Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Farmers are harvesting field corn as fall turns into winter. Here, a cut-down cornfield in Monroe, Middlesex County. We have seen a wide fluctuation of temperatures this fall, from summer-like to winter-like, but look out for long days of cold, perhaps accompanied by snow.
FARMING: Look for the traditional farming season to wrap up. Farmers are continuing to harvest field corn, for example. Meanwhile, we are transitioning into the winter holidays season at Christmas tree farms.
A farmer works a corn field outside Neshanic Station, Somerset County.
CHRISTMAS TREE FARMS: For those seeking trees from local farms, whether recent cuts or cut-your-own, here is the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers Association website’s farm locater, https://njchristmastrees.net/find-a-farm/. Keep in mind, all Christmas tree farms may not be listed. (I heard an interesting radio news report regarding Christmas trees in America. The report said we are facing the effects of the recession 10 years ago – that is, with the recession, farmers planted less trees and with those trees now reaching cutting time, there are less trees. In turn, higher prices. The report said this will go on for years.)
DEER RUT: While I have not noticed any bucks roaming lately — because, I suspect, the mating season, or rut, of deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” is peaking and bucks and receptive does are holed up in the seclusion of woods — I did come across a dead buck on farmland in Monroe, Middlesex County. It was a fresh kill and near a busy road, so he probably was a victim of a motor vehicle accident. Additionally, he was probably sex-crazed and less wary, crossed the road, and got hit. I noticed the dead buck because nature was taking its course and vultures were feasting upon him. Definitely turkey vulture, “Cathartes aura”; Maybe black vulture, “Coragyps atratus,” too.
I spooked these vultures when I stopped to photograph them on a deer carcass in Monroe, Middlesex County. Notice the dead buck on the middle-to-right bottom of the photograph.
The dead buck appeared to be a pretty good size.
DEER HUNTING: Various deer-hunting seasons have been underway and will continue into 2018, with “Deer Week,” or the Six-Day Shotgun Season, being Monday, December 4, to Saturday, December 9. (If you are traveling through the Pine Barrens, take note of those primitive buildings that are quiet for 51 weeks of the year. During Deer Week, they will be hopping.) Anyway, be careful if heading into the woods during deer seasons. One, it might be advisable to stay out of the woods. Two, if you are in the woods, at least wear blaze orange. Three, during Deer Week, just stay out of the woods unless you are hunting. A year or so ago, I walked underneath a bowhunter in a deer-stand, never seeing him until he spoke to me from above. Fortunately, I wore blaze orange and was obvious to him. This rattled me into thinking I am not as aware of my woods surroundings as I should be.
This doe was killed in the Route 33 area of Manalapan, Monmouth County.
FALL FOLIAGE: The Jersey Midlands are past the peak of the changing colors of fall, but there were some beautiful brown/Earth-tone views.
Fall foliage and a cloudy sky at Westminster Cemetery in Cranbury, Middlesex County.
A sunny day upon the fall foliage along Manalapan Brook in Monroe, Middlesex County.
“Englishtown Lake” (properly Lake Weamaconk) in Monmouth County. The lake is formed by the damming of Weamaconk Creek, part of the Raritan River-Bay watershed.
Farmland below Sourland Mountain in Montgomery, Somerset County.
SOURLAND MOUNTAIN: This week, I had to go to Hillsborough, Somerset County, to attend a funeral service. Because I was nearby, I took a ride to Sourland Mountain on the boundary of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Mercer counties. Sourland Mountain, also known as Neshanic Mountain and Zion Mountain, sits on the Piedmont geological area. It runs about 10.5 miles by 4.5 miles and rises about 570 feet above sea level, with its surrounding lowlands as low as about 90 feet above sea level.
Looking across farmland at Sourland Mountain at Montgomery, Somerset County.
Fencing to hold back snow drifting on roads at Montgomery, Somerset County.
RARITAN RIVER SOUTH BRANCH: The South Branch of the Raritan River is 51 miles long, draining 276 square miles in Somerset, Hunterdon, and Morris counties. It meets the North Branch north of Neshanic Station, forming the main stem of the Raritan River.
An old railroad bridge and mill on the South Branch of the Raritan River at Neshanic Station.
The one-lane, 1896 iron bridge over the South Branch of the Raritan River, connecting Branchburg and Hillsborough at Neshanic Station, Somerset County.
VOICES FROM AFIELD, EAGLES: Michael Franken checked in regarding bald eagles, “Haliaeetus leucocephalus.” He reported seeing them on the boundary of Cranbury and Plainsboro, Middlesex County, Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. In New Jersey, the bald eagle is “endangered,” or in immediate peril, as a breeder and “threatened,” or if conditions continue or begin to deteriorate, they will advance to endangered, in general. The state Division of Fish and Wildlife bald eagle page is http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/end-thrtened/baldeagle.pdf.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, BIRD OF PREY: I was driving through a farming area of South Brunswick, Middlesex County, and came across a bird of prey perched in a tree. I could not get a good look or a good photograph of the bird. Later, in looking at the photo on my computer, the bird’s head appeared to be somewhat, perhaps not that blatantly, lighter than the body. A bald eagle, “Haliaeetus leucocephalus,” transitioning from juvenile to adult?
A bald eagle, “Haliaeetus leucocephalus,” transitioning from juvenile to adult?
FULL MOON: The upcoming full moon — the Full Long Night Moon on the December 3-4, Sunday-Monday overnight — will be 2017’s only full “super moon,” that is, when the full moon comes close to the Earth, or 222,443 miles away. The closest will be at 4 a.m. Monday, December 4, when the moon will appear “about 7 percent larger and 16 percent brighter than usual,” according to the National Geographic.
Around 5 p.m. November 20, Monday, or a short time after sunset, there was a beautiful rainbow-shaped and -colored cloud in the western sky. The color was caused by the reddish sunlight from under the horizon hitting the cloud. And more toward the southwest was the crescent moon. What a view! (The photos, all shot from my yard, from where I have watched the night sky since the American-Soviet “Space Race”: the moon, stars, planets, meteorites, and the International Space Station.)
DARK SKIES: As you probably can tell, I am a big fan of a dark sky, to be able to see the stars, planets, satellites clearly. When I remodeled my house over the summer, I insisted on shielded outside lighting, which directs my three outside lights downward, not horizontally or upward. (At night, a shielded light will emit a cone of light, while an unshielded light emits a blinding burst of light. Also, red and green lights protect night vision.) On Saturday, November 25, I heard this story on NPR, about a proposal for part of Idaho to get recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association as a “dark sky reserve,” https://www.npr.org/2017/11/25/566074921/idaho-dims-the-lights-for-one-of-the-best-night-skies-anywhere. Go, Idaho! (I plan to be in Idaho for a wedding in August and hope to see that Idaho dark sky. Give people a wonderful view – turn off lights that project into the sky!)
AROUND PEDDIE LAKE: There were some nice views at Peddie Lake at Hightstown, Mercer County. The lake is about 15 acres, created by the damming of Rocky Brook, part of the Raritan River-Bay watershed. The Peddie School, a preparatory school, sits along the lake.
