Signs Pointing Home

Came across this delightful, colorful birdhouse and mileage arrow structure while out for a walk. I'll speculate that the signs have something to do with the home countries of people who live if the multi-family homr where the artwork was in the front yard.Just a guess!!! Or perhaps places that they have visited or lived previously. Would be fun to know the story behind it.

Hudon River Double Rainbow

The first rainbow of the summer season over the Hudson River, New Jersey waterfront, and the New York Skyline. Actually, at times a double rainbow could be seen. One of several images. Mother Nature closed out PRIDE weekend with a hard to beat recognition - a huge rainbow - sometimes a second one could also be seen. .

NYC First Summer Rainbow

A Sunday late afternoon thunderstorm and then this beautiful rainbow over the Hudson River and the New York Skyline. My first rainbow for the summer season. Great timing by Mother Nature to close out PRIDE weekend.

NY-NJ Hudson River Double Rainbow

A view of the Hudson River, NJ Hoboken waterfront and the New York Skyline with a double rainblow as a rain storm cleared.

NJ Summer Wetlands Walk

A view from a path in the New Jersey Meadowlands on a beautiful summer afternoon. The skyline of New York City can be faintly seen far into the background. So happy to have this park within a half hour of my home. It's one of my two local 'happy places' to walk and enjoy nature.

NJ-NY: A Covid 19 Cityscape

At first glance, this appears to be normal ciyscape-river view on a summer Friday afternoon. But it's not normal and after months of shut-down and 'stay at hom' mandates, I'm still not used to it looking like this. The helix roadway in the foreground is the artery that leads into (and out of) the Lincoln Tunnel that runs under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York. On a typical Friday, especially on the weekend before July4th, it would be jam-packed with bumper to bumper busses, cars, trucks and other vehicles There would be the sound of police sirens and traffic police with bullhorns directing the tunnel entry overflow traffic on local roads. The empty parking lot for the building that juts out over the river would be filled to capacity with cars as people visit the restaurant for Happy Hour and enjoy dinner with the city view. The river would be alive with boat traffic - ferries crossing between the two states, weekend boaters, tourist cruises and yacht dinner cruises traveling up and down the river. The sky over the river and city would be dotted with helicopters ferrying people and small planes with advertising banners. But .it's not a normal weekend - much is still 'on hold' even though we are starting a Phase 2 opening. Normally on this weekend, the city would be packed with people attending PRIDE celebrations and excitement building wondering where the Macv's fireworks would be held and if/where they would be visible. But this year, none of that is happening. New York and New Jersey, just weeks ago the epicenter of the Covid-19 virus is now recovering, reassessing and slowly reopening but it is far from normal. As the peaks of this virus have moved into the South and Southwest, I hope that everyone will do all in their power to stay safe and protect each other. Note: This scene viewed from the palisade overlooking the waterfront in NJ.

NY- NJ Cityscape - Morning Clouds and Shadows

A view, in black and white, overlooking the New Jersey cities of Hoboken and Jersey City, the Hudson River, and lower Manhattan as dramatic cloud formations pass over the area.

Pink Petunias

A close up view of a group of pink petunias from my container garden.

Clouds Rule over New York Skyline

A cityscape image of the New York Skyline and Hudson River on an early summer afternoon. Crystal clear blue skies and puffy white clouds that seemed to gracefully float above the Manhattan skyscrapers made this a picture perfect (and hard to resist taking a photo) view. The very low level of car, bus and truck traffic over the last months seems to have had a positive effect on air quality and I don't miss the heavy traffic jams in the area. That said, it still seems wrong to have the river look so calm and empty of boat traffic. Typically. at this time of year, ferry boats and recreational boats would be criss-crossing the river with many sailboats bobbing up and down in the current.

NJ Wetlands Blue Sky over Spring Green

A view of a magnificent blue sky with dramatic white puffy clouds blowing across the New Jersey Meadowlands where the wetlands grasses and shrubs are a brilliant spring green as the summer season begins.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly and Milkweed

A beautiful, fresh and very active male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail feeding on a milkweed flower. Looking forward to seeing many more butterflies in the coming weeks. Native to North America, the eastern tiger swallowtail ( Papilio glaucus) is quite common in the eastern United States, where it is found in varied habitats Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of the families Apocynaceae (dogbane) , Asteraceae (aster, daisy, sunflower) and Fabaceae (legume, bean.) Over the spring and summer seasons, the butterflies reproduce 2 to 3 times, dropping their eggs on a variety of plant families.

