Franklin Parker Preserve and Lucille's in the Pine Lands

 Yesterday was bright and clear, and almost warm. A perfect day to go exploring. And exploring we did. 
   I am in search of a rare type of robin that I saw a photo of on line. A Piebald Robin is the birds name, there is a little bit of the red belly but the back feathers are a patchy mix of grey and white. I think it is very cool looking, exotic but not. So of course I want a picture of this bird for my own. I asked the photographer where she got here photos at, and she gave me good exact directions to where she had been seeing the birds at. 
Piebald Robin
      I showed Bill the direction and of course he knew right where to go. ( SHHHH don't tell Bill but I can't go out in the Pines without him. I would be so lost.) Between the rain and things we just had to do we didn't get to go until yesterday. 
   As I already mentioned yesterday was perfect to be in the woods, and much to my surprise and delight yesterday we walked the red trail.

 It is a long trial about 5 miles, so we didn't do it all.We did about a mile and a half of it, and That was just fine. The mile and a half offered up so much to see. We saw frozen swamps, swamps bathed in sunshine where it could squeeze in between the trees. There were cranberry bogs, more abandoned RR tracks, even a few deer ran across our path. 
    

   What we didn't see were birds, didn't hear any either. That is until almost end of the trail, well, actually the beginning of the trail because we had flipped around onto the green trail to go back to the car. There, just after the deer had crossed in front of us, way up in the sky I saw two birds flying, they landed in the tree at the very tip top for the shortest second I've ever seen. With no real hope of capturing whatever kind of bird it was I pointed and fired anyway. With in less than seconds of me pushing the button the birds were gone. I walked on thinking I got nothing and I didn't give it another thought. I will be returning soon to this same spot, because while the photo is blurry( and I won't be sharing it)we can make out enough of the body shape and beak size to make both Bill and I believe that I did indeed find the bird. The birds were right in the area the photographer said she had seen them.Making me believe this is there hang out, so I will try again very soon. 
   The trail itself was amazing, first we walked on a bed of pine needles, then it turned into white sand,( hard packed so easy for walking) and then it became red clay, then back to sand.

 It felt like we had visited at least two different states, instead of walking one trail. I want to go back and finish the red trail, after researching it a little the entire trial is worth the exercise. I am just waiting for a day that Jill is free and feels up to it.
    After our wonderful walk we crossed over to Chatsworth Lake just to look around and got the surprise of a life time, when Getty went in the water to fetch a stick. First of all Getty has never really fetched, secondly he has always stopped short of going into the water. 

A camera malfunction caused me to lose the winning photo of him bringing back the stick. Thats okay because I saw it and it is in my memory.
  Then we did a drive about.

   Please don't ask me where I was because I really and truly don't know. Sometimes we were in the Franklin Parker Preserve and sometimes Bass River state park, Penn State Park, and out by Simms Place. What I do know is when we came out of the woods, and Bill asked which way,  I knew which way to point to take us to Lucille's.

 Lucille's is one of my most favorite places to eat. I like to go there for the interesting decor as well as the extremely good food. I have yet to order something I didn't like. We pick our times carefully because that place is pretty much packed all the time. We try to go on off times so we will for sure get a table. The locals love this place so it is always hopping. I love to just sit there quietly listening to everyone interact with each other. It kind of washes over you and makes you feel warm and comfortable. 

We left Lucille's full and happy.
  I got what I call my shot of the day, on my very last photo of the day, and it truly was a lucky shot. We were driving down one dirt road or another when I spotted a deer grazing. I got Bill to stop and I snuck out of the car as quietly as I possibly could and crept up as close as I dared, and took my one and only shot, because as soon as I raised the camera she was off and running. 
  

  All in all I couldn't ask for a better day. Every time I go exploring in the Pines I just find myself in awe of all it has to offer. I can't wait to do it again.
  Have a wonderful day,I hope you enjoyed my walk and drive about. 

NJ Pine Barrens

  

      The New Jersey Pines, thats where I live. I am not a native to New Jersey. In fact I spent most of my adult life living in the city of Philadelphia, so things like the Jersey Devil, the pines, Piney power, and down the shore sounded like a foreign language to me. Now after 16 years of living in the Garden State I am beginning to understand the magic of all those titles, and why it is called The Garden State. 

Blueberry plants, in a Cranberry Bog Farm

Island Beach Park

     From  the farthest north to the deepest south this state offers a bounty of beauty. Theres the coast that changes mile after mile from wonderful stone structures to the softest white sand, the farms and farm land can be so magnificent to see, you can even see the Statue Of Liberty from Northern New jersey, and then there are the Pine Barrens. 
 At first glance many people dismiss the pines as just a bunch of pine trees. The NJ Pine Barrens is so much more. There are lakes, creeks, and swamps galore, the wild life includes Snowy Owls, fox, bear, and Eagles just to name a few. And yes there are a lot of pine trees, but not just pines, there are oaks, hollies, and Mountain  Laurel. All extremely beautiful. 

Pakim Pound

Trail around Pakim Pond

   For the most part the rangers let the forrest take care of itself, leaving fallen trees to decay back into the sandy soil, but they do regular burns to control forrest floor debris and the pines also benefit from the fire, the heat pops the pine cones spreading the seeds creating new trees. Ensuring that the pine lands will continue on.
  We have been living in the Pine Barrens now for 3 1/2 years, and exploring every inch we can. There are loads and loads of hiking trails through out the Pine Lands. as well as roads ( if you can call some of them roads). Bill and I do the driving tours, and my friend Jill and I do the hiking trails. I don't think we will ever run out of places to explore considering the Pine Lands occupy 22% of New Jerseys land area, and stretches over 7 counties.
    The Edwin B Forsythe Wildlife Refugee is one of the coolest places we have visited so far. We have gone more than once picking different times of the day, year, and we have yet to be disappointed. I have to say my most favorite visit was with Bill and Madeline. I love taking pictures with Maddie and she was the absolute photographer on this trip. Watching her was as satisfying as the bounty of birds we saw on the 8 mile car tour around the bay.

Ospray

  Some of the roads ( A term I use loosely ) have holes big enough to swallow a car. Most people that use those trails have jeeps, trucks, or SUV's. We have the SUV and it has 4 wheel drive. Never the less you can find me at times holding on for dear life. It is an amazing amount of fun to be driving around in all these different forests. You just never know what you're going to find. 

Pitcher Plant

Carranza Monument

 Abandoned RR tracks, unusual plants, boats with the water in them instead of under them, even a monument in the middle of what seems like nowhere.
  So much more to see and do. I can't wait for a free day to get back out there with my camera to see what I can see.

 Have a wonderful day.  Thanks for visiting my neighborhood. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.