A fisherman on Peddie Lake under a partly cloudy sky.
The Peddie Lake cabin.
PROTECTING THE JERSEY MIDLANDS: The Jersey Midlands are an incredible environmental resource: the Atlantic Ocean and other coastal waters, the Outer and Inner Coastal Plains, the Piedmont, the Pine Barrens, the Delaware River, valuable farmland. This alone is evidence of why we should protect the Midlands environment. But, more so, the area is under intense development pressure and stress because of its location at the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.
Despite the beauty here of the blue sky above the Manalapan Brook floodplain in Monroe, Middlesex County, notice the commercial jet in the sky, probably headed for Newark Airport. The Midlands are under intense stress because of they are part of both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas.
OCEAN TEMPERATURE: The Atlantic Ocean temperature at Sandy Hook was about 47 degrees over the November 25-26, Saturday-Sunday, weekend.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For November 26, Sunday, to December 2, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:55 to 7:05 a.m. and set about 4:30 to 4:35 p.m. For Sunday, December 3, to Saturday, December 9, the sun will rise about 7:05 to 7:10 a.m. and set about 4:30 p.m.WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
CLOUDS: This week’s cloud photographs were captured at Monroe and Jamesburg, Middlesex County.
“Jamesburg Lake” (properly Lake Manalapan), looking from Monroe toward Jamesburg, Middlesex County.
IN THE GARDEN AND YARD: I try to get the yardwork done by Thanksgiving weekend. So far, the lawn has been cut for the last time, shrubs have been spruced up in the front yard, the gutters and drainpipes have been cleaned in the front of the house, the crawlspace where a two-room addition was put on the house circa 1967 has been secured, and the garage door and front cellar window well has been cleaned. Still to go, sprucing the backyard shrubs, cleaning the rear gutters and drainpipes, raking leaves into the garden, and, perhaps, roto-tilling the garden. I will not get the outside painting I had planned done. As the outside work ends, I have a ton of stuff to do inside over the winter.
The garden in my backyard in August.
This week in the garden.
UNEXPECTED WILDLIFE REFUGE: A little south of the Jersey Midlands, in Atlantic County, are our friends at the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge. Veronica Van Hof, the director, is seeking help in meeting a challenge. “As another way of supporting the Refuge, we have been accepted to be part of the Newman’s Own Foundation $500,000 Holiday Challenge, administered through CrowdRise,” Veronica said. “Every donation (‘voting’) through our page at CrowdRise increases the chance of our receiving additional funding through one of the Challenge prizes which range from $2,500 for 10th place up to $150,000 for first place.” The challenge runs to January 3. The challenge is at https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/unexpected-wildlife-refuge-inc/unexpected-wildlife-refuge. More about Unexpected is at http://www.unexpectedwildliferefuge.org.
UPCOMING:
December 3, Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Green Brook Cleanup at the Green Brook Regional Center, 275 Greenbrook Road, Green Brook, Somerset County, with the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and the Central Jersey Stream Team. More information at hfenyk@lowerraritanwatershed.org.
December 8, Friday, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Middletown, Monmouth County – “Forest Therapy” Walk, hosted by the Monmouth Conservation Foundation. “It is not intended to be a strenuous hike, but a time for mindful awareness in nature,” according to the foundation. More information, abrockwell@monmouthconservation.org.
This turkey survived Thanksgiving. (Compliments of the eclectic Joey Archives: A plastic turkey from my 1960s youth, pictured in the faux cabin section of my basement.)
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong resident of Monroe — in South Middlesex County, where his maternal family settled more than 100 years ago. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and a gardener of organic vegetables and fruit, along with zinnias and roses. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Polish-immigrant grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Grandma Annie and Italian-American father, Joe Sr. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Ma inspires his rose gardening. Joe is a semi-retired print journalist of almost 40 years. His work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Looking upstream on the Delaware River at dusk from the historic iron bridge connecting Stockton, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, to Centre Bridge, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The photograph was taken from the New Jersey side, looking toward Pennsylvania. The bridge was built in 1926 and refurbished in 2007. This section of the Delaware River is part of the National and Wild Scenic River System.
DELAWARE RIVER: After the Pine Barrens, the Delaware River is my favorite local ecosystem. I especially love the part of the river north of Trenton. There, an approximately 150-mile stretch of the river, from Washington Crossing at Mercer County, New Jersey, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north to Hancock, New York, is part of the National and Wild Scenic River System. Aside from what the System name suggests, eligibility for the System requires the river have protection in place and be free-flowing. At 330 miles, the Delaware River is the longest free-flowing river, meaning it is uninterrupted by a dam, east of the Mississippi River. Next summer, consider tubing the Delaware. Meanwhile, these two books can keep you company, “Natural Lives, Modern Times – People and Places of the Delaware River” by Bruce Stutz and “The Illustrated Delaware River – the History of a Great American River” by Hal Taylor.
Looking downstream on the Delaware River from the Centre Bridge-Stocton bridge. New Jersey is to the left, Pennsylvania to the right. This section is part of the National and Wild Scenic River System.
HOUSE SPARROWS: I watch many a bird perched in the shrubs outside my living room window at Monroe, Middlesex County. This week, I noticed a small bird of chestnut, black, and gray – a house sparrow, “Passer domesticus.” Beautiful! Alas, it is non-native, a species from Eurasia and North Africa introduced to North America in New York in 1851, according to the National Audubon Society. “Many people regard house sparrows as undesirables in their yards, since they aren’t native and can be a menace to native species,” according to Cornell University’s All About Birds website. “House Sparrows are so closely entwined with people’s lives that you probably will find them around your home even without feeding them.” (A shout out to two New Jersey Audubon Society naturalists for heading me in the proper direction in identifying this bird: Pete Bacinski, retired, and Scott Barnes, active. I am a pretty bad birder, so I appreciate the help.)
A house sparrow in the front yard of my house in Monroe, Middlesex County.
CANADA GEESE: Speaking of beautiful but pain-in-neck birds, I observed Canada geese in different locales during the week. I have a funny relationship with Canada geese, “Branta canadensis,” finding them to be admirable parents and elegant when personally connecting with them, while in a standoffish way viewing them as pooping, polluting pests. This week, I leaned in a positive direction. (If you get a chance, observe Canada geese as a couple. “They mate for life with very low ‘divorce rates,’ and pairs remain together throughout the year,” according to Cornell University’s All About Birds website. Also, they care for their young as very protective parents. Perhaps a lesson for humans, “Homo sapiens.”)
Canada geese landing at a retention pond near Route 33 in Monroe, Middlesex County.
Canada geese dot ETRA Lake in East Windsor, Mercer County.
VOICES FROM AFIELD, No. 1, WILL SIGLE: Fellow Monroe, Middlesex County, resident Will Sigle, a retired science teacher, checked in with some thoughts on farming and wildlife. One of the things Will mentioned was about his yard, “Last year, I had a red-tail (hawk, ‘Buteo jamaicensis’) dining on a daily basis. Amazing how quiet the yard was when he was around.” Ah, yes, when a raptor is around, smaller birds know to beware.
