New Jersey Botanical Gardens

I had every intention of driving up to the New Jersey Botanical Gardens yesterday to take pictures. It was a nice sunny day and I figured the fall foliage would be at its prime.

Instead, I spent the day dealing with a leaky tire. I had it repaired at Sears and it went flat on the road 30 minutes later. The gorillas in the service bay had tightened the lugs of my sweetie's car far more than I could handle with the short-handled lug wrench that came with her Honda Civic. After waiting for a service truck it was back to Sears, which was by then really busy, but thankfully they moved me to the head of the line and put on a brand new tire, no charge. By then it was too late to get to the gardens.

I figured it was all over because a huge October snowstorm was moving in-- but this morning we drove up to the Gardens just as the snow was starting-- show that is dumping up to 14 unseasonal inches on the Northeast. Here are the photos:

Pine Lake Bums Reunion

I wasn't there, but the former residents of Pine Lake known as the Pine Lake bums had a reunion and picnic at the lake last week. People who hadn't seen one another in decades met again and had a great time.

Click Read More for a few of their photos:

The Lake Fills!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

There's water in the lake!

Not much yet, to be sure, but the lake is filling!

The photo is from the Facebook group Pine Lake bums.

A Walk Around the Lake, 10/6/2011, I. Apartments

Some Pictures of Houses

Duck Inn

Laura Smith tells me she believes this cute house on the southwest corner of the lake was once called Duck Inn.

Matt

City worker Matt was whitewashing the wall at the beach last week and graciously let me take his picture.

Every time I see Matt he's smiling. :)

Late September Flowers

 

I'm Casing the Joint, See?

If You See This Suspicious Person, Please Call the Authorities
We're Sure She's Up to No Good

Wait a Minute! Is That Me??? Yes, It's Me!!!

<<Language Advisory!>>

Busted!

I was walking down Spruce with my camera, taking snapshots of flowers and houses and treehouses when a woman on a bicycle pulled up and demanded to know why I was taking pictures.

I understood why she had asked the question, but was put off by her utter lack of tact, grace, and charm. There were a thousand ways she could have been less offensive.

What I thought: "What the fuck is it to you?"

 What I said: "I'm taking pictures for my blog!"

She said: "Blog?"

What I thought: "Have you been hiding under a rock?"

What I said: "I'm taking pictures of houses and flowers. Google Pine Lake: The Blog and it will come up first in search."

She said: "I'm making sure you're not casing the place."

What I thought: "I am casing the place."

What I said. "I am casing the place."

Yep, I actually said it!

I managed to resist taking a photo of her backside as she rode away and posting it in the blog.

My Favorite Band Performs

I love listening to the local band Vientos del Pueblo. They did a long set at the Lakefest on Saturday. It was cold as hell, even in a heavy jacket.

Here's my earlier post about the band. More photos below the fold.\

Sunday at Lakefest

More Lakefest (Saturday Afternoon Photos)

Lakefest!

Woo hoo, this is the weekend for the one and only Lakefest!

All weekend there will be live music, art vendors, and all sorts of food! There will be contests, tractor rides in the dry lake bed, henna tattooing and fortune telling, and a seven minute video by Melanie Hammett showing the history of the "big dredge."

So c'mon down and meet your neighbors-- and if you don't live here, c'mon down and see the folks who probably will be your neighbors after you see this place!

If you used to live here, come see how much the city hasn't changed--well, excepting the dry lake bed, of course. Soon enough there will be water in the lake again!

More photos below the fold...