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The nineteenth day of May, 1780, began in New England like any other pretty, late-spring morning. Fruit blossoms dangled heavy in the warm, newly risen sun. The scent of nectar brought drowsy honeybees from their straw hives. The dawn chorus of songbirds chirped and echoed across the sleepy countryside as farm laborers yoked their horses to heavy wooden ploughs and carts ready for the day ahead. But by mid-morning the pastoral calm would be turned on its head. Laborers and schoolchildren would be scurrying home for shelter. By noon, birds would be roosting in the trees and bats would be...

Break out the flashlights. When a full lunar eclipse takes place on the shortest day of the year, the planet may just get awfully dark. The upcoming Dec. 21 full moon -- besides distinguishing itself from the others in 2010 by undergoing a total eclipse -- will also take place on the same date as the solstice (the winter solstice if you live north of the equator, and the summer solstice if you live to the south). Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the official beginning of winter. The sun is...

Black day of 1780 caused by distant wildfires, MU experts sayCOLUMBIA, Mo. – At noon, it was black as night. It was May 19, 1780 and some people in New England thought judgment day was at hand. Accounts of that day, which became known as 'New England's Dark Day,' include mentions of midday meals by candlelight, night birds coming out to sing, flowers folding their petals,and strange behavior from animals. The mystery of this day has been solved by researchers at the University of Missouri who say evidence from tree rings reveals massive wildfires as the likely cause, one of...

Mainstream media mavens in New York City, Washington, D.C., and other major cities on the U.S. East Coast blanketed by smoke from Canada’s wildfires went into overdrive saying the event was unprecedented and provided further proof that catastrophic climate change is occurring. Whether they were ignorant of the facts and believed what they said or are so far in the bag on climate alarmism they couldn’t let the facts get in the way of another story hyping the purported climate crisis, they were wrong or lying on every count. Wildfires happen every year throughout the United States and Canada --...

“What do floods in Texas have to do with the coming Ice Age?” asks reader Caroline Snyder. “Quite a lot actually! “Looking at the historic record, we only have to go back to the 16th Century; a time when the Little Ice Age was causing devastation across Europe, but what of the South-West US?“ This article, amongst other things, looks to first hand accounts by Europeans amongst other things. Little Ice Age (Excerpt) – “…if you think it’s cold here in the Southwest now, you should have been around back in the days when the Spanish, Mexicans and Anglos settled...

"Freedom's Frigate" is the nickname of a sailing ship now on its way to America. It's a replica of the French vessel that helped our country win the war of independence. Before its departure, Mark Phillips went aboard: As memorials to American wars go, this one goes right back to the first one -- the Revolutionary War. And it is certainly among the most handsome and most intricate history lessons ever built. A newly-launched replica of the French frigate, Hermione, is now in mid-Atlantic, ploughing her way westward toward the U.S. East Coast. She's retracing the voyage of the original...

New Milford historian and researcher Michael-John Cavallaro, vice-chairman of the Conservation Commission, with a one-of-a-kind Revolutionary War era confession of a local man hanged for a mass murder of the Mallory family in Washington, Ct. Cavallaro tracked down the illusive, 14-page document at the University of Virginia. He will be giving lectures about the murders in New Milford and Washington in February. Photo: Nanci Hutson / The News-Times | WASHINGTON -- In this sleepy town during the Revolutionary War, a 19-year-old Continental Army soldier committed a murder so gruesome the local historian who unearthed his treachery still mourns the long-dead...