BIRDING NOTES: While in my house in Monroe, Middlesex County, one night this week, I heard a great horned owl, “Bubo virginianus,” hooting. This species is an early breeder, so I am figuring it was either a territorial call or a call for a mate. I went outside to get a better idea where it was calling from, but it had stopped by the time I got outside. Keep your ears open for this resonating baritone. Years ago, one must have landed in a tree near my bedroom in the Monroe farmhouse I was living in at the time and started calling – Man, did I come alive in surprise when I first heard it.
A pumpkin patch at the Fresh Ponds section of South Brunswick, Middlesex County.
DEER RUT: One night, this week, I heard a familiar rustle in the fallen leaves of my neighborhood. I waited and, yes, a doe and her two young walked through a neighbor’s yard and onto my street. Hiding in bushes in my front yard, I watched them for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, only 125 feet or less away. They were jumpy, but they never fled. Finally, I lost sight of them up the street. This week, I saw no bucks, as I had been seeing in recent weeks. So, I suspect the mating season, or rut, of deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” is at its peak – with bucks and receptive does holed up in secluded spots in the woods.
THE ENIVIROMENTALISM OF DEER HUNTING: “U.S.1” newspaper recently had an interesting article on how deer-hunting is now environmentally in vogue, at least in some circles such as in the Hopewell Valley area on the boundary of Mercer, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties. When this was mentioned here recently, it generated quite a bit of pro-hunting chatter. The recent “U.S.1” article, http://princetoninfo.com/index.php/component/us1more/?Itemid=6&key=11-8cover.
Sheep at a farm in Monroe, Middlesex County.
FIRE IN THE PINES: The state Pinelands Commission is considering fire-break permits in the Pine Barrens area it covers – basically from the Route 528/Cassville section of Jackson, Ocean County, and south. The Pine Barrens are susceptible to wildfire because of their well-drained, sandy soil with dry, dense, and highly flammable vegetation. Fire-breaks can stop fires or at least hopefully slow their threat.
Helmetta’s Joey Slezak took this photograph of a state Forest Fire Service control-burn a few years ago in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta. The Pine Barrens around Helmetta are not part of the state-regulated “Pinelands.” (Photo copyrighted by Joey Slezak).
VOICES FROM AFIELD, NO. 2, VERONICA VAN HOF: Veronica Van Hof, director of the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge a bit south of the Midlands in Buena Vista, Atlantic County, checked in, regarding how spring peeper treefrogs, “Pseudacris crucifer,” normally early spring callers, have been heard in recent weeks: “We heard peepers recently, too! I was surprised but they’re so unmistakable.” Veronica also noted the arrival of winter visitors, bufflehead ducks, “Bucephala albeola,” down from Canada, “Just got our first buffleheads today” — Sunday, November 12 – “a pair lazily dabbling around the pond.”
DAIRY FARMS: In recent years, there has been a resurgence in dairying (at a scaled-down level) and home delivery of dairy products. But in my youth in the 1960s, local commercial dairy farms, along with home delivery, were a way of life – in my case, Forsgate Farms of Monroe, Middlesex County, at my Monroe home and Decker’s Dairy of Hightstown-East Windsor, Mercer County, at my elementary school, St. Mary School in South River, Middlesex County. The Hightstown-East Windsor area also had Conover’s Dairy. Conover’s Dairy, for example, closed in 1972, according to the East Windsor township website. (See https://www.east-windsor.nj.us/conovers-dairy.)
A Conover’s Dairy and Decker’s Dairy display at the Hightstown Diner in Mercer County.
PERRINEVILLE LAKE PARK: New Jersey’s Coastal Plain, as its name suggests, is generally flat. But at Perrineville Lake Park in Millstone and Roosevelt, both in Monmouth County, the land is hilly, thanks to the cuesta geological formation. This hilly formation generally runs from Sandy Hook in Monmouth County to the Philadelphia area, dividing the sandy soil Outer Coastal Plain and the generally dark soil Inner Coastal Plain. The park is about 1,200 acres and includes the lake, formed by the damming of Rocky Brook, woods, and field. More on the park, http://monmouthcountyparks.com/documents/130/PerrinevilleForWeb.pdf and https://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/page.aspx?Id=2550.
Perrineville Lake in Millstone, Monmouth County.
DELAWARE AND RARITAN CANAL: The Delaware and Raritan Canal’s main shipping channel ran about 30 miles between the areas of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, and Trenton, Mercer County. Another canal, the feeder canal, replenished the main canal with water from the Delaware River. The feeder canal also ran about 30 miles between the areas of Frenchtown, Hunterdon County, and Trenton. The feeder canal later was used for shipping, too. The canal operated for about 100 years from the 1830s to the 1930s. Today, the canal provides easy hiking, bicycling, boating, and fishing along both main and feeder canals. More information, http://www.dandrcanal.com.
Looking south on the Delaware and Raritan Canal’s feeder at Stockton, Hunterdon County.
The Delaware and Raritan Canal, here the feeder canal, towpath at Stockton, Hunterdon County.
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: The Atlantic Ocean temperature at Sandy Hook was about 49 degrees over Friday-Saturday, November 17-18.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For November 19, Sunday, to November 25, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:50 to 6:55 a.m. and set about 4:35 p.m. For November 26, Sunday, to December 2, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:55 to 7:05 a.m. and set about 4:30 to 4:35 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
Happy Turkey Day – Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 23. In the photograph, wild turkeys, “Meleagris gallopavo,” cross a road in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta in 2015.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong resident of Monroe — in South Middlesex County, where his maternal family settled more than 100 years ago. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and a gardener of organic vegetables and fruit, along with zinnias and roses. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Polish-immigrant grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Grandma Annie and Italian-American father, Joe Sr. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Ma inspires his rose gardening. Joe is a semi-retired print journalist of almost 40 years. His work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Pumpkins and fall foliage, both taking a last stand for the season, at the Red Wagon Farm Market on Route 33 and Smithburg Road/Route 527-A in Manalapan, Monmouth County.
SNOWBIRDS: I saw the first “snowbirds,” or dark-eyed juncos, “Junco hyemalis,” of the season on Tuesday, November 7, Election Day, around sunrise at St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County. The birds are easy to identify by their gray tops and white undersides – “gray skies above, snow below” – and the white edges of their splayed tails as they take off. My rule of thumb is to look for these birds around Halloween, October 31, arriving for the cold weather from as close as the high ground of North Jersey or Pennsylvania and as far away as Canada. Around my yard, I look for these small birds on the ground under the bird-feeder or in bushes. I will see them around my yard to about mid- to late April.
I saw the first “snowbirds,” or dark-eyed juncos, of the season Tuesday, November 7, Election Day, at St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County. These birds arrive from the north for the cold-weather season.
