First Day of Spring and a Lunar Eclipse
The Celestial Sphere By Matthew Johnson The long-awaited vernal or spring equinox occurs on March 19 at 11:06 p.m., when the sun is directly over the equator. On the equinox (from the Latin for “equal”), we have an almost equal 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of nighttime, signifying the first day of spring […]
Cook, For Goodness Sake!
Where’s the Rabbit? A New Look at Welsh Rarebit By Linda Garrettson Welsh rarebit was known as Welsh rabbit in the 1700s, and had nothing to do with rabbits. It was a simple dish for the working class who couldn’t afford meat. Somewhere along the line the name changed to Welsh rarebit from “The Rare […]
Norfolk’s January 2024 Weather
Fickle Winter Weather By Russell Russ The year of 2023 was tied with 1998 as Norfolk’s second warmest and was also the fifth wettest and ninth least snowy year on record. December was very high ranking for temperature and precipitation and high ranking for minimal snowfall. The recent trend certainly points to warmer and wetter […]
Board of Selectmen Approves Changes to Pension Plan
By Ruth Melville Susan MacEachron, chair of the town Retirement Plan Committee, attended the first part of the Jan. 10 special meeting of the Board of Selectmen (BoS) by phone to present the committee’s recommendations on the town’s pension plan. The BoS then voted (1) to terminate the defined benefit (DB) plan, (2) to offer […]
Proposed Firehouse Focus of P&Z Hearing
By Susan MacEachron Members of the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) filled the room on Jan. 9 for the continuation of the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing on the proposed new firehouse. First on the agenda was the application to transfer some City Meadow land for the new firehouse. City Meadow and the […]
Wetlands Discusses Proposed Subdivision, City Meadow
By Susan MacEachron The subdivision of a residential lot, the restoration of City Meadow and two tennis courts were discussed at the Inland Wetlands Agency (Wetlands) meeting on Jan. 8. At a public hearing, George Johannesen of Allied Engineering Associates, representing homeowner Carlene Laughlin, described the plan to subdivide her land at 305 Mountain Road. […]
Norfolk’s November/December 2023 Weather
Yet another delayed start to winter By Russell Russ November and December typically mean the beginning of winter in Norfolk, but as has been the case for the last few years, the final two months of 2023 showed only a few glimpses of winter. November was cooler than normal and just a little below normal […]
Solar Flares and the Solar Sycle
The Celestial Sphere By Matthew Johnson In the final hours of Dec. 31, 2023, the sun produced a X5.0 solar flare (R3 Strong Radio Blackout), the largest flare observed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center since 2017. There was also a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) related to this event. This […]
Notes from a French Kitchen
Enjoy Citrus Flavors in Winter By Marie-Christine Perry Winter is here, and although I do not have in Norfolk the Meyer lemon trees of my Northern California yard, I still stock my pantry with countless citrusy delights that we will enjoy through spring, summer and fall. Citrus fruits have a way of waking up the […]
A Look Back at Norfolk’s 2023 Weather
By Russell Russ With an average yearly mean temperature of 48.4 degrees, 3.4 degrees above normal, 2023 was tied with 1998 as Norfolk’s second warmest year over the last 92 years. Eight of 12 months came in as warmer than normal, and six months were ranked in the top 10 for warmth. Most notably, January […]
