Mud

NORTHAMPTON -- As the final show of the 11th annual Vans Warped Tour neared its conclusion on Monday -- with crew members and musicians from other bands joining My Chemical Romance for its single "Helena" -- there was a sense of elation onstage. For some of the 20,000 in attendance, however, the overriding emotion may have been relief. The eight-plus hour event was a practice in patience for many, especially those who traveled to the Three Counties Fairground only to find that an accident on the Mass.

Risky Rachel, the 1-5 favorite, won the $80,750 Put The Powder To It Stakes in the mud at Belmont Park on Friday, beating Lady On the Run by 4 ¾ lengths. Risky Rachel pulled clear at the top of the stretch for her sixth win in 12 starts. The four-horse field was for New York-bred fillies and mares. Cornelio Velasquez was aboard Risky Rachel for trainer Juan Coronel. The 5-year-old ran the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:17.10, paying $2.70 and $2.10. Lady On the Run returned $2.40.

HILLSBOROUGH, N.H. -- If riding the breeze above the Monadnock hills of southern New Hampshire sounds like your idea of heaven, head up here to board a hot air balloon -- or to admire just the sight of them. Balloonists will be offering rides, tethered and free-floating, at the annual, four-day Hillsborough Balloon Festival and Fair Thursday through Sunday. Earth-bound types can take in fairground events at Grimes Field like Hillsborough's answer to NASCAR: a four-wheeler (ATV)

When headlines announced earlier this month that the city of Timbuktu had fallen to Tuareg rebels, readers might have wondered whether they were looking at a newspaper or a storybook. Few geographical names carry such an air of fantasy and romance, or conjure such visions of gold and ivory, conquering sultans, and empires long dead. Suddenly the news was bringing fresh reports from a place so remote that for centuries, if you tried to get there, the journey alone could easily kill you. Timbuktu is a Saharan El Dorado or Shangri-La--with the important difference that unlike those others, Timbuktu is real.

LINCOLN - "To tell you the truth, I really don't like it here in the summer," said longtime resident Stacey LaPierre. "Tourists are everywhere. You can't even get a beer at the Brewery. " It is probably not what the folks at the Lincoln-Woodstock Chamber of Commerce want to hear. But, if you listen to in-the-know locals, lively Lincoln and quaint Woodstock are best enjoyed during the spring shoulder season. The weather is mild; the bugs are at bay; winter tourists are gone; and summer crowds have yet to arrive.

LONDON -- Les Gray, lead singer of the 1970s chart-topping band Mud, died of a heart attack days before he was to make a comeback appearance in Scotland. He was 57. Caroline McFarlan, the director of KidsCharities UK, said yesterday that Mr. Gray died Saturday in Portugal, where he had lived for 12 years. She said Mr. Gray had throat cancer for many years. Mr. Gray was due to host and perform at a 1970s-themed concert for KidsCharities in Glasgow next Saturday. McFarlan said the "Blast from the Past" concert would go ahead as a tribute to Mr. Gray,...

NEW YORK -- Teams of military and private specialists analyzed blueprints of the mudlocked Intrepid at dockside yesterday as they strategized on how to move the mighty World War II aircraft carrier for renovations. The USS Intrepid, which defied kamikaze attacks, bombs, and torpedoes during its legendary history, refused to budge from its berth Monday, sending six tug boats with a combined 30,000 horsepower home defeated. As the tugs moved the ship, its massive propellers screwed into a mound of mud. The mud pile built up higher with each subsequent pull,...

NEW YORK -- Finally pulled free from the Hudson River bottom, the historic aircraft carrier USS Intrepid was on the move again yesterday, passing majestically through New York Harbor, bound for a long-awaited overhaul at a New Jersey shipyard. Just getting the 900-foot vessel to budge was a triumph -- and a relief -- for the Intrepid's owners, who scrubbed an attempt a month ago when the floating military museum's rudder and four giant propellers got stuck in the mud at the pier that had been the ship's home for the past 24 years.

Risky Rachel, the 1-5 favorite, won the $80,750 Put The Powder To It Stakes in the mud at Belmont Park on Friday, beating Lady On the Run by 4 ¾ lengths. Risky Rachel pulled clear at the top of the stretch for her sixth win in 12 starts. The four-horse field was for New York-bred fillies and mares. Cornelio Velasquez was aboard Risky Rachel for trainer Juan Coronel. The 5-year-old ran the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:17.10, paying $2.70 and $2.10. Lady On the Run returned $2.40.