Summer Greenery and Blue Skies Landscape

The rich greens of late Spring and early Summer create a lovely tranquil landscape under a rich blue cloud strewn sky. A New Jersey landscape.

New York Skyline - A Mellow Afternoon

A view of the New York Skyline and Hudson River in late afternoon with pastel toned colors that hint at the sundown hour soon to come. Puffy white clouds drift across a turquoise blue sky.

Nest-building House Sparrow

A house sparrow bring nesting matieral to a nest box in the New Jersey Meadowlands.

NJ Meadowlands Landscape-Incoming Tide

A view of a beatufiul blue summer sky and clouds reflected in the waters of the Hackensack River wetlands at the end of low tide as the tide water begins to flow back in. Photographed at Richard W. DeKorte park in Lyndhurst N.J. Ducks, geese and snowy egrets were feeding at the edge of the water level as the tide carried food sources in to them.

Yellow Flag Iris

ris pseudacorus, the (yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa.The water-loving yellow iris can be found along the margins of waterways and ponds, and in wet woodlands,and saltmarshes. The plants flower from May to August and can usually be seen growing among other wetlands plants. It is thought that they are the inspiration for the fleur-de-lis symbol.

NJ Meadowlands - Layers of LIfe

A view of the trees,shrubs, grasses, reeds and midflats at low tied in a section of the New Jersey Hackensack Meadowlands. The scene intriqued me because each layer represents a necessary and critical environment for wildlife of one sort or another. Combined it adds up to a unique brackish, tidal wetlands home for many year round and migratory species. The Meadowlands are along the Atlantic Flyway and,therefore a critical stopover for birds, butterflies etc. on their north/south migration route to provide rest, sources of food and protection. This images also shows small examples of trunks of Atlantic White Cedar trees that were cut down during the mid-18th century by settlers in the region. The trunk planks were used to build homes, create roads and more. It is estimated that up to 1/3 of the NJ Hackensack Meadowlands were covered with dense cedar stands at that time. As the story goes, many of the cedar forest sections were also burned down becuase they harbored pirates who attacked ships that traveled the Hackensack River. When the tide is low, the marsh floor is dotted with hundreds of these trunks, many of which create some beautiful nature sculptures.

Pink Bindweed Flowers

These pale pink trumpet shaped flowers (bindweed or wild morning glory) look lovely but are an invasive species that can threaten native plants. The white or pale pink flowers are produced from late spring to the end of summer. . The seeds disperse and thrive in fields, borders, roadsides and open woods. The plants grow rapidly and with their growth pattern, they overtake native plants, They are known by other names including: hooded bindweed, old man's nightcap, wild morning glory, bride's gown, wedlock white witches hat, belle of the ball

Diamondback Terrapin

This female Diamondback Terrapin turtle is busily digging a hole to lay her eggs. You can see a bit of the motion of her back leg as she uses her webbed, clawed feet to scoop our the dirt. The Diamondback is the only North American turtle to thrive in brackish waters. After careful exploration for an acceptable piece of ground, the females create a hole large enough to hold and protect the egges. She will lay anywhere between four to fifteen eggs and then cover them over. It takes about 60 to 100 days for the eggs to hatch. In many states, these turtles are on the endangered list.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Milkweed FLower

My first butterfly sighting of the season - a beautiful, fresh and very active male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Hope there will be many more butterfiles to be found over the coming months. Native to North America, the eastern tiger swallowtail ( Papilio glaucus) is quite common in the eastern United States, where it is found in varied habitats Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of the families Apocynaceae (dogbane) , Asteraceae (aster, daisy, sunflower) and Fabaceae (legume, bean.) Over the spring and summer seasons, the butterflies reproduce 2 to 3 times, dropping their eggs on a variety of plant families.

Bee Ready for Touchdown

A little pollen covered bee flying in to feast on the flower of a milkweed plant - ready for touchdown. Love the golden pollen all over its legs.