July Recycling Dates

The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for July are the 1st, the 15th and the 29th. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.

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

Question of the Week

A month ago we wrote here about how our landscape contractor removed a flowering tree from a garage bed between two Parcel 6 homes without notice to homeowners. After removing the tree, Brickman put down mulch.

We've also been writing here and here about the bad decision not to mulch every year. Maybe that's not such a bad idea after all, considering the quality of the mulch used around our homes.

Take a look at the mulch Brickman put down in the garage bed. Mulch should help keep weeds down, but the mulch used here actually has weeds growing in it. What kind of mulch is that?

B.D. Lenz in Princeton Area This Weekend

Princeton area fans of contemporary jazz guitarist B.D. Lenz will have the opportunity to catch a show—or two—this weekend.

B.D. Lenz plays a unique blend of funky soul, rhythm and blues and jazz music. He has released seven CDs, the latest of which is Five & Live. Here's where B.D. will be playing around town this weekend.

Friday, June 28: Grounds For Sculpture, 18 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton, 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Tickets $12 (Purchase in advance by calling 609-586-0616 and park admission is waived.)

Saturday, June 29: Salt Creek Grille, 1 Rockingham Row, Princeton,  7 pm to 11 pm.

Princeton Area Farmers' Markets 2013

One of the great things about the arrival of summer is the opportunity to shop for fresh locally grown and produced goods at the farmers' markets in our area. Here are some that are taking place around Princeton Landing. (There is also a link to the farmers' markets in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.)

Princeton Farmers' Market

Thursdays 11 am to 4 pm (but Wed., July 3, instead of Thurs., July 4)

Hinds Plaza, next to the Princeton Public Library

Princeton

For more info and participating vendors, click here.

Montgomery Friends Farmers' Market

Saturdays 9 am to 1 pm

Village Shopping Center, Route 206, just north of Route 518

Skillman (across from ShopRite and Montgomery Cinemas)

For more info and participating vendors, click here (then click on the "Farmers' Market" link in the upper right).

West Windsor Community Farmers' Market

Saturdays 9 am to 1 pm

Princeton Junction Train Station, southbound Vaughn Drive parking lot, off Alexander Road

Princeton Junction

For more info and participating vendors, click here.

Trenton Farmers' Market

Tuesdays–Saturdays 9 am to 6 pm

Sundays 10 am to 4 pm

960 Spruce Street

Lawrence Township

For more info and participating vendors, click here.

Firefly Festival at Terhune Orchards

This Sunday, June 23, Terhune Orchards will host its annual Firefly Festival to celebrate the beginning of summer. Terhune Orchards will be open from 4 to 9 pm for an evening of nature, music, wagon rides and firefly hunting. Children can make their own wings, antennae and bug boxes. Schafer Gymnastics will help children through a mini obstacle course. Grammy-winning Miss Amy & Her Big Kids Band will perform.

Grilled chicken, hot dogs, corn on the cob, apple cider, donuts, pie, cookies, homemade salads and more will be available at Pam's Firefly Tent. There will be pony rides and wagon rides through the orchards all evening. Adults can stop in Terhune Orchards' tasting room to sample their award-winning wines.

Parking is available at the farm, located at 330 Cold Soil Road in Princeton. There is a $5 charge for the craft activities, but admission to the festival is free.

Be Alert!

Officers from the Plainsboro Township Police Department visited homes in our community this morning to tell residents about two burglaries that occurred in Princeton Landing last night. Police advise residents to be alert and call 911 to report suspicious activities. The non-emergency number for the police is 609-799-2333.

Question of the Week

Does this look familiar? It should. Just nine months ago TruGreen damaged this same backyard in Princeton Landing. Today TruGreen came through again, ruining the lawn it took homeowners months to repair.

When will we learn from our mistakes?

Ticks and Mulch

We've been posting recently about the lack of mulch in Princeton Landing. Here's one more reason why not mulching is a bad decision.

We are now entering the height of tick activity in New Jersey. Ticks are arachnids, relatives of spiders. They live in wooded areas, brushy fields and around your home. Woodwind's Pepper deTuro, an arborist well known in Princeton Landing, writes a column that appears frequently in the Town Topics. In one of his recent columns, he said, "Research has shown that the addition of wood chips or mulch along borders between wooded and lawn areas may reduce tick abundance by up to 50%."

In fact, the website for the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommends 3-foot-wide barriers of wood chips between lawns and wooded areas to limit tick migration into recreational areas. Princeton Landing has many of these border areas that are now left unmulched. This is an unnecessary hazard, especially for children and pets.

