This may sound a bit ridiculous coming from an Oregonian, but among the many highlights of our East Coast trip that winds up today has been eco-tourism in New Jersey. Paddling around Great Egg Harbor near Atlantic City in kayaks, and walking the boardwalks of the Hackensack Meadowlands near New York City, we encountered all sorts of beautiful critters in the salt and fresh water marshes. And quite a few people with a keen interest in protecting and enhancing what's left of a once-grand wildlife habitat.
The birdwatchers are in heaven in these places, but drag a net across the shallows of the bay and a surprising variety of fish species will also turn up. We missed the diamondback terrapin this time around, but we did get up close and personal with egrets, herons, osprey, and all sorts of denizens of the deep, including some impressive-sized horseshoe crabs and some feisty Jersey blue crabs. In the northern wetlands, we were joined by several types of butterflies -- the aficionados counted several dozen varieties on an organized field day on Sunday.
Granted, it's not paradise. Particularly in the Hackensack area -- the swamps are surrounded by closed landfills, both legal and illegal, that are full of heaven knows what. Sure, they're "capped," "remediated," and covered up to look natural, but those of us who were around there 50 years ago know what went on. What's great, though, is that the ongoing damage has been stopped, even reversed a little, and now the area's residents are taking care to see that it isn't repeated.
We must admit, we never expected to fly out of Newark with memories of the birds and the bees. But we do. Way to go, New Jersey.
Comments (6)
The logic of nature will always trump human engineering. Keep our open drinking water reservoirs as they are today and manage them responsibly. No added Bull Run treatment...period.
Horseshoe crabs washed up on Folly Beach, SC when I was a kid used to give me the heeby-jeebies. Oh, what I would give for a trip to that area to reconnect with my youth.
There is sooooo much that is polluted in Jersey, but the mess might be announced as 'Turned Around' if/when they re-establish truck farms to put the 'garden' back in Garden State.
... and lose Fort Dix, then get the spent lead out of The Pines in the southern reaches.
We west-coasters tend to make a lot of arrogant jokes about places like New Jersey, mostly based on things like television shows that feed our preconcieved stereotypes.
But the truth is, that places like New Jersey do have special, lovely areas. I understand that South Jersey in particular has some places that seem unspoiled and remote (well, at least as remote as places in Jersey can be). I've heard that the Pine Barrens are particularly lovely, as well as the areas along the Delaware River in the north.
I came from the generation of Oregonians who smugly said "Don't Californicate Oregon" ... but as time went on and I finally got a chance to see California, which is an awesome place with awesome people. No, it's not perfect, and Oregon's home, but how can a state with things like Yosemite not be awesome?
I still reserve the right to be a little smug about my hometown and home state ... after all, I have to have some homeside pride.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (6)
The logic of nature will always trump human engineering. Keep our open drinking water reservoirs as they are today and manage them responsibly. No added Bull Run treatment...period.
Posted by Old Shep | July 27, 2010 4:17 PM
Horseshoe crabs washed up on Folly Beach, SC when I was a kid used to give me the heeby-jeebies. Oh, what I would give for a trip to that area to reconnect with my youth.
Posted by none | July 27, 2010 4:42 PM
There is sooooo much that is polluted in Jersey, but the mess might be announced as 'Turned Around' if/when they re-establish truck farms to put the 'garden' back in Garden State.
... and lose Fort Dix, then get the spent lead out of The Pines in the southern reaches.
Here's hoping.
.
Posted by Tenskwatawa | July 27, 2010 6:53 PM
It reminds me of that wonderful nature poem by Henry David Thoreau:
"Dead gangsters buried in barrels of lye, are New Jersey flowers by June or July."
Posted by Bill McDonald | July 27, 2010 8:28 PM
I suspect the COP and TriMet would like to know when your/their vacation ends.
Posted by Abe | July 27, 2010 10:12 PM
We west-coasters tend to make a lot of arrogant jokes about places like New Jersey, mostly based on things like television shows that feed our preconcieved stereotypes.
But the truth is, that places like New Jersey do have special, lovely areas. I understand that South Jersey in particular has some places that seem unspoiled and remote (well, at least as remote as places in Jersey can be). I've heard that the Pine Barrens are particularly lovely, as well as the areas along the Delaware River in the north.
I came from the generation of Oregonians who smugly said "Don't Californicate Oregon" ... but as time went on and I finally got a chance to see California, which is an awesome place with awesome people. No, it's not perfect, and Oregon's home, but how can a state with things like Yosemite not be awesome?
I still reserve the right to be a little smug about my hometown and home state ... after all, I have to have some homeside pride.
Posted by Samuel John Klein | July 27, 2010 11:19 PM