Through the Garden Gate
September, Life En Plein Air By Leslie Watkins Until recent history, human animals have lived mostly out of doors. In the current age of runaway consumerism and modern convenience, we have shifted from spending most of our daylight hours outside to an average of just 90 minutes a day, and that’s in summer! We […]
Norfolk’s July 2016 Weather
Sunny and Warm By Russell Russ July is typically the warmest month of the year for Norfolk, and this year was no exception. With a majority of warm and sunny days it was a very nice summer month. The downside of that is our increasing rainfall deficit. We are getting just enough rain to […]
Norfolk’s June 2016 Weather
A Growing Rainfall Deficit By Russell Russ June was a dry month. In fact, it was tied with 1984 as Norfolk’s seventh driest June over the past 85 years. Last year’s June, in contrast, was the fifth wettest June on record and was the wettest month in 2015. This year, the June rainfall amount […]
The Berkshire Rambler
Crane Paper Company: Seven Generations of Making Money By Michael Kelly High quality paper has been an intrinsic part of the lives of the Crane family of Dalton, Mass. for almost 250 years. Stephen Crane started the business, making 100 percent cotton paper at the Liberty Mill in Milton, Mass., which Paul Revere printed […]
Through The Garden Gate
August, When Water Retention is a Good Thing By Leslie Watkins In hot, dry weather and prolonged periods of insufficient rainfall, plants and trees can really suffer. There are measures we can take to protect the valuable investments we’ve made in our gardens. The goal is to get water to the plants and keep […]
Torrington Yarn Bomb Brings Color, Art and Whimsy to the City
By Julie Scharnberg I read an article about yarn bombing that appeared in Yankee Magazine about four years ago and passed it around to some knitters, thinking, Who wouldn’t want to do this? How fun! Yarn bombing is a form of temporary street art where brightly colored yarn in any form—knitted, crocheted, woven, […]
It’s Only Natural—July 2016
Old Field Pines on the Norfolk Downs By Hans M. Carlson Many people have a perception of the precolonial New England forest as dominated by white pine. This is in part due to many early chroniclers using the name “pine” as a catchall for conifers—hemlock, fir, spruce. It also has to do with the […]
Norfolk’s May 2016 Weather
From Cool and Raw to Hot and Humid By Russell Russ This May was about average for weather. It was very unlike May 2015, which was near record dry and far and away the warmest May on record. This year the month started out cool and cloudy, and many days had that early spring […]
Through the Garden Gate
July, Berry Season By Leslie Watkins July is the beginning of the great berry harvest, keeping both people and birds busy as can be. Blueberries, red raspberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries all begin to ripen now, providing us with delectable and nutritious berries for pies, tarts, sauces and pancakes—if the berries make it back to […]
