Independence Day Fireworks 2010

Photo by Peter Roome

On Thursday, July 1, 2010, the Spirit of Princeton will present its annual Independence Day Fireworks. The best viewing site is the fields next to the Princeton University Stadium, along Western Way.

The fields open at 7 pm for picnicking and the fireworks begin at dusk, around 9 pm. Bring your picnic baskets, but no alcoholic beverages are allowed, nor is smoking because of the artificial turf. Parking will be available in University Parking Lot 21 below the fields off Faculty Road and in the University parking garage on Prospect Avenue.

This event is free, thanks to the Spirit of Princeton, a group of volunteers committed to producing events celebrating community and patriotism in Princeton.

Waiting On Shore

" . . . the dead are not far from us . . . they cling in some

strange way to what is most deep and still within us."

— W.B. Yeats

Waiting On Shore

Sculptor: Niall Bruton

Rosses Point, County Sligo, Ireland

In Summer

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Oh, summer has clothed the earth

In a cloak from the loom of the sun!

And a mantle, too, of the skies' soft blue,

And a belt where the rivers run.

And now for the kiss of the wind,

And the touch of the air's soft hands,

With the rest from strife and the heat of life,

With the freedom of lakes and lands.

I envy the farmer's boy

Who sings as he follows the plow;

While the shining green of the young blades lean

To the breezes that cool his brow.

He sings to the dewy morn,

No thought of another's ear;

But the song he sings is a chant for kings

And the whole wide world to hear.

He sings of the joys of life,

Of the pleasures of work and rest,

From an o'erfull heart, without aim or art;

'T is a song of the merriest.

O ye who toil in the town,

And ye who moil in the mart,

Hear the artless song, and your faith made strong

Shall renew your joy of heart.

Oh, poor were the worth of the world

If never a song were heard, —

If the sting of grief had not relief,

And never a heart were stirred.

So, long as the streams run down,

And as long as the robins trill,

Let us taunt old Care with a merry air,

And sing in the face of ill.

This poem is from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Today is the poet's birthday.

Tell Us What You Think: Update on Smith House Plantings

It's been over two weeks since new plantings were installed at The Smith House by Forever In Bloom. These photos show what the plants look like today. Photos taken right after the plants were planted are available here.

The Landscape Committee made the request for the plantings at the May 25 Board meeting, the minutes of which are on the official website. The amount approved to be paid to Forever in Bloom was $2600.

Do you think the Association got its money's worth? Tell us what you think by clicking the Comments link below.

Attention Parents: Firefly Festival

This Sunday, June 27, Terhune Orchards will host its annual Firefly Festival from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. In celebration of fireflies and the insects and wild animals that live at the farm, Terhune Orchards will present an evening of nature, music, wagon rides and firefly hunting.

Terhune Orchards' naturalist Elaine Madigan and staff will talk about fireflies and conduct craft activities and games. Miss Amy & Her Big Kids Band will perform at 5:45 pm and 7:00 pm, and Schafer Gymnastics will demonstrate the "art of flying." There is a $5 charge for the craft activities, but admission to the festival is free.

Grilled chicken, hot dogs, corn on the cob, apple cider, the popular apple cider donuts and more will be available at Pam's Firefly Tent. There will be pony rides and wagon rides through the farm and orchards all evening. Parking is available at the farm, located at 330 Cold Soil Road in Princeton.

Nature Guide: Green Frog

Our Nature Guide hates it when I anthropomorphize, but these Green Frogs seemed pleased when I took their picture at a garden pond. The aforementioned Nature Guide, Jon Latimer, tells us more about the Green Frog.

"The Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) is native to the eastern half of the United States and Canada. Its body is from 2 to 4 inches long. Despite its name, individuals can be bronze, brown or light green depending on where it lives. Green Frogs shouldn't be confused with their relative the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), which is twice their size (3 1/2 to 8 inches). Green Frogs also have two prominent folds in their skin that run down the sides of their back; the back of a bullfrog is smooth.

"Green Frogs live in and near shallow water, especially where there is a lot of vegetation. Although they are active both day and night during warm weather, Green Frogs can be difficult to spot. Often the only way you know one is nearby is the sound of its call or the splash when it flees into the water. Its call is a short, explosive "glunk" that sounds like a banjo string being plucked. During cold weather they become dormant and hide in mud.

"Male Green Frogs can be identified by their yellow throat and a large eardrum, known as a 'tympanum,' located just behind the eye. During breeding season males may establish territories along the edges of streams and ponds. They announce their claim with their call and they will physically defend their territory against intruders.

"Females have a white throat and a smaller tympanum. Both genders are voracious feeders and will consume anything that will fit into their mouth. Their diet includes crickets, flies, fish, crayfish, shrimp, grasshoppers, smaller frogs, tadpoles, small snakes, birds, mollusks and moths. Tadpoles consume algae and water plants."

