Beautiful weather has graced the Labor Day weekend this year. Like many folks, I had Monday the 6th off work and made it down the shore one more time before summer officially ends. Before the holiday, an Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans terrestris) took a swim in our pool. As eye witnesses report, I was very excited! And I took several stills and a few videos of the adolescent snake (just over 6 inches in length, 1/4 inch a thickest point) swimming gracefully through the water before I lifted him out with a skimmer.
On Saturday, I took my usual route through Washington Valley Park. The air was on the cool side, crisp and breezy with low humidity.
I noticed many new views, as the leaves of many trees have turned dry and crackly and comes down already.
Many turtles feel no ill effects due to the drought - they swim and sun as if the waterline were as high as usual.
It has been pointed out to me that my blog is on the "fussy" side with all my identifications (or id attempts). I'll just call these turtles - I understand the species (probably painted turtles) may only be important to me.
After my 2 hours or so walk on Saturday, I was ready for some kayaking on the Delaware-Raritan Canal on Sunday. Aengus and I and a large crowd of eager tourists enjoyed the canal around noon during fair conditions.
I think we spotted a Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) relaxing on a branch as we spotted back.
A Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) was kind enough to let us get quite near and pose for me.
On Monday, my family and I returned to Sandy Hook in Atlantic Highlands, NJ just after 9am. A quick walk on the boardwalk out to the back across from Spermacetti Cove Visitor's Center revealed snails, fiddler crabs, a kestrel, many birds and small fish.
Last week, I took Thursday and Friday off of work to get in some extra beach time and walks in the woods. I like to take a brief vacation at the end of the summer to fully enjoy the hot weather once more before fall begins. In honor of my last night of vacation (this Sunday night), I am going to stick to brief mentions of common names for animals only - in a future post (at the conclusion of 2010) I will endeavor to list the full Latin name as usual.
On Wednesday evening around 6pm- to start things off right - I took a pleasant walk in Colonial Park in Franklin Township, NJ. Heavy cloud cover had the rain drizzling down throughout the day and a light shower took me at the end my walk. The air was relatively cool and comfortable, but humid. Many critters where out enjoying the (slightly) refilled lake.
An egret and some brown, duck like birds relax on the far side of Spooky Brook Pond. A Great Blue Heron joined them for a short time, but flew off when I approached the nearest bird blind along the trail to photograph them.
A muskrat pauses to enjoy some water plants just as I passed by on the trail. As he swam over to his chosen spot, I clearly saw the long snake-like tail this creature uses to propel itself through the water.
I observed a total of 3 Green Herons perched around the far side of the pond that day.
A doe White-tailed Deer and her two fawns stared at me, but did not take flight - even after several pictures further along the trail. The only clear image I ended up with was of one of the fawns, above.
After its departure from the pond, the egret flew into a nearby oak tree.
The Blue Heron flew downstream to another part of the waterway, where I took several pictures despite the failing light. When I reached my car around 7:30pm, it was quite dark due to the cloudy conditions and the shorter days we are experiencing.
On Thursday, I drove out the Watchung Reservation in Mountainside, NJ. The day dawned clear, with less humidity and temperatures ranging from 60 to 80 or more degrees. I followed a lovely nature trail which begins on New Providence Road, on the southern side of the parking lot for the Trailside Nature and Science Center.
Tall, impressive trees like the White Pine above line the trail.
After this first visit, I was quite taken with the scenery and facilities within the Union county park.
A frog I have yet to identify (not a Spring Peeper) clings to a rock on running stream.
By a stroke of luck, I caught a photo of this Rat(?) Snake as I crossed a bridge over the Blue Brook. After just a moment more in my presence, the snake swam away under the water, out of sight.
A water snail crawls among the water lilies in Lake Surprise.
Three large turtles, most likely Painted Turtles, sun on a fallen tree in Lake Surprise.
I was privileged to spend Friday and Saturday in Atlantic City with my boyfriend, Aengus. We had wonderful time hitting Historic Gardner's Basin, the beach, boardwalk and of course Lucy (a giant elephant stachue in Margate, NJ). Above is the Children's Garden in Gardner's Basin.
Butterflies enjoy the many flowers surrounding the Atlantic City Aquarium, which we also visited.
No trip to the Jersey shore would be complete with multiple gull sighting. Here an adult (on garbage can) is pestered unceasingly by two juveniles (smaller birds with brown plumage) in their eternal search for food.
Couldn't resist posting this shot of the boardwalk from our boat trip on the Crusin 1 of Atlantic City Cruises.
On Sunday, unable to resist the continued clear weather, I took an hour or so to walk through Sourland Mountain in Hillsborough, NJ. A Monarch Butterfly, along with a host of other flying insects, enjoys the wild flowers growing throughout the meadow areas of the park.
A toad I encountered along the trail.
A bloom of fungi I assume took advantage of the moisture in the air earlier in the week.
I greatly enjoyed my time out of doors and can't wait for next weekend where I have some fewer and shorter but still great hikes planned. Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts!
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The beach seemed swept clean with the removal of the life guard chairs (stowed until Memorial Day 2011). With visibility high, the ocean seemed to stretch out forever. 
On the bay side, the tide was in. It seemed the tide was in the exact opposite position as our trip last week.
No fiddler crabs were in sight, but fish darted about, just beneath the surface.
My grandmother stated the birdwatcher above had the perfect spot.
The light was so perfect, I could not quite capture it on film. It may have been something with the way the water reflected the sky...
At Mount Mitchell overlook, we gazed back fondly on the beach we had just left. The best shots I've ever taken came from this trip, with visibility so good.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse is visible above, and beyond it is Manhattan, NYC. Around noon we feared some 9/11 commemoration. At one point, everyone on the beach seemed to be pointing out towards the New York skyline. But all it turned out be was (we assumed) a dolphin dorsal fin, bobbing black and sleek among the waves. It swam along the shore, then vanished just as mysteriously.
I must look into getting out on a sailboat. It must be a glorious ride on these crisp, sunny days. I look forward to more pleasant weekends as fall approaches.
