A visual chronicle of suburban NJ
I was surprised to find this snowy egret in Shallcross Pond in Kenilworth. Just, y’know, hangin’ out, four feet from the bike path.
When I got a liiiiiiittle too close, it flew across the pond.
Don’t worry, it came back later! I didn’t scare it off too badly.
As a former chemistry minor and present Person Who Is Attracted To Colorful Shiny Objects… I had to go check out this pH display.
pH stands for “potential Hydrogen,” and it’s basically (forgive me, chemists) an approximation of how many hydrogen ions are in a liquid. Lots of hydrogen ions = low pH = acidic; few hydrogen ions = high pH = basic/ alkaline.
This particular company (Pur2o) was trying to sell us on the idea that water should be BASIC, not neutral, and set up this display to prove how acidic most bottled water is, particularly compared to their own very alkaline water. (I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that they used phenol red as their pH indicator.) Several fairgoers were skeptical about the underlying concept of this.
This rock I’m sitting on was worn smooth from all the non-rule-abiding hikers (like me) who ventured off-path to enjoy the view afforded by this little outcrop in the South Mountain Reservation. I’ll bet the scene is even lovelier once everything fully turns green.
When Union County purchased the land for Hidden Valley Park, apparently there were some residents living there. Union County probably said, “Hey, we’re trying to build a park here, why don’t we buy your land from you, that’d be great” and the residents said, “WTF? Hell no!”
So there is a resident-shaped hole in Hidden Valley Park, with all kinds of “NO TRESPASSING” “PRIVATE PROPERTY” “NO FISHING” signs all over the place, presumably to dissuade curious hikers (like me) from skulking about and investigating this mysterious house on the lake.
I’d seen some incredibly impressive photos of the South Mountain Reservation’s Hemlock Falls, and I was really excited to go check it out for myself.
…It was a little disappointing.
I guess we haven’t had too much rain recently.
Everyone loves a generic sunset over a generic lake!
(This is actually Echo Lake, which I suppose is a very specific lake.)
A tiny lip of water trickling down a brook at the South Mountain Reservation.
…I’m a little bit obsessed with trying to photograph falling water at the moment.
Ducks! At Echo Lake in Mountainside. This is the east end of the lake.
I specify this because Echo Lake is a very long, narrow lake, and it matters.
Finally, FINALLY, we had a nice foggy morning on a weekend! I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this, and how psyched I am to have gotten this photo.
Without going into too much detail, there are two tips I read recently that directed me to this shot:
For me, personally, “better stuff” often includes water. But this is still a working hypothesis.
Anyway. This is Briant Park (in Summit, NJ, no relation to Bryant Park in New York, NY).
* On the subject of taking photos within two hours of sunrise, Daylight Savings is helping me an awful lot on that front!
This is the Green Brook of the Watchung Reservation.
The view is only available to those who go off the marked trail through an enticing little basalt valley.
There’s probably a technical name for it, but I am not up on my geology. 