EAST BURKE, Vt. - Jake veered left off the road and, like a good dad, I followed his lead, riding on a soft dirt path in a forest rich with the smell of pine. A right turn on the trail, Coronary Bypass, and we were soon flying downhill on a gem of a narrow run, banking corners and bouncing over roots as the path snaked back and forth through a pocket of trees. Less than 30 minutes into our mountain biking jaunt, we were covered in sweat and that perfect Vermont souvenir, mud. “I think I like this better than skiing,’’ yelled my 12-year-old son as he became a blur through the woods.

PUTNEY, Vt. — These are the last-minute directions to the house where cookbook author Crescent Dragonwagon lives: "All-wheel drive is de rigeur [sic] during mud season. Which at this moment we're in! (It's also sugaring time . . . not unrelated as neighbors sugar and their truck does tear up the already mucky road.). " It's very quiet for the last few miles, few residences, and nothing but mud. But once inside the 18th-century farmhouse, there is relief from the endless slog.

PUTNEY, Vt. — These are the last-minute directions to the house where cookbook author Crescent Dragonwagon lives: "All-wheel drive is de rigeur [sic] during mud season. Which at this moment we're in! (It's also sugaring time . . . not unrelated as neighbors sugar and their truck does tear up the already mucky road.). " It's very quiet for the last few miles, few residences, and nothing but mud. But once inside the 18th-century farmhouse, there is relief from the endless slog.

LINCOLN - "To tell you the truth, I really don't like it here in the summer," said longtime resident Stacey LaPierre. "Tourists are everywhere. You can't even get a beer at the Brewery. " It is probably not what the folks at the Lincoln-Woodstock Chamber of Commerce want to hear. But, if you listen to in-the-know locals, lively Lincoln and quaint Woodstock are best enjoyed during the spring shoulder season. The weather is mild; the bugs are at bay; winter tourists are gone; and summer crowds have yet to arrive.

No workers were injured or oil spilled when an exploratory well being drilled by a new company to Alaska's North Slope had an apparent blow-out Wednesday. An exploratory well near the mouth of the Colville River hit a natural gas patch about 2,600 feet deep, forcing drilling mud back up the rig, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Ty Keltner said in a release. About 42,000 gallons of drilling mud were released on the gravel pad and snow-covered tundra, Keltner said.

LITTLETON, N.H. VOTERS SAY they want to hear a positive message, but what sticks is the negative. "I know a lot about your personal life. I know about Fannie and Freddie," Sam Greenlaw, 71, told Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich at a town hall meeting in Littleton's picturesque Opera House. "I know what you think about some of the other candidates. But it's interesting to hear the ideas you have put forward today about what you would do. Those thoughts are not out in the American public today.

Officials say it will take weeks for salvage crews to raise a barge that sank in Narragansett Bay during the October snowstorm. The Coast Guard says the 120-foot barge is upside down and partially submerged in mud. It had 2,400 gallons of diesel fuel onboard. (AP)

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - A row of mechanized, doughnut-shaped hurdles took turns punching my jaw, chest and - oh yeah - my groin. This was supposed to be an amusing diversion, but I wanted nothing more than to curse like I had never cursed before. I kept my profanities in check, though, because I wasn't alone: 20 video cameras leered at me like a thousand eyes while I tackled the grueling "Wipeout" obstacle course. There was nothing I could do but let the foam-padded rings toss me around as I attempted to crawl through to the other side of the gauntlet.

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Powerful landslides triggered by heavy rains killed at least 49 people in southeastern Bangladesh yesterday, striking a coastal area as people slept and burying many alive inside their homes. Rescuers pulled bodies from under chunks of mud before rescue work was suspended because of darkness, officials said. As the rain continued to pound, officials feared the toll could rise. At least five soldiers were confirmed dead and another was missing after their camp was hit by a mudslide.

After riding out a cold wet night, protesters at Occupy Boston tried to dry out yesterday, while fortifying their tent city for the first roar of winter weather, expected this weekend. They have propped their tents on plywood sheets or on pallets, to keep them out of the mud, and swaddled them in heavy blue tarps. Campers pounded tent stakes yesterday and strung new guy-lines to steady wobbly summer shelters designed for bug protection, not for snow. Sleeping bags, blankets, clothing, and socks that were soaked by Thursday's cold rain were laid out to dry in the sun. Rain, snow and wind...

The secrets to growing great garlic will be revealed in a workshop on Oct. 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Holly Hill Farm. Farmers will share information on how to best prepare the soil, then plant and mulch for a bumper crop. Seed garlic will be on sale. Participants also will get to sample roasted garlic and bread from the farm's wood-fired mud oven. The program costs $12 for Friends of Holly Hill Farm and $16 for nonmembers. More information is available at www.hollyhillfarm.org. - Johanna Seltz