Summer's Here!

Vespa photo by rytc

Happy Father's Day

Happy Birthday, Nature Guide

Blueberry Picking at Terhune Orchards

"Pick-Your-Own" blueberries has just begun at Terhune Orchards. Blueberries are ready to be picked in their two acres of blueberry bushes.

Summer hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. Terhune Orchards is located at 330 Cold Soil Road in Princeton.

Photo by Jim Clark

Princeton Farmers' Market Opens

Click to enlarge the image

The Princeton Farmers' Market opens today for the season. In addition to falling on a different day of the week this year, it has been relocated to Hinds Plaza, next to the Princeton Public Library at 55 Witherspoon Street. The Market will be open every Thursday through October 28, from 11 am to 5 pm, rain or shine.

The Farmers' Market will feature vendors offering local conventional and organic produce, poultry, eggs, cheese, breads, baked goods and flowers. Each week the Market will also feature a guest chef from a local business for a cooking demonstration and tasting. There will be live music from 2 pm to 4 pm.

Simply Nic's, the delicious shortbread bars from Nicole Wilkins Bergman and a favorite of PLNews, will also be returning to the Princeton Farmers' Market this year.

'Yes' It's Bloomsday

Today is Bloomsday, the annual celebration all over the world to honor the life of the Irish writer James Joyce and to relive the events in his novel Ulysses. The name Bloomsday comes from the protagonist of Ulysses, Leopold Bloom. His odyssey took place on the same day in Dublin, Ireland, in 1904. This was also the date that Joyce took out his future wife, Nora Barnacle, for the first time.

Dramatic readings of Ulysses are a hallmark of Bloomsday commemorations everywhere. Every year on June 16 The Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, which houses James Joyce's manuscript for Ulysses, celebrates Bloomsday with a series of readings from the novel. The Rosenbach's commemoration usually take place outside its building on Delancey Place, but due to a forecast of rain, this year's Bloomsday event will be held indoors at the Trinity Center for Urban Life.

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland, on February 2, 1882, and he died in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 13, 1941. He is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Besides Ulysses, Joyce's other major works include Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Finnegans Wake. In 1999 the Modern Library ranked Ulysses first on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Tell Us What You Think: Smith House Plantings

The Smith House plantings by Forever In Bloom

Oil-Covered Birds of the Gulf

The Associated Press has posted this slideshow on YouTube. It documents the impact of the BP oil spill on wildlife in the Gulf. You may have seen these photos elsewhere, but we were unable to find other pictures. There are reports that BP has blocked access to areas affected by the spill. These heart-wrenching images show shorebirds including pelicans, cormorants and egrets.

A Few Words About Our Brickman Crew

When I began to write this post late Friday afternoon, the AccuWeather gadget in the right-hand column of the blog said it felt like 93°. Having just been out to the store myself, I thought, once again, AccuWeather must have been getting their data from a cooler place around Princeton than Princeton Landing.

After putting away groceries, I glanced out the window and saw four men from our Brickman crew walking up the Loop Road toward their base of operations near the tennis courts. For a moment I thought I might be projecting, but they looked like they were dragging. I tried to imagine what those Brickman uniforms with the long sleeves must feel like in this heat. How hot are they under those tan caps?

It's important for us to remember that, in spite of the outcries about maintenance fees and the cost of our landscape contract, the men from Brickman are working hard for us in this beastly heat. So whether we think the property looks great, could look better, or gets too much attention, we can appreciate the men who are doing the work to make our community a beautiful place to live. Be kind. Say thanks.

Summer Song

Wanderer moon

smiling a

faintly ironical smile

at this

brilliant, dew-moistened

summer morning,—

a detached

sleepily indifferent

smile, a

wanderer's smile,—

if I should

buy a shirt

your color and

put on a necktie

sky-blue

where would they carry me?

— William Carlos Williams

Cherry Picking at Terhune Orchards

"Pick-Your-Own" sweet cherries begins at Terhune Orchards on Saturday, June 5. Picking hours are from 9 am to 5 pm, rain or shine—the cherry trees are covered to keep the cherries and the pickers dry.

Picking is available for as long as supplies last, so plan to go early. Terhune Orchards is located at 330 Cold Soil Road in Princeton.

Local Music

Contemporary jazz guitarist B.D. Lenz and his band will be performing at Salt Creek Grille in Princeton Forrestal Village on Friday, June 4, from 7 pm to 11 pm.

Stone Removal

Raul and Alfredo of Marcal Construction were removing stone groundcover in Parcel 1 today. While they were working, AccuWeather reported the temperature as feeling like 91°. Actually, the Parcel 1 parking lot felt more like 101°.

Thank you, Raul and Alfredo.