VOICES FROM AFIELD, MORE WINTER BIRDS: Diane Larson, a long-time gardening mentor, checked in on the afield side, regarding Beaver Dam Creek in Brick, Ocean County. “Another bird sign of winter – the buffleheads (“Bucephala albeola’’) and mergansers (genus “Mergus”) arrived in Beaver Dam Creek right on schedule – saw them Saturday (November 4) for the first time. We also have otters (“Lutra Canadensis”). They are very elusive, but we’ve seen them and heard them splashing in the water around 8:00 p.m. one night (during) the last week of October. We went outside and tried to see them, but they swam away. All we saw was their wake and heard their grunts.”
Canada geese, “Branta canadensis,” on the Skeba Farm in the Applegarth section of Monroe, Middlesex County.
BIRDS IN MY YARD: As I was doing yardwork, birds were feasting on corn hearts at my backyard bird-feeder: dark-eyed junco, “Junco hyemalis”; mourning dove, “Zenaida macroura”; tufted titmouse, “Baeolophus bicolor”; and Carolina chickadee, “Poecile carolinensis.”
A Mourning Dove at my Backyard Bird-feeder
A Tufted Titmouse at my Backyard Bird-Feeder
A Chickadee at my Backyard Feeder
GARDEN AND YARD: As I cut the lawn, hopefully for the last time of the year, I smelled wild onions I had mowed down. A bittersweet scent – one pointing back at the year’s peak of vegetable growing, one pointing to a gardening season that lingers. The Jamesburg-to-New Brunswick area of Middlesex County got down to about 20 degrees on the Friday-Saturday, November 10-11, overnight, pretty much bringing an end to the warm weather gardening season. However, I did find a few cherry tomatoes in my garden. (I have a cool weather crop of carrots planted. So, I am hoping for some kind of harvest.) So, this week, I cut the lawn, dumped my last barrel of gardening water, and mowed down the garden, except for the carrots. As for the yard work, I try to get that all done by Thanksgiving.
I found these cherry tomatoes in my garden. The top one was in good condition and I popped it into my mouth right in the yard and ate it.
VOICES FROM AFIELD, NO. 2, LINGERING SPRING: Last week, I mentioned I thought I heard the call of a spring peeper treefrog, “Pseudacris crucifer,” at Farrington Lake on the boundary of South Brunswick, East Brunswick, and North Brunswick in Middlesex County. They are normally early spring callers. Jean Montgomerie, an environmental scientist who lives in Freehold and works in the Pine Barrens, said, “Those were spring peepers; I heard them last week too.” Spring, in the form of fall, is playing itself out again, this year.
NIGHT SKY: With the cold spell at the end of the week, I stood in my yard between about 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and looked at the night sky. With the temperature at about 23 degrees and very little moisture in the air (with a dewpoint of about 8 degrees), it was one of the clearest night skies I recall, with great views of Auriga (overhead/east); Pleiades, or Seven Sisters (overhead); Orion (southeast); the Great Square of Pegasus (southwest); Cassiopeia (northwest); and the North Star. Take advantage of cold, dry fall and winter overnights. Get a revolving star chart, turn off the outside lights, go outside and acclimate your eyesight to the darkness, and look into the night sky.
THE MOON: The moon is waning from the Full Frost Moon of the November 3-4 overnight. The next full moon is the Long Night Moon on the December 2-3 overnight.
The morning moon, with the changing colors of the fall foliage underneath, at St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County. The moon is waning from the Full Frost Moon of the November 3-4 overnight. The next full moon is the Long Night Moon on the December 2-3 overnight.
FALL FOLIAGE: The changing colors of fall foliage are all over the place – some past full color, some peaking, some yet to come. I take the colors as they come, rather than concentrating on a peak.
The changing colors of the fall foliage along Interstate 195 in Jackson, Ocean County.
The rising sun’s light hits the top of the trees, lighting up the fall colors, at St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County.
The changing colors between Davidson Mill Park and Pigeon Swamp in South Brunswick, Middlesex County.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, RED-TAILED HAWK: As I was returning home from my normal Sunday routine of lunch at the Hightstown Diner in Mercer County, I crossed the Millstone River on the boundary of Cranbury, Middlesex County, and East Windsor, Mercer County. On the Cranbury side, a large bird flew out of the trees, then low along the roadway – a red-tailed hawk, “Buteo jamaicensis.” I cranked off a shot on my camera. Not a good shot, but that is photojournalism – you take what you get, because the news does not necessarily stop for the journalist. The photo, at least, puts in perspective how low the bird was.
A red-tailed hawk flies low along a roadway on the boundary of Cranbury, Middlesex County, and East Windsor, Mercer County.
The Millstone River on the boundary of Cranbury, Middlesex County, and East Windsor, Mercer County.
VOICES FROM AFIELD, NO. 3, DEER RUT: I continue seeing normally hidden male deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” because it is the mating season, or rut. This week, I saw one in southern Monroe, Middlesex County, at night. Then, as I was driving to work one morning in daylight, a deer bolted across a paved road in the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, Middlesex County. I did not get a good look at the deer, but, based on the way it bolted across the street and because I saw no others, my guess is it was a buck. Paul Migut checked in from South River, Middlesex County: “Spotted buck behind my firehouse. He’s been chasing two does around here.” Again, be careful driving during the rut, which should last until about mid-December.
CLOUDS: This week’s cloud shots are from St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County. My family has had a plot there for more than 100 years, since my maternal grandfather, Michael Onda, died in 1917, October.
Clouds over St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County.
More clouds from St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County.
And more clouds from St. James Cemetery in Monroe, Middlesex County.
VOICES FROM AFIELD, N0. 4, SWIMMING RIVER: Rik van Hemmen, sailor and advocate for the Navesink River watershed, Monmouth County, checked in: “Two weeks ago, just before I hauled my Sea Bright skiff for the winter, we had a perfect tide going up the Swimming River with friends who had never done it before. As is common, it blew their minds to see all this natural beauty.”
Fall on the Swimming River in Monmouth County. (Photograph copyright 2017 by Rik van Hemmen.)
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were about 50 degrees to 53 degrees over the November 11-12 weekend.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For November 12, Sunday, to November 18, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:40 to 6:45 a.m. and set about 4:35 to 4:40 p.m. For November 19, Sunday, to November 25, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:50 to 6:55 a.m. and set about 4:35 p.m.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
IN THE BACKYARD: As I was wrapping up this week’s “Notes from Garden and Afield,” I took a soda break. While in the kitchen, I grabbed four gourds I had on display on the table, opened the back door, stood on the back porch, and threw the gourds across the lawn into the garden. I threw one into a pitch pine, “Pinus rigida,” bordering lawn and garden. A bird must have been in the tree, because a large bird flew out and past me eye-high. Wow! On that note….
Say, good night, Pumpkin Person. (A pumpkin person at the Red Wagon Farm Market on Route 33, Manalapan, Monmouth County.)
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong resident of Monroe — in South Middlesex County, where his maternal family settled more than 100 years ago. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and a gardener of organic vegetables and fruit, along with zinnias and roses. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Polish-immigrant grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Grandma Annie and Italian-American father, Joe Sr. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Ma inspires his rose gardening. Joe is a semi-retired print journalist of almost 40 years. His work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
New Jersey’s Gubernatorial Elections are just a week away! Here are a few things to think about as you prepare to go to the polls.
