Category Archives: Whatever

Whatever

My barrens are burning

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A fire has been raging (link to video) across some 15,000 acres of the Pine Barrens since yesterday. Aside from the worry for people and property, there needn’t be much concern for the health of the habitat as most species that grow there are fire-adapted. Some, like the pitch pine, require fire in order to reproduce. Its bark is thick and resistant to fire. After fires, many pitch pines sprout needles directly out of their trunks. In addition, pitch pine cones only open in extreme heat, so after forest fires, the trees reseed themselves.

One place that I do worry for, and for entirely selfish reasons, is the bog at Webb’s Mill (pictured here in the fall of last year). I’ve been waiting for late May and early June for the chance to see some rare plants blooming there. There are approximately 55 endangered plant species in the NJ Pine Barrens. Reasons for the dwindling numbers include introduction of aggressive non-native plants, the prevention and extinguishing of fires (a natural occurrence of the Pine Barrens), and changing the natural water flow because of farming and development.

I hope the expected thunderstorms and efforts of firefighters can control the blaze. My husband is waiting for the call from his department to go help out.

Whatever

Mother’s day

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Hope you’ve all had a lovely Mother’s Day. Thought I’d share a pic of a new mother spotted along the drive to work. I pass at least four new foals (that’s the right word, isn’t it?) on my drive in the morning, but on my way home, when I have time to stop, the horses aren’t out to pose for photos. I snapped this during a quick drive by yesterday; not the pic I wanted, but you get the idea of just how adorable they are.

😉

Pastimes, Pond, Whatever

While I was away…

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So I’ve not been around very much this past week, but I’ve been busy finishing up with school and out and about enjoying the bounty of spring. Plus, I didn’t have much of interest to say, still don’t in fact, but don’t want to make it a habit to just post a pic and be off.

Since I last had anything much to say here I’ve been to two wakes for coworkers of my husband and a memorial service for an old birding buddy who passed away back in January. I dragged my husband along on a day trip to the Pine Barrens and spent a lunch hour or two at the little park near to where I work watching the tree sparrows fight over the too few nest boxes. I had a successful evening looking at wildflowers in the woods and three unfruitful visits to various spots locally looking for migrants. The only new birds I’ve added this week are Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Eastern Kingbird, Ovenbird, Oystercatcher, Willet, Common Tern, Laughing Gull and whichever Vireo it is that sings incessantly from the treetops. Other people are seeing great birds, but I haven’t managed to be in the right spot at the right time.

The pond is up and running and the fish are happy, my husband has cut the lawn twice and we got our hands on 5 little dwarf mountain laurels for the woodland border. I’m looking for ideas of what to plant as a groundcover in that area beneath the American Holly trees, so if anyone has any bright ideas I’d love to hear about them soon, while my husband is in the habit of digging planting holes. If I don’t come up with any other ideas, I’ll probably plant a few ferns just as soon as I figure out which ones might actually be able to survive in the dry shade.

Hope you all had a happy weekend; I’ll be around to visit with you before too long.

Small truths, Whatever

Tell me I’m beautiful

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Is there a point in life when we no longer need to hear that we’re beautiful?

Would you rather someone comment on how smart you are? Or how accomplished you are? Or how kind, maybe?

Does it matter who it is that’s making the compliment?

I spend a lot of time listening and not saying much. I pay attention sometimes to the ways that my students or my friends interact with one another. Some girls expend an awful lot of energy making themselves beautiful and then wait around for their female friends to notice. Grown women do the same. What’s the point?

Why the constant need for reassurance?

“Female beauty is an important minor sacrament… I am not at all sure that neglect of it does not constitute a sin of some kind.” -Robertson Davies

Wanderings, Whatever

Rainy day tour of Asbury Park

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My husband and I ventured out in the storm this afternoon to have a look at the ocean – can you see just how churned up it is with the storm? No, me neither. This view is typical of the northern part of the Jersey Shore – huge mansions and condos on the right and the concrete seawall on the left. The seawall is meant to keep the huge mansions from floating away in a big storm. In some towns, the people who own houses on the right side of the road (the river side) also own the rights to a private staircase over the seawall. The rest of us get to look at the concrete wall that keeps *us* safe from the ocean’s fury. Yea right. The seawall only runs through those towns that are backed by the river; where it ends it’s replaced by condos, hotels, and beach clubs that also block public access to the ocean. Until you get to Asbury Park.

Asbury Park is a ghost town and has been for at least the past twenty years. There was a time long ago when it was a seaside resort and a family place. Through the years it’s become a seedy sort of place, yet I can remember as a kid going there on Easter Sunday all dresssed up to ride the rides and walk on the boardwalk. My husband remembers going there to race along the main drag when he was in high school. Bruce Springsteen made Asbury and its nightclubs famous.

