Earth Day

An Earth Song

by Langston Hughes 

It's an earth song,—
And I've been waiting long for an earth song.
It's a spring song,— 
And I've been waiting long for a spring song.
    Strong as the shoots of a new plant
    Strong as the bursting of new buds
    Strong as the coming of the first child from its mother's womb.
It's an earth song,
A body song,
I have been waiting long for this spring song.

FPNL Zoom Meeting: The Plainsboro Preserve

On Thursday, May 6, 2021, at 7:30 pm, Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands will hold its annual meeting and program on Zoom. Following a brief business meeting, Anne Price, Manager and Naturalist at the Plainsboro Preserve, will present a program on the history of the preserve and NJ Audubon's role there. During the presentation we will learn about some of the exciting flora and fauna to be found on this unique property. Formerly a quarry, this 1,000 acre property is now a nature preserve managed cooperatively by NJ Audubon, the Township of Plainsboro, and Middlesex County. Anne Price has been teaching environmental education since 1987. In 2020 Anne joined NJ Audubon as Manager and Naturalist at the Plainsboro Preserve.

The meeting will take place online. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to karenlinder@fpnl.org or call 609-683-0483 to obtain the link.

Spring Cleanup in the Mapleton Preserve

Join Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands and Scout Troops 10 and 102 to clean up trails and clear brush and vines from trees surrounding a vernal pond in the Mapleton Preserve. This event is scheduled for Saturday, April 10, 2021, from 1 to 3 pm; the rain date is Sunday, April 11, from 1 to 3 pm. Tools and gloves will be provided, or you can bring your own; rakes would be particularly helpful. Dress for the weather, whatever it may be.

For the safety of all, masks and social distancing will be required. Preregistration is requested at karenlinder@fpnl.org or 609-683-0483.

Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park is located at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston. Click here for directions.

The Hill We Climb

Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, reads "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris.

COVID-19 Memorial

Seasons of Trump

A Randy Rainbow Song Parody

MLK Day of Service in the Mapleton Preserve

Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands has decided on short notice to host a cleanup event on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 18, 2021, in the Mapleton Preserve from 1 to 2:30 pm. The fields in the Preserve were brush-cut last fall to start to improve the quality of the habitat. This left a lot of wood debris on the inner paths of the fields, making walking difficult. At this event FPNL will be mostly picking up this debris and litter, but there will be something left to do for everyone.

All are welcome, but COVID-19 guidelines must be followed and masks must be worn at the event. Work gloves and tools will be provided, but please bring your own water or snacks. Dress for the weather, whatever it is.

Preregistration is requested. Phone (609-683-0483) or email Karen Linder (karen.e.linder@gmail.com) to let her know that you are coming so they do not exceed Park COVID capacity guidelines.

Mapleton Preserve/D&R Canal State Park is located at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston. Click here for directions.

Yesterday

This is today's cold open from MSNBC's Morning Joe, showing images and videos from yesterday's acts of violence at our nation's Capitol.

Greetings and Take Care

Happy New Year, Princeton Landing friends, former neighbors, and residents.

Your board of directors may have faith in your management company, but we wonder how this is possible. Although we sold our home in the community in November, FirstService Residential is still sending us monthly maintenance bills. We have also received a collection notice for an erroneous December maintenance bill. The same day the January maintenance bill and the December collection notice arrived, we also received our former Parcel's finalized 2021 budget "prepared by the Association Board of Directors," telling us about the increase in monthly maintenance fees in Parcel 6. The maintenance bills and collection notice were sent to our new address. The Parcel budget was sent to our old address and forwarded.

Back in December when we received the first erroneous maintenance bill, my husband emailed the management office. He did not get a response. So I inquired to management on a copy of his email. Only then did they reply to him. They told him that it was "normal" to continue to receive maintenance bills even after you have sold your home in the community. It's "normal" then, it seems, to also receive a collection notice on a maintenance bill you didn't owe in the first place. 

Princeton Landing homeowners, THIS IS YOUR MANAGEMENT COMPANY. They are no longer our problem, but they are yours. We wish you all the best in the new year and sincerely hope that errors like these are not indicative of other ways in which your community may be mismanaged.

Be well. Take care. Stay safe.

TIME Person of the Year

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were announced as TIME Magazine's Person of the Year. 

ByeDon

Illustration: Vasco Gargalo

FPNL Zoom Meeting: The American Chestnut

On Thursday, November 5, 2020, at 7:30 pm, Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands will hold its annual meeting and program. Following a brief business meeting, Mike Aucott (Rutgers Ph.D. in environmental science) will give an illustrated presentation on the American chestnut tree that once stood as a symbol of American strength, resilience, and beauty. Learn about the American chestnut's glorious past, its grievous near-annihilation by blight, and the passionate movement to re-establish its place in our forests.

