Spotting a spotted salamander in the wild
One spring day while clearing out some leaf litter, my family had a rare encounter with a prowler of the night – a 6-inch-long spotted salamander. These secretive creatures hide underground in burrows and in rotting logs during the day, and they do their hunting of worms and insects at night. They are glistening jet black with bright yellow spots and are the moles of the salamander family.They also have a secret defense: When a...
'The heat was so intense when I grabbed you'
The Insider loves to scour Craigslist's Missed Connection section for awesome personal ads. Not because we secretly hope to find someone searching for us, we swear! Here are the most recent, in unedited glory.I hope we can mend this – m4w We hurt each other and for some reason I thought the past months were going good and we were making progress and than the past weeks have been hell but I still love you and still want you I...
Book of the week
Concord public libraryFor more information about Concord Public Library, visit concordpubliclibrary.net.Louisa May Alcott: A Personal Biography Cheever, Susan 2010, 298 pages NonfictionSusan Cheever's story of Louisa May Alcott's life is more than just a biography because it is written from Alcott's point of view, as a reporter of her own life and of all the changes happening in the mid-19th century world around her. I...
ACT now
“Arts Coming Together” is back for a second act as four City Auditorium presenters continue the special cooperative voucher program created last season to foster the development of community-based A&E.The Community Players of Concord, Concord Community Concert Association, Granite State Symphony Orchestra, and Red River Theatres have joined together again to expand the local community's cultural opportunities, to...
New summer hours
Just a reminder from the Concord Public Library, the new summer hours for July and August are as follows: Sunday – closed. Monday through Thursday – 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.Friday – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Saturday – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Biography resource
Library staff would also like to let readers know that they have a great new resource that you can access from any internet computer using your card number. Gale Biography in Context offers “one-stop shopping” for a variety of biographical source materials about persons in many fields and from time periods as far back as Ancient Greece and Rome. The site is easy to navigate and offers the full text of encyclopedia entries,...
A new life in New Hampshire
The Insider recently caught up with Mama Wion, a 27-year-old native of Liberia who now calls Concord home. Wion lived happily in Liberia during her formative years.”We were living a simple, happy life,” Wion said. “Then the war came and it all went away in a minute.”In 1989, civil war broke out in Liberia as Charles Taylor began his thrust for control of the country. The fighting soon swept up the Wions, and...
In-season fruits and veggies mean peak flavor
Nature's grand culinary design gives many foods that are worth waiting for all year long. Corn, strawberries and tomatoes are among the many foods that are so delicious fresh from the farm that there's just no point risking the disappointment of beauty without flavor.But the wonders of our modern, industrial food system have conditioned us to eat what we want, when we want it. Our grocery stores respond to our every desire...
Pick of the week
Here's what's happening this week on ConcordTV: Watch Concord High School's 2011 commencement ceremony on Channel 6, every day this week at 7 p.m.
This Week in Concord History
• July 5, 1979 – In Concord scouting toward a presidential bid, U.S. Sen. Robert Dole of Kansas comments on the vulnerability of President Jimmy Carter and how it has raised hopes within his party. “I walked into the Senate cloakroom the other day and said, 'Mr. President,' and 20 Republicans turned around,” Dole says.July 5, 1874 – Prominent Concord lawyer Anson Southard Marshall dies of a gunshot...
It starts in our parks
The sun blazed bright in White Park that Thursday afternoon. The strains of “Ave Maria” wafted across the park from a pair of portable speakers as a couple dog walkers strolled by, pooches in tow. This idyllic scene centered around a group of Concordians suited up in their finest Lycra, sweating, stretching and smiling. The group was taking part in the Concord Recreation Department's recent citywide initiative,...
Ball & Chain
Dear Casper and Bill,I've been wanting to get pregnant for a while but my boyfriend doesn't think he's ready. Last month, I stopped taking my birth control – without telling him – and now I think I'm pregnant. What's the best way to tell him?Dear Dumbo,Now you've done it. Big mistake. You've worked backwards. You should have told him you were off the pill. Both of you should sit down and plan...
Scavenger hunt winner
Two weeks ago, we challenged you, readers, to a farmers' market scavenger hunt. The idea was to get you out there to meet some of the many local farmers who provide the community with fresh produce and other artisan goods.We got a pretty solid response from the hunt, and ultimately had to decide on a winner at random. And that winner (drumroll, please) is Faith Clark of Concord, who got 10 of 12 correct! She wins a $25 gift...