Now it’s just a very sad sort of place. Most of it, like the once gorgeous Convention Hall pictured above, is in some perpetual state of revival that never seems to come. What’s not boarded up, falling down, or outright abandoned is “under construction” that seems to have been stalled for a decade at least. There’s yellow police tape and orange construction barrels at every turn, but never any work being done. There are still plenty of families who make their home here, and some sections of town have been revived, but I don’t know that the parts of Asbury that I remember will ever get back to what they were so many years ago. I don’t think many people care about Asbury Park anymore or its future.

One thing that Asbury had going for it today was easy ocean access, not that we were willing to step out of the car to enjoy it. The gulls were in heaven, or so it seemed. I’m not sure what this was about, but there must have been something churned up by the waves to draw so many to one spot. The ocean was angry today, but the *historic storm* the weathermen predicted turned out to be nothing more than a rainy day with some flooded roads. Here locally, at least. Some places are being pounded with snow – glad it wasn’t us.
Whatever

Weekend plans

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“The flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing birds is come.”
– Song of Solomon
Yes, they’re metal flowers and metal birds, but we can make do, can’t we?

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m glad it’s Friday! I only wish the weather predictions were a bit brighter for the weekend. Tomorrow will be the day to be out and about. I only need to decide where I’ll spend it. Oh the possibilities!

Sunday into Monday we’re supposed to have a nasty storm – a Nor’easter – which might provide the time to veg out on the couch and make some sort of a dent in watching the boxed set of the whole 7 years of The West Wing series that the Easter Bunny left me. I’m not much for tv and totally spaced this show for all the years it was on, but I like the reruns that I catch and will enjoy the gift for many rainy days to come.

It might also be fun to head down to the beach and see the surf churned up with the storm, assuming I can get there and the roads aren’t flooded out. Might make for some interesting pics anyway. Which reminds me that the Good Planets Show is happening tomorrow at Vicki’s place – be sure to stop by and have a look. Vicki’s toying with the idea of having *water* as a theme when the show reappears in two weeks – maybe I’ll manage a decent photo to submit by then.


I would love to hear what you all have planned, especially if you live someplace where it’s warm and sunny and spring-like!

Whatever

Laura the thinker (lol!)

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Vicki at Outside In tagged me as a *thinking blogger* – imagine that! On the off chance that you haven’t seen this meme a thousand times already, the idea is that once you’re tagged, you’re supposed to pass the fun along by linking to five other blogs that make you *think*.

I wouldn’t really consider myself a *thinker* – more like an occasional ponderer or idea tinkerer. The practice of writing something here each day formalizes my thinking process and offers me the opportunity to engage the thinking of you all, which is what I really enjoy. I think we’re a pretty *thoughtful* bunch, even if prone to occasional silliness.

In an effort to avoid what very much feels like a popularity contest I won’t choose five blogs from my sidebar to highlight. Most of you read them all anyway and know how delightful they are. Besides, most of you have already been tagged, I think! Instead, I’ve chosen a few blogs that I read regularly, but haven’t ever linked to. Most are blogs where I don’t comment often or at all, but lurk and think and quietly enjoy for one reason or another. They’re all *thinking bloggers* for sure, but there’s more. Have a look and find out for yourself.

Kelly at Kikipotamus the Hobo is a new friend from the Finding Water reading group. She is creative and whimsical and complex. Her writing is generous and her topics wide-ranging.

Lyn at Wandermuse is an artist/painter/photographer. She doesn’t post often; she’s too busy wandering around big sky country, but once in a while I peruse her archives and am inspired by her honesty and deep respect for the outdoors.

e4 at Green, Blue, Brown writes about farming, gardening, and parenting in Ohio. He’s always got something interesting going on with the goats, chickens or his errant children. He writes a great blog for *thinking green*.

A Tree Grower’s Diary has been a favorite for some time now, but Julie who blogs from NJ recently moved it into her other blog called A City of Nouns. Great photos and interesting tree stuff – have a look.
Another beautiful blog, Graf Nature Photography offers thoughts on nature and the environment as seen through the lens of a talented nature photographer. Good photo tips, too!
So that’s my five and that means I’ve finally finished the homework, Vicki! Thanks again for the compliment.
Bunnies, Whatever

Cranky bunnies

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It’s been a full day – full of relatives and food and too many sweets. The bunnies are in cranky moods for being left alone all day to fend for themselves. Missy is hunched up in a corner and doesn’t want to eat. I’ve got 10 different things to do before bed, but won’t do any of them until the bunny is feeling better. Can’t have a sick bunny on Easter!

I’ll leave you with this pic of Cricket who was not interested in playing with the giant Easter egg. Her tummy was full of salad and she just wanted a nap.

Goodnight!