I. New Jersey Ballot Question #2
In addition to voting for our next Governor, New Jersey voters will be asked to vote on Public Question #2, the “Revenue from Environmental Damage Lawsuits Dedicated to Environmental Projects Amendment” question.
The LRWP encourages New Jersey voters to vote YES on this important ballot question. A YES vote would require that Natural Resource Damages funds be used ONLY for their intended purpose of restoration and environmental cleanup. In years prior, more than 80% of supposedly dedicated environmental clean-up funds were instead appropriated for the state’s general operating budget.
According to the ballot question’s interpretive statement, “This amendment would dedicate moneys collected by the State relating to natural resource damages through settlements or awards for legal claims based on environmental contamination. These moneys would be dedicated to repair, replace, or restore damaged natural resources, or to preserve the State’s natural resources. The moneys would be spent in an area as close as possible to the geographical area in which the damage occurred. The moneys could also be used to pay for the State’s legal or other costs in pursuing the claims. Currently, these moneys may be used for any State purpose.”
For more information on Public Question 2 and its history and impacts, see https://ballotpedia.org/New_Jersey_Public_Question_2,_Revenue_from_Environmental_Damage_Lawsuits_Dedicated_to_Environmental_Projects_Amendment_(2017)
II. Questions for New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidates
Every Tuesday for the last 12 weeks the LRWP has reached out (via twitter) to the New Jersey Democratic, Republican, Green and Libertarian Gubernatorial candidates, posing questions specific to how they plan improve the health of our watershed and New Jersey environment. Only one candidate responded to any of our questions, but these are questions folks concerned about water quality and environmental health should ask of anyone running for public office. Here are the LRWP’s tweets, and the candidate responses:
7.25.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj what actions would you take as Gov to make NJ’s water sector more energy efficient?
8.1.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj do you support the use of citizen science as input into climate change modeling for the state of NJ?
8.8.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj do you support implementing a state-wise water reuse assistance program?
8.15.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj will you reinstate the 2007 flood hazard area control act rules?
8.22.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj as Governor how would you encourage integrated watershed management in NJ?
8.29.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj as Governor do you support the creation of stormwater utilities in NJ?
9.5.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj do you support the use of citizen science as input into watershed modeling for the state of NJ?
9.12.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj how will you position NJ to secure funding from USEPA revolving loan program for water & wastewater infrastructure?
9.19.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj how does closing the water infrastructure investment gap play into your plans to create jobs & strengthen the economy?
9.26.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj how will you help NJ’s towns secure funding from USEPA’s State Revolving Loan Program for H20 infrastructure improvements?
10.3.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov@Pete4nj as Gov, how would you help smooth the path to alternative financing & funding of H20 & wastewater infrastructure in NJ?
10.10.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov @Pete4nj do you support moving the state to 100% renewables by 2035?
10.24.2017
@PhilMurphyNJ @KimGuadagnoNJ @KaperDaleForGov @Pete4nj what commitment will you make to clean energy (tidal, solar, wind) in NJ?
Response from @KaperDaleForGov: We would commit to a Clean Power Plan with goals of dramatic increases in clean energy production by 2025.
See you at the polls!
Article and photos by Daniel Cohen, Rutgers University junior
As a lifelong resident of Highland Park, and currently a student at Rutgers I have greatly enjoyed hiking throughout the university’s Ecological Preserve, a relatively pristine area located on the Livingston Campus. The Rutgers Preserve was established in 1976 as an ecological resource. Its purpose is to serve as an aesthetic, educational, and recreational area for the Rutgers community as well as for the residents of New Jersey. This 360-acre Eco-Preserve is the habitat of numerous creatures including migrant songbirds (warblers and towhees). It is also the home of the white-tailed deer. The Preserve is the site of native plants such as Spring Ephemerals and Jack-in-the-Pulpit, as well as Ash, Beech, Hickory, and Red Oak trees.
Anyone concerned with environmental matters in the Lower Raritan Watershed should be aware of the proposed Rutgers “Innovation Park” (IP) plan – an infrastructure project to be constructed adjacent to the Rutgers Eco-Preserve site. Rutgers has requested that the New Jersey Commission of Budgeting and Planning allocate $4.75 billion for infrastructure projects on its campuses as part of a Master Plan. Included in this proposal is funding for IP, a major project to be built on the edge of the Preserve. According to the Rutgers publication Business Plan and Implementation Strategy (2016), its purpose is to “promote research collaborations, technology transfer and commercialization, job creation, and public-private partnerships.” IP, an inter-disciplinary learning site with a goal of furthering environmentalism is well-intentioned.
However, a project whose mission is environmental may nevertheless be harmful to the Preserve’s ecosystem. A major building project occurring just outside the Eco Preserve’s borders may well threaten fauna and flora within the Preserve itself. The project will result in pollutants from trucks and construction machinery as well as in greater noise levels. Fossil fuel emissions, the primary cause of climate change, have already caused the destruction of species of animals and plants worldwide. Excessive construction noise is harmful to the well-being of animals and plants as fossil fuel emissions and increased decibel levels will not stop at the Preserve’s periphery. The essential question is to what degree, the site will be impacted.
If it has not yet done so, Rutgers must conduct a thorough environmental review of the effects of this infrastructure project. Although in the Rutgers publication there is an environmental assessment of the IP site itself, there is no reference to its impact on the adjacent Eco-Preserve. There should be a comprehensive environmental assessment regarding how the IP project will impact this area. Residents of Central New Jersey and beyond, including members of the Rutgers community who care about protecting this vital habitat, must be given the opportunity to interact with those involved with this project.
Article and photos by Joe Mish
The food chain is not a one way street, as a turtle whose kin may feed on baby ducks, gets picked on by a bald eagle
It is unthinkable to imagine a restaurant where the diners are often listed as menu items. Though when seated at nature’s dinner table, the catch of the day takes on a whole new meaning as predators and prey freely alternate position. The dietary choices are also a surprise as the variety of delectable meals is often at odds with expectations.
Sorting through my library of photos, I was perplexed trying to categorize some images showing two species in close contact. Obviously notable was the reversal of who was eating who.
The first image which prompted these thoughts was captured as I launched my canoe. Here was a very young painted water snake, brilliant colored markings, with a fish sticking out its mouth. Comparing the size of the snake to the fish, I wondered if the snake ‘bit off more than he could chew’, as they say. The fish was wider than the snake and it didn’t look like much progress was being made in the attempt to swallow it. I couldn’t identify the species of fish but thought it a moment of karma as small mouth bass which inhabit the river are well known to forage on anything that swims or crawls in the waters of the south branch. A small snake would hardly be ignored by a hungry bass.
