Trouble Comes Disguised as a Beautiful Ornamental!
By John Anderson As mid fall approaches, the leaves of many plants senesce and change color. White ash trees are some of the first woody plants to drop their leaves, followed by the glorious colors of maples, birches, blueberries and spicebush. But amongst them are invaders, which can outnumber and choke out the natural […]
Norfolk’s July 2017 Weather
Another Fairly Normal Weather Month By Russell Russ July was yet another fairly average month for weather in Norfolk. Except for a few warmer than normal average monthly temperatures during the months of January, February and April, all other months this year have been very average for both temperature and precipitation. Other regions of […]
Through The Garden Gate
September, The Art Of Letting Go By Leslie Watkins Autumn is the time of year when nature begins to let go of the surplus accumulations of summer. Leaves wither and drop, ripe seeds are released and swollen fruit falls. The life energy of plants begins to retract with shorter days and less moisture. Plants […]
It’s Only Natural: An Owl Encounter
By Eric B. Anderson Driving up the slight incline on Rt. 44 near Bazzano’s Oil on October 30, I saw a good-sized bird rapidly descending in front of me. I applied the brakes as hard as I could, but unfortunately, the bird still bumped into the top of my cab and fell backwards onto […]
Jellyfish in Tobey Pond?
A Norfolk high school senior makes startling discovery By Katherine Kasacek Craspedacusta sowerbii? No, it’s not a galactic spaceship of science fiction movies or a fantastical monster found in books. Think more along the lines of a mop-head or Medusa, or maybe an invertebrate of the cnidarians family. In short, a jellyfish, a freshwater […]
It’s Only Natural: All You Wanted to Know About Wild Turkeys
By Leslie Watkins For the past few weeks, I’ve observed 30 to 40 wild turkeys as they pass through my yard each day; three adult females and their broods. I want them to keep coming around, but don’t want to encourage deer by putting out food. I did some research on what foods will […]
Through the Garden Gate: August, Keys to Better Gardening
By Leslie Watkins Anyone can have a garden, but very few people have great gardens. People with nice gardens can easily have better gardens. By observing a few simple practices you can expect to see improvement in a relatively short time. Expect change. Gardens are alive, and all living things will change over time. […]
Norfolk’s June 2017 Weather
A Fairly Normal June By Russell Russ June’s low temperature of 40 degrees was observed on June 3, and the high of 89 degrees was observed on June 12. With an average monthly temperature of 64.1 degrees, it was 0.8 degree above normal. There were two daily records set this month. The 89 on […]
Through The Garden Gate: July, Lunacy
By Leslie Watkins “It is the very error of the moon. She comes more near the earth than she was wont. And makes men mad.”— William Shakespeare, Othello Extreme eccentricity, intermittent insanity related to phases of the moon, and an un-soundness of mind sufficient to incapacitate one for civil transactions, are descriptions of some […]
Norfolk’s May 2017 Weather
Beneficial Rainfall By Russell Russ May’s weather was not the most pleasant. Following a much warmer than normal and very spring-like April, May was mostly cool, cloudy and wet. On the plus side, May did bring much needed rainfall to the area. It was the first month since February 2016, where the monthly precipitation […]
