Water at Philadelphia Zoo
Water falls from above.
Here is the watery scene below.
For more photos with water, visit Watery Wednesday:
Central New Jersey
Nature Notes: East Brunswick Butterfly Park
It was a beautiful fall day last week when we visited the East Brunswick Butterfly Park. It is off Ryder’s Lane; one can park at the neighboring Oak Tree Park that has a lovely playground for children.
We didn’t see a lot of butterflies, but the autumn foliage was enough to keep our interest.
Yellows and reds are dominant in the landscape at this time of year.
Milkweed! With an aphid. My husband said, look at that bug, and I was proud to be able to identify the milkweed aphid.
Wish I knew the name of this pretty yellow wild flower.
The last two purple blossoms of the year stood out on this butterfly bush.
Sedum turns to such a lovely muted shade of red in autumn.
The path in the butterfly park swings off to a path into the woods. However, one is never far from a busy road or highway when going on hikes in New Jersey. One can hear and see traffic of Ryders Lane.
Can you guess which animal kept our interest for a while in the woods? Can you see him?
For more Nature Notes:
Review with Maple Leaves
We visited the Butterfly Park in East Brunswick last Sunday. I was planning to post a Nature Notes about the park (didn’t happen! not enough hours or energy in a week); instead, I have material for next week’s Nature Notes.
On My Blog
I have two more interviews with bloggers on writing coming up for this blog – one for this coming week, and one for the following week. I will post the answer to the Film Festival quiz tomorrow morning on Sunday (in the comments of the film festival post). Still time for guessing – thanks to those who already tried!
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
Update on Friday: “Baruch Dayan HaEmet – Blessed is the True Judge.
This is the blessing said upon hearing the news of someone’s death.
About 11:10 AM this morning, RivkA passed away.
Funeral plans are in the process, and we’ll post them as soon as we know.
May RivkA’s family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”
One more update, a parsha thought on Hayye Sarah by Jeffrey Woolf: “Abraham came to Hevron to eulogize Sarah and to cry for her. The Rav זצ”ל used to emphasize that ordinarily the order is the reverse. First once cries. Only after time passes and perspective returns, can one eulogize the departed and evaluate who they were.
Sometimes, though, one is obligated to suppress one’s primal shriek of pain in order to tell the world just who the person was who has gone. That way, the Rav said, we try to involve as many people as possible in mourning the tragedy. Once the eulogy is achieved, we may all let ourselves go and cry out in pain.”
Guess The Films
It’s Rutgers New Jersey Jewish Film Festival time, and since most of you reading this post don’t live in New Jersey, I thought we could have a little fun with a “Guess the Film” game.
- Without looking beyond the main film page, can you guess which three films are already sold out? The films are listed in the left sidebar (click on the large graphic above to get to the main film page). No cheating.
- Can you name the film that my husband and I plan to attend?
Finally, if you did live in New Jersey, which films would you want to see? Answers to the second question (which film are my husband and I attending) will be posted early next week.
Philadelphia Zoo Carousel Reds
My daughter and her friend enjoyed their ride on the Philadelphia Zoo carousel last week.
I imagine this parrot is saying “Awk! I am a handsome dude, aren’t I? Awk!”
There is so much to see at the Philly Zoo that we only saw about half the place when we heard it was closing time. The girls really enjoyed the petting zoo and the big cats (pumas, leopards, lions).
For more posts with a lot or a little red, visit:
• • •
I am running a new series interviewing bloggers who like to write about writing. The first one was an interview with Lorri of Jew Wishes. Please come back tomorrow and next week for the next two in this series. Thank you.
Bridge over Raritan River
Sometimes you can photograph an ordinary bridge and get some good shots. This bridge goes over the Raritan River, and on top is Route 18, a busy thoroughfare that takes you from New Brunswick, through East Brunswick, and eventually leads down to the Jersey Shore area.
This is the top of the bridge. I liked the colorful leaves growing on the fence.
Unfortunately, graffiti is too common a site on bridges in our area.
The bottom of the bridge with the Raritan River: the bridge is at the end of our walk that started at Rutgers Gardens.
Past posts with bridges and the Raritan River:
- View of Donaldson Park and the Raritan River from the bridge on Route 1
- Bridge over Raritan River into Highland Park
For more Sunday Bridges:
Nature Notes: Rutgers Gardens
There are some lovely paths by the Raritan River in the back of Rutgers Gardens. We enjoyed walking through nature last Sunday.
Some leaves were changing to red; not all the leaves looked so healthy. I wondered if it was because of the dry summer we had.
Is this what Monet saw before he painted his famous lily pads?
I believe this pretty lavender flower by the river is a cleome.
I was excited to see milkweed, as Michelle of Rambling Woods has talked about it on her blog as attractive to butterflies. And I even saw some milkweed aphids, too.
And since many of you enjoy seeing my family, here’s my husband and daughter. The chocolate around her mouth is probably from an Oreo cookie, which may not be a very natural food, but it’s in her nature to enjoy cookies.
For more Nature Notes:
Apple for Ruby Tuesday
Two weeks ago we went apple picking (at Terhune Orchards near Princeton, New Jersey), and I made a cake using this recipe (but without the nuts). I am planning to make an apple pie this week.
What do you like to make with apples?
For more photos with red, visit:
Thank Heaven – SOOC
“Thank heaven…for little girls…” – this is a scene from Gigi, which was performed at the Middlesex County College Theater Camp that my daughter attended. The director of the camp introduced the song by saying, “remember the name Michael Mills.” He is the adorable boy in front of those teenage girls singing the song that was originally performed by Maurice Chevalier.
For more photos straight out of the camera, visit Murrieta:
Asbury Park Theatre
The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey was built in 1927: The entire complex was designed in a combination Italian-French style, with an emphasis on nautical themes in recognition of its oceanfront location. The interior of the theatre was dominated by gold, black, and purple, and featured a giant rosette on the ceiling.
Thursday Challenge theme is CREATIVITY (Art, Music, Writing, Photography, Architecture, Handicraft,…).
Next Week: FUN (Festival, Fair, Carnival, Party, Playground, Dancing, Laughing,…)