Another image shows a larger painted water snake suspended on o vertical river bank holding onto the tail of a gold colored catfish. As the snake was in an awkward position and didn’t want to go into the water, it was a standoff with the advantage going to the snake. The fish would struggle and then lay still. Eventually the fish broke free. I then remembered a series of images documenting another struggle where a snapping turtle grabbed a painted water snake by the tail. As I paddled along, I saw a water snake swimming across the river and as it neared the opposite bank it suddenly reared up and began to thrash about. Mystery solved as a snapping turtle soon surfaced holding on tight, as the snake now alternated struggling and lying still. As I drifted closer, the turtle was intimidated into releasing its grip and the snake swam off.
A painted water snake has a catfish by the tail. The snake is barely holding on to the vertical bank , using a tuft of grass to secure its precarious position. the catfish would struggle mighily and then rest. After several tries the catfish appeared dead and lay still for quite some time. Suddenly the catfish came to life and broke free. Again, the scene was captured from a canoe.
A painted water snakes has the tables turned on it as a snapping turtle reached up to grab the snake swimming across the river.
Turtles are not immune from the proverbial soup bowl as they are prey to many birds and animals that share the same habitat. Even large water snakes will easily swallow a turtle hatchling seeking cover in the water, as will great blue herons, mink, fox, skunk, raccoon and birds of prey.
In a twist of fate, the turtle that killed baby ducks in a farm pond yesterday could very well be on a larger bird’s menu today.
Such was the case when I spotted a bald eagle standing on a log near shore, intently pulling and tearing away at what was probably a deer carcass or white sucker. The eagle would occasionally look up and certainly it saw me from two hundred yards away, apparently not at all intimidated. As I closed the distance, a bright yellow object was clearly visible and the focus of the eagle’s rapt attention. I began to take photos, drifting ever closer and as I started to pass the eagle, it flew off. It was then I realized the eagle was dining on a painted turtle!
Across the land where rivers flow, the lines between predator and prey begin to blur. Don’t be surprised when a squirrel is seen carry a baby crow or a muskrat is swimming underwater holding a baby blue jay or a blue jay is flying off with a dead vole. If you can’t imagine it, it is happening somewhere along our wild rivers.
Muskrat with a bluejay swims into its den’s underwater entrance. Mystery for sure.
Author Joe Mish has been running wild in New Jersey since childhood when he found ways to escape his mother’s watchful eyes. He continues to trek the swamps, rivers and thickets seeking to share, with the residents and visitors, all of the state’s natural beauty hidden within full view. To read more of his writing and view more of his gorgeous photographs visit Winter Bear Rising, his wordpress blog. Joe’s series “Nature on the Raritan, Hidden in Plain View” runs monthly as part of the LRWP “Voices of the Watershed” series. Writing and photos used with permission from the author.
Article and photos by Joe Sapia
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
A bit of a strange scene in my backyard: forsythia blooming among the fall foliage changing of colors.
SPRING IN THE FALL: Years ago, I recall seeing sheep laurel, “Kalmia angustifolia,” a spring bloomer, flowering in the fall in the Pine Barrens around Helmetta. Twice this week, I noticed a bird or birds singing away, seemingly a springtime song; And a red-bellied woodpecker, “Melanerpes carolinus,” drummed against my house. Also, this week, I noticed another spring bloomer in flower – forsythia. It flowered in my backyard. I normally see forsythia blooming for the first time of the season in early March to mid-April. What does it all mean? I just think the fall conditions are replicating spring conditions, especially the summerlike temperatures.
The backyard forsythia in bloom.
THE PINE BARRENS “FALL FOLIAGE” PEAK: The Pine Barrens’s name is a misnomer, neither a place of all pines nor barren lands. And it is a great place to see the changing colors of the fall foliage – the deciduous vegetation changes, with blueberry bushes turning flaming red, and contrasts with the greens of pines, cedars, and laurels. Normally, I look for the fall foliage color peak in the Pine Barrens on October 13 in the wetlands and October 20 in the uplands. This year, that schedule is running behind. The woods around Helmetta are still quite green. (“Fall foliage” is a misnomer, too. In the Pine Barrens around Helmetta, one can observe the changing colors beginning in about mid- to late July.)
The colors are changing at Helmetta Pond October 13, Friday, but not yet peaking
An October 12, Thursday, map from the Fall Foliage Network.
DRIVE-BY NATURALIST, PHEASANT: I just happened to be reading about ring-necked pheasants, “Phasianus colchicus,” the other day. Then, I saw one between the Applegarth and Wyckoff Mills section of Monroe, Middlesex County, the first time I recall seeing one afield in maybe 20 or 25 years. These are non-native – introduced to America from Asia in the 1880s, according to Cornell University’s All About Birds website, allaboutbirds.org. Now, they are naturalized in the United States. This one could have been a naturalized bird or one released for hunting.
This is a rather blurry photograph, because I came across this ring-necked pheasant unexpectedly while I was driving and had to quickly crank off a photograph before it fled. I am using this photo because it shows a full view of the bird. Also, I did not crop out the roadside litter, to illustrate how wildlife competes with human carelessness.
Notice the white, forming the ring around its neck.
CLOUDS: This week’s spectacular cloud scene was in Middlesex County, at North Brunswick, looking toward Milltown. I stopped at the McDonald’s restaurant for breakfast, looked at the sky, and there they were.
Clouds over North Brunswick, Middlesex County.
VOICES FROM (FAR) AFIELD, JUDY AUER SHAW: Judy Auer Shaw, author of “The Raritan River, Our Landscape, Our Legacy,” checked in from Ohio, reminded by a suggestion in a previous “Garden and Afield” to wear blaze orange in the woods in hunting areas: “I have a story from my teaching years in Michigan. I organized a nature hike for my kids (7th graders) and we all wore browns, grays and greens. As we approached the hiking trail, we were behind a carload of guys wearing orange. It finally dawned on me that we were going out on the first day of hunting season — in complete camouflage. Yikes! Needless to say, we were fine, but I was one worried den mother that day!”
Judy Auer Shaw’s 2014 book.
The pumpkin patch at Giamarese Farm on Fresh Ponds Road, East Brunswick, Middlesex County
YARD AND GARDEN: I planted five “false cypress,” or Crippsii,” I picked up at Krygier’s Nursery in South Brunswick, Middlesex County. The Knock Out roses and zinnias continue blooming – the zinnias being visited by such butterflies as the painted lady, “Vanessa virginiensis,” and cabbage white, “Pieris rapae.” Despite blooming, the zinnias are losing their luster, covered with powdery mildew, “Golovinomyces cichoracearum,” and a leaf spot disease. I also found my first raspberry on some bushes planted earlier this year.
Five “false cypress,” or Crippsii, have been added to my yard.
A raspberry fruiting in my backyard garden.
FARMING PERILS IN THE MIDLANDS: I was visiting Krygier’s Nursery, owned by husband and wife Jimmy Krygier, in South Brunswick, Middlesex County, and two perils were obvious – encroaching development and damage caused by browsing deer, “Odocoileus virginianus.” The nursery, a Krygier family business for three generations of about 100 years, is on Route 535, also known as Cranbury-South River Road, Cranbury Road, and South River Road. What was adjoining cornfield up to months ago is now a warehouse property, for example. And one only has to see how the deer have shaped the arbor vitae trees through their browsing. (Krygier’s Nursery is at the corner of Route 535 and Dunham’s Corner Road, South Brunswick, near the Middlesex County Fair Grounds).
