superintendent Mary Beth Iacobelli, expressing the frustration she feels, in mid-June, with still no official word from the state on how Norfolk’s school should proceed in the fall. It’s a waiting game, filled with unresolved questions concerning […]
