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 […]
July, Gardner’s Bane
Through the Garden Gate Text and Illustration By Leslie Watkins The meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, is a relentless, destructive, ubiquitous pest in gardens, both ornamental and vegetable. Often mistaken for moles who can be beneficial eating grubs, worms and other root eaters, the vole is smaller and vegetarian. If you notice one of your plants […]
A Tale of Two Halves
Norfolk’s May Weather By Russell Russ Norfolk’s May weather this year can be summed up as being a month with a split personality. The first half of May was cold with some snow. April’s cooler than normal weather spilled over into early May. The second half of the month turned much more seasonable with warm […]
Moonlight Serenade
Celestial Sphere by Matthew Johnson When one looks up at our moon, consider the number of moons that continue to be discovered in our solar system. The inner planets─Mercury and Venus─ both lack a moon. Our Earth has one moon, Mars has two moons-Deimos and Phobos. From there the number of moons increases. Uranus has […]
Sourdough Adventures in Confinement
Notes from a French Kitchen By Marie-Christine Perry As strange as it is for Frenchwomen to tackle bread making, seeing as we are never more than a half block away from a great bakery in French towns and even small villages have their own bakers with pain au levain available everywhere, I had dabbled in trying my […]