Development encroaches Krygier’s Nursery in South Brunswick, Middlesex County.
Notice the odd shape to the arbor vitae. It is caused by deer nibbling on the trees.
DEER DOCUMENTARY: “The Deer Stand” is a documentary about deer over-population in the Jersey Midlands. See the movie at https://vimeo.com/233572156.
In fall of 2016, Anna Luiten, an ecologist with the Monmouth County Park System, stands in a Thompson Park forest area over-browsed by deer. The fenced area contains a lush understory, because it is protected from deer.
SNOWBIRDS: Anybody seeing dark-eyed juncos, or “snowbirds,” yet? The birds, “Junco hyemalis,” come down to our area from as far away as Canada during the cold-weather months. I normally begin seeing them in my yard around Halloween. Their color pattern of slate gray on their backs and white on their fronts suggests, “Dark skies above, snow below.”
A “snowbird” in the snow in my yard in early 2017.
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were about 67 degrees to 69 degrees during the October 14-15 weekend.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For October 15, Sunday, to October 21, Saturday, the sun will rise from about 7:10 to 7:15 a.m. and set about 6:10 to 6:15 p.m. For October 22, Sunday, to October 28, Saturday, the sun will rise about 7:20 a.m. and set about 6 a.m. to 6:05 a.m. We switch to Daylight Savings Time November 5, Sunday, at 2 a.m., the clocks moving back to 1 a.m.
THE NIGHT SKY: The next full moon is the Frost Moon on the November 3-4 overnight.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
UPCOMING: 2017, October 28, Saturday, 1 p.m. book signing and 2 p.m. lecture with Marta McDowell, author of “Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life,” at Jamesburg Presbyterian Church, 175 Gatzmer Ave, Jamesburg. $30 at the door. More information is available from the Earth Center Conservancy (of Middlesex County), www.ecc-nj.com. Beatrix Potter, born in 1866 and died in 1943, was a children’s writer and illustrator. She wrote and illustrated “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” 1901.
Author Marta McDowell will sign books and speak in Jamesburg, Middlesex County, October 28, Saturday.
Gray squirrels, “Sciurus carolinensis,” appear to be active, burying acorns, preparing for winter. This one was at Rutgers University’s College Avenue Campus in New Brunswick, Middlesex County.
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
Thursday October 12 is “Imagine a Day Without Water” Day. Can you even begin to imagine a day without water? It isn’t just your personal use of water – brushing your teeth, flushing your toilet, taking a shower – though those rituals are vital. Water is also essential to a functioning economy. What is a college campus or a hotel supposed to do if there is no water? They close. How can a restaurant, coffee shop, or brewery serve customers without water to cook, make coffee and beer, or wash the dishes? They can’t. And what about manufacturers – from pharmaceuticals to automobiles – that rely on water? They would grind to a halt too. An economic study released by the Value of Water Campaign earlier this year found that a single nationwide day without water service would put $43.5 billion of economic activity at risk.
Imagine a Day Without Water is an annual day of awareness that highlights the importance of safe, affordable water to all facets of everyday life. In recognition of the 2017 Imagine A Day Without Water, the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership is unveiling our new “Community Resources for Water Quality” tool developed to improve the accessibility of information about preserving water quality for folks in the Lower Raritan Watershed. The “Community Resources for Water Quality” tool lists and describes publications and other types of materials available through the Rutgers-New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) specific to maintaining or improving water condition in our communities. The tool is designed to assist Environmental Commissions, Green Teams and/or other interested residents to improve, preserve and restore stream areas and watersheds. We think it’s pretty neat!
Water is a public health issue, it is an economic issue. No community can thrive without water, and everyone deserves a safe, reliable, accessible water supply. Our new tool highlights things that every one of us can do to preserve and improve our water resources to make sure that no one ever has to imagine a day without water again. Please check out the tool, and let us know how it inspires you to preserve or restore our water resources!
With thanks to Rutgers-NJAES and Joan Kaplan with the Rutgers Environmental Steward program for their assistance in developing this tool.
Article by Billy Kurzenberger, Program Coordinator at City of Perth Amboy, Office of Economic and Community Development
The City of Perth Amboy, in partnership with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program and with funding provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), has launched several new projects in its community-based green infrastructure initiative, Perth Amboy SWIM (Stormwater Infrastructure Management).
Washington Park is the site of a new rain garden designed to redirect and absorb rainwater while beautifying the park. The park’s parking lot is now resurfaced in porous pavement designed to allow rain water to pass through the surface and seep into the ground instead of running off into our stormwater sewers.
Perth Amboy SWIM rain garden installation, Sept 7/2017. Photo credit: Perth Amboy Mayor Diaz
In addition to the projects at Washington Park, the same partnership is responsible for the installation of two other porous pavement parking lots at municipal parking lot C on Jefferson Street and municipal parking lot RDH on Madison Street. All of these efforts will help us protect our local waterways from nonpoint source pollution, reduce flooding around the City and serve as excellent educational tools for the community.
A Perth Amboy SWIM porous/pervious pavement Green Infrastructure project at Washington Park. October 9/2017 was the first rain. Rain water is allowed to pass through the asphalt & soak into the soil rather than flood the neighborhood. Photo Credit: Raritan Riverkeeper.
Perth Amboy SWIM meets on the third Thursday of every month at 10am and always welcomes new members! Meetings are held in the Brighton Avenue Community Center (56 Brighton Avenue, Perth Amboy, NJ). For more information, please contact Billy Kurzenberger at wkurzenberger@perthamboynj.org
Article and photos by Joe Sapia (except as noted)
Note: The yard references are to my house in the section of Monroe between Helmetta and Jamesburg in South Middlesex County. My yard is in a Pine Barrens outlier on the Inner Coastal Plain, the soil is loamy, and my neighborhood is on the boundary of Gardening Zones 6b (cooler) and 7a (warmer). Notes and photographs are for the period covered, unless otherwise noted.
Gray clouds over Monroe farmland, looking toward the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area. Beautiful cloudy skies have presented themselves in recent years over my hometown of Monroe.
FALL HAS ARRIVED: Despite the summer-like temperatures the Jersey Midlands have been experiencing, fall is here. The calendar proclaims the beginning of fall at the September equinox – this year, September 22, when the day’s light and dark are generally equal. However, I regard fall beginning September 1 and running through October and November.
A fall scene at Griggstown Farm in Franklin, Somerset County.
DEER RUT: The mating season, or rut, for deer, “Odocoileus virginianus,” normally peaks from late October to mid-December. Here is Nixle.com-South Brunswick, Middlesex County, advisory:
“The South Brunswick Police Department is reminding motorists to be alert for increased deer activity over the next six weeks. This is typically when we see an increase in car crashes involving deer. The deer can unexpectedly dart onto roads so motorists need to use extra caution. “Motorists are urged to be especially attentive and cautious during morning and evening commutes when visibility may be poor. Deer are involved in thousands of collisions annually in New Jersey, with as many as half coming during the fall mating season, or rutting season…. An adult male deer can weigh 150 pounds or more.
