Broken bones

Sometimes I find bones in the woods! I thought this was a femur at first glance, but upon closer inspection, I’m not really sure what it is… maybe a tibia? Probably from a deer or something.

Please stand back

On NJ Transit train platforms, by the yellow line, is a stenciled message warning passengers to “PLEASE STAND BACK OF YELLOW LINE.”

This has always bugged me. It’s lousy grammar, isn’t it? “Stand back of yellow line?” It ought to be stand back FROM the yellow line, which is what the automated voice announces whenever a train nears the station. On the other hand, my command of the English language has gone markedly downhill since high school, so maybe “stand back of yellow line” is acceptable now.

In any case: stand back! Don’t get run over by a train!

Stumptown

I’ll be honest: I don’t have much to say about stumps.

The word “stumptown” popped into my head while I was considering this fact.

I couldn’t quite place the word, so I Googled it.

I, being a comics nerd, was probably thinking of Stumptown Comics Fest (April 27-28 in Portland, OR), one of the well-known comics festivals around North America. But it’s also the name of a coffee company and some other things.

None of this has anything to do with New Jersey or, in particular, this stump, but so it goes.

My twigs are so bright, I’ve got to wear shades

Yeah man. So cool.

Over the tree trunks and through the woods

In January, I reported that the New Providence section of the Passaic River Park was impassible. I’ve been back to those woods a couple times since, but it’s always been difficult and disappointing.

THIS HAS SINCE CHANGED (!!!).

Some gang sawed through that giant mess of trees… AND BLAZED IT. (I’ve been meaning to blaze it forever!) Neon orange marks now dot the previously unmarked trail, guiding hikers across un-trail-like areas that they’d never think to hike otherwise. Example below: hello random patch of weeds new trail.

For several of the larger logs that blocked the path, rather than cut them up… they’re simply part of the trail now. Volunteers have added steps to help hikers hop over logs.

It is AWESOME. Excellent work. I don’t know who you are, mysterious team of trail volunteers, but I love you, and if you want a hand with the next go-round, PLEASE let me help. You’ve rocked my world!

All clear!

On NJ Transit, conductors look up and down the train and platform after everyone has boarded/disembarked at a station, and signal to the other conductors that no other passengers are coming and it’s okay for the train to pull out. (In daylight, they wave; at night, they flick a flashlight.)

Buddies

Oh boy it must be spring!

Boundaries

Behind Tito’s Burritos. I oughta check out the inside of this place someday.

Venules

Upon a quick glance, train tracks coming together remind me of venules— capillaries pooling into a larger vein… headed, I guess, back to the heart of New York.

…Thinking through it, a circulatory system metaphor for NJ Transit could be taken wayyyyyy too far. Perhaps the Northeast Corridor is the aorta, and that’s why it’s red…?

…Then again, I’m a medical animator, so don’t take any of this too seriously.

Crocuses are croaking!

Spring is coming! Or actually, I guess it’s been here since March 20th. But if the crocuses are up, then warmer weather is DEFINITELY on its way!