Record Least March Snowfall
Norfolk Weather by Russell Russ An accurate description of March’s weather would certainly be “unusual.” March weather was high ranking for temperature and lack of precipitation, and it topped the rankings for least snowfall. If you were looking for sunny skies, warm temperatures and hardly any snow, then March was your month. March is not […]
Green Spring Trio
Notes From a French Kitchen by Marie-Christine Perry After a long winter, made longer by confinement, to see nature greening around me turns my thoughts to asparagus, peas and artichokes. I already see the first shoots in my asparagus bed, portent of delightful meals, and I regret that the climate here is not propitious to the […]
An Abundance of Snowfall
by Russell Russ February was a snowy month. After several years of rather soft winter weather in what is typically wintertime, it seemed as if this February was so much colder and so much more snowy than normal. In fact, it was rather normal temperature-wise, but there was more snowfall than average. Not record-setting snowfall […]
Simple, Quick Pastas to Please Everyone
Notes from a Franco-Italian Kitchen by Marie-Christine PErry Having to produce three meals a day, particularly in winter, can be tedious, as limited fresh vegetable offerings tax the imagination of the cook who is not thrilled by the cruciferous family. In my case, I am also limited by the likes and dislikes of my two […]
April, Nature Journaling
Text and Illustration by Leslie Watkins Spring is the perfect time of year to begin nature journaling. A small kit of just a few essentials is all you need. Keep it handy to take with you to the garden, on a hike or on vacation. A sketch kit, as simple as a sketch book, pencil […]
April (Meteor) Showers and a Pink Moon
Text and Sketch By Matthew Johnson Naked-eye observing of the planets in April will take place during early morning or just after sunset. At dawn on April 5, the crescent moon, Jupiter and Saturn form a line along the southeast skyline. At dawn on the 6th, the moon will be just below Saturn, forming a […]
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, […]
