Another busy weekend in May 2010

Good Morning! Welcome to what is hopefully another sunny Saturday morning in May 2010.


Last weekend was a break from my usual routine of hiking and nature photography. In fact, the weekend flew by without an official hike for me to photo and blog about. I took off for Colonial Park in Franklin Township, NJ after work on Friday to snap a few pictures of the abundant flowers in bloom.


It was a great weekend! An excessive amount of travel time (which really ate up the weekend - another reason why I always try to hike locally) was the main thing holding me back from hitting a park. On Saturday I traveled to Montclair, which is about 2 hours away, one way (the way I drive). My goal was the Afro-Brazilian Cultural Center (or ABCC) on Bloomfield Avenue. This is a second floor suite which houses a Capoeira (Brazilian martial arts) studio, an office and changing area. On this particular Saturday Audie, a highly talented bellydance instructor, held a wonderful workshop on Baladi dance technique from 12:30-3pm. I had a great time, but after driving and dancing had taken its toll, I was ready to kick back and relax out of the heat until bedtime.

On Sunday, another perfect sunny day, I was priveledged to see Ringling Brother's and Barnum and Bailey's show entitled Funundrum. Playing in Trenton New Jersey for one week only at the Sun National Bank Center, the performers were all very impressive. I had happy memories of smaller (cheaper) shows as a child and I was eager to feel the magic again. Unfortunatley, some PETA member cast a pall over the show - protesters doted every corner around block with some inbetween. They carried large posters showing the usual, grainy, shocking pictures claiming the elephants were enslaved and brutally treated by the circus. While I never buy one-sided arguements, I spent the whole show worrying that the glamorous image the circus performers projected was an illusion sold to children at exhorbitant ticket prices. Do circus performers have health insurance? Even during the recession we're in?

And what about the animals? Plainly a trained tiger or packaderm is a valuable animal - but is their value high enough to buy them a good home when they are too old to perform? I am somewhat softhearted and I am afraid to be assaulted by lurid images if I research the above on the internet. I will stick with the child-like dream that they all live happily ever after. Science can tell us what and how, but not why and wherefore.

I am leaving the house now to head out on another hiking trip. See you on the trail!

A Walk in Washington Valley, May 2010

May 8th dawned cool and rainy, but clouds dispersed around 12 noon. Right around then, I hit the trail in Washington Valley Park, Gilbride Road trailhead, in Bridgewater, NJ.

I was pleased to explore a new trail on this visit (shown in red dashes on the park map). The overlook, pictured above, is my new favorite place. The vastness of the gorge below the East Branch Reservoir reminds me of the gorges I love in Ithaca, NY (where I lived for four years while earning my Bachelor's degree).

This spot looks very similar to a gorge I walked past often while in Ithaca. It is interesting how the man-made reservoir transitions into the natural rock.

From a spot along the new part trail I explored, you can look down the reservoir towards the rock crossing I have mentioned in a previous post.

On my way along the trail, I spotted these Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) butterflies "puddling" (sipping minerals from moist ground, along the steam bank).

Above is a shot of half of what I believe is a American robin's (Turdus migratorius) egg while it rests in my hand. I found the half shell found under a tree, in the grass along the trail.

A lucky shot of a Common Whitetail (Libellula lydia) dragonfly. Evidently this dragonfly is also known as a Longtailed Skimmer - thanks Wilkapedia for help with the identification. My field biology course was over ten years back now and I'm not sure how may insects we covered.

The insect above is a millipede (Narceus americanus), an impressive insect about 4 inches long. Millipedes are harmless and feed on dead plant matter on the forest floor. However, I am positive a bug this size would have frightened me badly if I had encountered it indoors as a child. Now I am fond of them because their serrated bodies remind me of snakes, which I find fascinating. For those curious about these insects, there is a great website here and a descriptive Wilkapedia article here.

I look forward to hiking this trail again during the summer. I am pleased that I have not yet visited every good spot in the Somerset county park system. With some sunny weather in the forecast, I hope to hit the trail and enjoy the beautiful green wonderland that forest trails have become.

High Aspirations, High Pollen Count

Happy May Day faithful blog readers! Thanks to a ride from a friend, I was able to visit the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWG) last Saturday, May 1st.


The Delaware Water Gap is located in north-eastern New Jersey and spans the state boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In contrast to the county parks I have covered on this blog so far, the DWG is a national park administered at the federal level by the National Park System. That is, it is a lot bigger.

When I first woke up last Saturday, I had Sunfish Pond in mind as my goal. Sunfish Pond is a small pond along one of the many trails that run through the DWG. I have never visited before, but it sounds like a pretty spot to visit. Unfortunately, I had a terrible allergy attack as soon as I hopped out of bed.

A sea of green now graces the slopes of the mountainous region around the gap. Whatever pollen it is that irritates my eyes and sinuses flew through the air around my home in Somerset County. I has a classic sinus headache and my eyes and nose watered freely. It was so bad my whole body felt weak and I hadn't recovered by around 11am.

While I try not to allow any outside circumstances to interrupt my weekly hikes, that Saturday I was sorely tempted. Luckily my faithful chauffeur (my boyfriend who loves road trips) agreed to make the 1.5 hour or so drive out the DWR for a hike in the length of my choice. What a guy!

Stuffing my pockets with tissues and sipping some iced herbal tea, we made it to the park and kicked around for a few hours. Trail heads like the one pictured above abound throughout the DWG. On this trip, we stuck to the three overlooks along the southern most tip of the park and the Kittatiny Point Visitor's Center.

While I didn't make it to Sunfish Pond (8 miles round trip and 1000 feet increase in elevation was too much in the 80 degree heat), we had a lot of fun and I gradually recovered throughout the day. I hope to try for the pond on another trip.

On a side note, this was my first trip to the DWG since the Kittatiny Point Visitor's Center was rebuilt. The park website has a nifty picture here. A log cabin style building rests on stilts set back from the river's edge. The previous site is now a paved picnic area. I approved of the new interpretive exhibits - they were quite impressive for the limited space available. I especially recommend stopping in to see the "Please Touch" table where kids (and adults) can handle turtle shells, deer skulls, various other bones, a few fossils and assorted other objects collected in the park.

Today (May 8th) has dawned cool (around 60 degrees) and rainy. My sinuses drained out around last Monday morning and I am feeling much better. Summer-like thunderstorms have been rolling through our area all week and today is no exception. I am primed to head out to the Washington Valley Reservoir to see if I can catch some birds or reptiles out enjoying the rain.