Tick bites are serious. A tick bite is painful and can carry a number of diseases, as we have discussed previously.

So why are we following a policy implemented out of misinformation and ignorance and not mulching every year?

Photo: Jerry Kirkhart

Black Bear Update

The Princeton Police Department has issued another advisory about the black bear. There have been two more confirmed sightings, one in the 200 block of Mt. Lucas Road and the other in the 900 block of Stuart Road. According to the police, bear sightings are not unusual in Princeton, especially at this time of year. Nonetheless, they create concern. The police advisory again refers residents to the list of "Bear Safety Tips" published by the NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife. The tips were included in our previous post.

Photo: NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife

Black Bear Spotted in Princeton

Last night the Princeton Police reported that a black bear was spotted near Arreton Road and Route 206 shortly before 9 pm. Police advised people to secure their garbage cans and warned them not to approach the bear if they saw it.

Earlier yesterday a resident of the WoodsEdge development in Montgomery reported seeing a bear in her backyard sniffing around her barbecue grill. There were also sightings on other properties along the Montgomery-Princeton border. On Monday a bear was spotted behind the Village Elementary School in Montgomery.

This isn't the first time black bears have been spotted in our area. Last summer a black bear showed up in various spots around town, including the Princeton Cemetery.

The Princeton Police Department has issued an advisory stating the NJDEP's "Bear Safety Tips":

Black bears by nature tend to be wary of people. However, if you encounter a black bear in your neighborhood or outdoors while hiking or camping, follow these common-sense safety tips. 

Never feed or approach a bear!

Remain calm if you encounter a bear.

Make the bear aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing, clapping your hands, or making other noises.

Make sure the bear has an escape route.

If a bear enters your home, provide it with an escape route by propping all doors open.

Avoid direct eye contact, which may be perceived by a bear as a challenge. Never run from a bear. Instead, slowly back away.

To scare the bear away, make loud noises by yelling, banging pots and pans or using an airhorn. Make yourself look as big as possible by waving your arms. If you are with someone else, stand close together with your arms raised above your head.

The bear may utter a series of huffs, make popping jaw sounds by snapping its jaws and swat the ground. These are warning signs that you are too close. Slowly back away, avoid direct eye contact and do not run.

If a bear stands on its hind legs or moves closer, it may be trying to get a better view or detect scents in the air. It is usually not a threatening behavior.

Black bears will sometimes "bluff charge" when cornered, threatened or attempting to steal food. Stand your ground, avoid direct eye contact, then slowly back away and do not run.

If the bear does not leave, move to a secure area.

Report black bear damage or nuisance behavior to the DEP's 24-hour, toll-free hotline at 1-877-WARN DEP (1-877-927-6337).

Families who live in areas frequented by black bears should have a "Bear Plan" in place for children, with an escape route and planned use of whistles and air horns.

Black bear attacks are extremely rare. If a black bear does attack, fight back!

Photo: NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife

Does This Look "Substantial"?

After a winter storm in February, Princeton Landing's new snow removal contractor drove their plow up onto the corner of Parcel 6 and damaged shrubs at the monument. At the time, the Parcel Chair told our management company that homeowners "have nurtured these plantings for many years; replacement must  be substantial at this site in our parcel."

Well, here's what was planted. Maybe this shrub looks substantial to Signature Property Group. Does it look substantial to you?

2013 Pool Schedules and Census Form

Because so many of our readers are coming to Princeton Landing News looking for the 2013 Princeton Landing pool schedules and FVCSA census form, we've decided to post the information here.

The pool at The Smith House opened on Saturday, May 25, 2013, for the Memorial Day weekend. It is open on weekends until Saturday, June 22, when it will open daily. Hours are from 10 am to 8 pm.

The Commons pool in Parcel 1 will be open daily beginning Saturday, June 29, 2013. Hours are Monday through Friday from 2 pm to 8 pm. On weekends and holidays, hours are 1 pm to 7 pm. PL residents may use either of the pools.

The Parcel 1 pool will close for the season on Labor Day, Monday, September 2. Weekday hours for the Smith House pool also end on Labor Day, but the pool will be open on the weekends of September 7–8 and September 14–15.

Recreation badges for 2013 are required for admission to the pools. Badges can be picked up at The Smith House Monday through Friday from 6 pm to 9 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. A 2013 FVCSA census form must be submitted to the office prior to picking up badges. Click here for a 2013 census form. (To print a copy of the form, click on the printer icon in the upper left corner of the document.)

There are also links to the 2013 census form and pool hours in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.

June Recycling Dates

The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for June are the 3rd and the 17th. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.