History, Natural History & the Arts
Visions of chestnuts roasting on an open fire come December could be squelched if Jack Frost nipped at your nose in September.
“We have good promise of a fine crop of chestnuts. Frost holding off is favorable for large nuts with rich meats,” the Fort Ann correspondent reported in The Granville Sentinel on September 22nd, 1876. [Read more…] about September 1886: When Winter Comes Early
In preparation for potential impacts from Tropical Storm Ida, the New York State Canal Corporation has preemptively lifted the upper gates of the movable dams along the Erie Canal and Mohawk River between Lock E-8 (Rotterdam) and Lock E-12 (Tribes Hill). [Read more…] about Erie Canal Preparations Underway For Approaching Tropical Storm Ida
On July 20th, 2021, NYS issued its first statewide air quality health advisory for fine particulate matter in at least a decade. Wildfire smoke blowing in from fires out-of-state caused hazy skies, red sunsets, and poor air quality across the Northeast.
Most of the smoke likely originated from fires in Canada, just north of Minnesota, then was carried southeast through the Great Lakes by northwesterly winds.
The smoky skies created hazy conditions that captured the attention of people all over the state and reduced visibility to as low as 2.5 miles in some places. [Read more…] about Understanding Our Smoky Summer Skies
August 1884 opened with a promising outlook for Warren County farmers, but as the month continued the weather would be an up-and-down roller coaster ride.
“The recent rain made vegetation revive so that it looks quite promising,” the Horicon correspondent reported in The Morning Star of Glens Falls on August 1st. [Read more…] about August 1884, An Early Frost In Warren County, NY
A July 1876 heat wave ripened Washington County garden crops early.
“Peas, summer squash and cucumbers are plenty,” The Granville Sentinel reported on July 21st. “The mercury climbs up every day into the nineties and drops only to seventy or eighty at night.” [Read more…] about July On The Farm In The 19th Century
If April showers bring May flowers, what do May showers bring?
Optimism for a prosperous agricultural season.
“The weather for the past two or three days has been quite warm and spring-like, with frequent showers, and Mother Earth is fast putting on her robe of green,” the Putnam correspondent reported in The Granville Sentinel on May 12th, 1876. “The farmers have nearly finished their sowing, but we have not heard of much planting being done yet. Winter grain is looking finely, and the prospects are good for an abundant harvest.” [Read more…] about Washington County Farmers In Spring, 1876
April is the month when Spring weather typically calls out, “Ready or not, here I come,” and compels nature and humans of New York to come out from winter hiding.
“Happy is the farmer who has got everything ready for the active labors of the coming season. But no matter how thoroughly he is prepared there will always be plenty to do,” the agriculture columnist wrote in the April 25th, 1874 Ticonderoga Sentinel.
The task list was long and varied in the month of getting ready to make hay while the sun shines. [Read more…] about Small Farms in April in the Nineteenth Century
Winter is the time when wildlife activity ebbs. Many residents of our fields and forests have retreated to shelters beneath the surface of the soil in an attempt to escape this season of low temperatures, snow and ice, and little if any food.
The woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis) is one member of our wildlife community that retires to the seclusion of a cushiony nest underground and lapses into a profound state of dormancy, known as true hibernation, for roughly six months beginning sometime in mid-October. [Read more…] about Our Hibernating Jumping Mice
Most of the invertebrates that populate this climatic zone are well suited to deal with sudden thaws in winter by experiencing a type of dormancy known as diapause.
In summer, when temperatures are ideal and there is an abundance of food, the countless species of bugs continually eat and then reproduce. But as environmental conditions begin to change, most species prepare for that time when food eventually vanishes and when temperatures cause the transition of water into ice. [Read more…] about Diapause: How Insects Survive A Winter Thaw
With its long legs, the white-tail deer has the ability to travel through a snow bound forest when there is up to 12 to 16 inches on the ground. As the snow pack becomes denser, crusted, or deeper, the mobility of this hoofed creature becomes greatly restricted. [Read more…] about Deep Snow And White-Tail Deer Mortality