Mike Aucott is a retired research scientist for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection who has been hooked on chestnut trees since the 5th grade. He is currently coordinating the management of 20 orchards, totaling over 5000 second-generation hybrid chestnut trees as part of an American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) breeding program. He is also a member of the Hopewell Environmental Commission and has helped organize plantings of over 250 American chestnuts in Hopewell Township.

The meeting will take place online. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to karen.e.linder@gmail.com. The meeting link is available on the FPNL website.

Illustration: "Gathering Chestnuts," by J.W. Lauderbach, from The Art Journal of 1878

KGA Zoom Meeting: Deer-Resistant Native Plants

On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at 7:30 pm, Kingston Greenways Association will hold its annual meeting and talk. After a short business meeting, Rachel Mackow of Wild Ridge Plants will present a program on Deer-Resistant Native Plants. Of necessity, this will be a virtual event on Zoom, and it is open to all. The meeting link is on the KGA website, however, if you do plan on attending, please RSVP to tari@kingstongreenways.org.

Rachel Mackow is an owner of Wild Ridge Plants, which is dedicated to the restoration of native plant communities that sustain and engage both people and wildlife. She manages the nursery operation on the farm at Wild Ridge and creates stewardship plans based on her knowledge of restoration practices and invasive species management. She enjoys helping people reconnect to plants and self-reliance through teaching foraging skills, herbal practice, and traditional plant uses.

Formed in 1998, Kingston Greenways Association aims to establish a permanent greenbelt around the village of Kingston consisting of natural environments, recreational parkland, agricultural and horticultural land, wetlands, streams and ponds, and sites of historical interest. The Association further aims to preserve and create connections of green among these for walking, jogging, bicycling and horseback riding. It also hopes to promote understanding of our local region through study and education, and to provide oversight and advocacy for open space in the Kingston area.

Photo: Rachel Mackow

VOTE

Icons

"Icons," by Bob Staake, next week's cover of The New Yorker. 

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court, died on Friday, at the age of eighty-seven. Ginsburg spent nearly three decades on the country's highest bench, and five decades as a tireless scholar, teacher, and advocate of equality. To commemorate her, the artist Bob Staake said, he 'needed to think of a graphic metaphor that embodied Ginsburg's life and legacy.' He wanted something that was 'honest and no-nonsense,' like Ginsburg, and he landed on her lace collar, a symbol not just of Ginsburg but, in Staake's drawing, of women everywhere."

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

1933 – 2020

"My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed."

Unprecedented

From The Lincoln Project

John Lewis | Opinion

John Lewis, the civil rights leader and congressman who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral. It was published today in The New York Times.

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

continue here at The New York Times

Failure

From The Lincoln Project:

We could have won, but our "wartime" president surrendered.

John Lewis

John Lewis

1940 – 2020

"We were beaten, we were tear-gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and some way, God almighty helped me here. We cannot give up now. We cannot give in. We must keep the faith, keep our eyes on the prize."

How to Cognitive

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

Learn. Their. Names.

Mitch McConnell

Lindsey Graham

Thom Tillis

Cory Gardner

Martha McSally

Ted Cruz

Joni Ernst

Marco Rubio

Susan Collins

John Cornyn

Jim Inhofe

Mike Rounds

Steve Daines

Tom Cotton

From The Lincoln Project

How to Mask

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

Fellow Traveler

From The Lincoln Project:

American soldiers' lives are in danger and Trump has done nothing to stop it.

Add "America First" to the laundry list of scams Trump has sold in his life. It's clearly Trump first, Russia second, and America last.

How to Second Term

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

How a President Leads

From The Lincoln Project:

Biden is the clear choice when it comes to compassionate and decent leadership. In a battle of heart, mind, and character Joe Biden wins by a landslide. We need to ensure that's reflected in the vote this November.

Slow the Testing Down?!

From The Lincoln Project:

During the biggest health crisis of this generation, Trump asked his officials to slow down the one thing that could keep us safe: testing.

Tulsa

From The Lincoln Project:

Trump's rally in Tulsa on the weekend of Juneteenth proves what we already knew: he's the largest super spreader of division and hatred we've seen in generations.

Say Their Names

An early look at next week's New Yorker cover, "Say Their Names," by Kadir Nelson.

George Floyd

Ahmaud Arbery

Tony McDade

Trayvon Martin

Laquan McDonald

Freddie Gray

Eric Garner

Aiyana Stanley-Jones

Botham Jean

Michael Brown

Sandra Bland

Yvette Smith

Alton Sterling

David McAtee

Walter Scott

Breonna Taylor

Tamir Rice

Philando Castile

Stephon Clark

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Medgar Evers

Malcolm X

March From Selma

Rosa Parks

Emmett Till

Rodney King

Tulsa Race Massacre

The Unnamed

Gordon

How to Real Estate

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

How to Water

From comedian and author Sarah Cooper

Crowds

From The Lincoln Project