“In the past month there have been a half dozen crashes involving deer in South Brunswick. In past years the majority of crashes have taken place over the next 6 weeks.
“…Deer are most active in the very early morning and around sunset, when visibility conditions can be very difficult. Using caution while driving will become even more important when Daylight Saving Time ends November 6, causing commutes to align with periods when deer are most active. For motorists, low levels of light and sun glare can make it very difficult to see deer that are about to cross the road. Moreover, multiple deer may cross the road at any given moment, usually in a single file.
The following tips can help motorists stay safe during from deer crashes:
-If you see a deer, slow down and pay attention to possible sudden movement. If the deer doesn’t move, don’t go around it. Wait for the deer to pass and the road is clear.
-Pay attention to ‘Deer Crossing’ signs. Slow down when traveling through areas known to have a high concentration of deer so you will have ample time to stop if necessary. If you are traveling after dark, use high beams when there is no oncoming traffic. High beams will be reflected by the eyes of deer on or near roads. If you see one deer, be on guard: others may be in the area. Deer typically move in family groups at this time of year and cross roads single-file. Don’t tailgate. Remember: the driver in front of you might have to stop suddenly to avoid hitting a deer.
-Always wear a seatbelt, as required by law. Drive at a safe and sensible speed, considering weather, available lighting, traffic, curves and other road conditions.
-If a collision appears inevitable, do not swerve to avoid impact. The deer may counter-maneuver suddenly. Brake appropriately, but stay in your lane. Collisions are more likely to become fatal when a driver swerves to avoid a deer and instead collides with oncoming traffic or a fixed structure along the road.
-Report any deer-vehicle collision to a local law enforcement agency immediately.
-Obey the state’s hands-free device law or, better yet, avoid any distractions by refraining from using cellular devices while driving.
I encountered these deer near Rutgers University–Douglass College in New Brunswick, Middlesex County. These are city deer, allowing me to get within 30 or so feet of them.
WEARING BLAZE ORANGE: With the popular deer-hunting season underway, it is probably a good time to wear blaze orange in the woods. Actually, a few years ago, I started wearing blaze orange on my knapsack year-round, because it is hard to keep track of hunting. During the last deer-hunting season, I walked under a tree-stand with a hunter, never seeing him until he spoke to me. Fortunately, I wore blaze orange. (The incident showed me, no matter a life spent in the woods, I let down my awareness.)
My blaze orange vest and one of my blaze orange hats.
BALDFACED HORNET NESTS: As we transition from the warm weather season to the cold, baldface hornets, “Dolichovespula maculate,” will abandon their nests. The abandoned nest is not a threat and may make a folksy bringing-of-the-outdoors-inside ornament. I have two hanging, with another waiting to be hung, in my cellar “cabin” area. Scope your nest now, but wait for colder weather to make sure it is fully abandoned. (Even in season, these nests are not a threat, if far-enough away from human activity. See this Pennsylvania State University Extension factsheet, http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/baldfaced-hornet.)
A baldfaced wasp nest on display in my cellar.
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES: Last week, I mentioned monarch butterflies, “Danaus plexippus,” would be heading on their southern migration to either Florida or, more likely, Mexico. The monarchs we see now are a “super generation,” the great-grandchildren of last fall’s migration and these making the complete trip south, if they survive. This week, I was able to photograph one in my garden as it visited the zinnias.
A monarch butterfly on the zinnias in my garden. If all goes right, this butterfly will migrate to at least Florida or, more likely, Mexico. Good luck!
ZINNIAS AND LETTUCE: This week, my zinnias went to Teddy’s luncheonette in Cranbury, Middlesex County, and the Hightstown Diner in Hightstown, Mercer County. The fall lettuce crop in my garden is growing nicely.
The fall lettuce crop in my garden.
GARDEN VOICES: Paul Migut, who gardens in South River, Middlesex County, checked in: “(I) pulled out all Rutgers and yellow tomatoes. (I) still have two grape/cherry tomatoes and two bush beans. And, of course, the ‘surprise’ turnips still growing. Enjoy the Fall season.”
Cherry tomatoes and bush beans from Paul Migut’s garden in South River, Middlesex County. (Photograph copyright 2017 by Paul Migut.)
BEAUTIFUL CLOUDS: The beautiful cloud formations continue. This week, among the places I photographed them was “Jamesburg Lake” (properly “Lake Manalapan”) on the Jamesburg-Monroe boundary, Middlesex County.
Clouds over “Jamesburg Lake,” Middlesex County.
The Delaware and Raritan Canal on the boundary of Rocky Hill and Franklin, Somerset County.
OCEAN TEMPERATURES: Atlantic Ocean temperatures on the New Jersey coast were about 68 degrees to 70 degrees during the weekend of September 30-October 1.
SUNRISE/SUNSET: For October 1, Sunday, to October 7, Saturday, the sun will rise about 6:55 to 7 a.m. and set about 6:30 to 6:40 p.m. For October 8, Sunday, to October 14, Saturday, the sun will rise about 7:05 a.m. and set about 6:25 p.m.
THE NIGHT SKY: The next full moon is the Full Harvest Moon Thursday, October 5.
WEATHER: The National Weather Service forecasting station for the area is at http://www.weather.gov/phi/.
UPCOMING: Another “Rally for the Navesink” meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3, 5:30 p.m., at the Monmouth Boat Club, 31 Union Street, Red Bank. The Rallies are an effort of environmental groups, the community, and municipal, Monmouth County, and state governments to promote improvement of the Navesink River in Monmouth County. The river suffers from high fecal bacteria counts and depleted oxygen levels. More information on the Rally is available from Clean Ocean Action, telephone 732-872-0111, website www.cleanoceanaction.org.
The Navesink River in September, looking downstream from Middletown toward Sea Bright, Monmouth County.
The recent photograph shows Sandy Hook, where the Atlantic Ocean and Raritan Bay meet, from an airplane flight leaving LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Humans, how small we are! (Photograph copyright 2017 by Dan Mulligan, a Long Branch, Monmouth County, kid who, now, lives in Cranbury, where he is on the Township Committee and has served as mayor.)
Joe Sapia, 60, is a lifelong Monroe resident. He is a Pine Barrens naturalist and an organic vegetable-fruit gardener. He gardens the same backyard plot as did his Italian-American father, Joe Sr., and his Polish-immigrant, maternal grandmother, Annie Poznanski Onda. Both are inspirations for his food gardening. Joe is active with the Rutgers University Master Gardeners/Middlesex County program. He draws inspiration on the Pine Barrens around Helmetta from his mother, Sophie Onda Sapia, who lived her whole life in these Pines, and his Grandma Annie. Joe’s work also is at @JosephSapia on Twitter.com, along with Facebook.com on the Jersey Midlands page.
