August 31, 1963

President Kennedy aboard the "Honey Fitz" off Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, August 31, 1963. Photograph by Cecil Stoughton, White House, in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

Recent Visitor — Carolina Wren

Princeton Nurseries Kingston Celebrates 100th

The Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands invites members, friends and neighbors to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Princeton Nurseries Kingston site on Saturday, September 7, 2013, in the Mapleton Preserve. Princeton Nurseries is an important part of Kingston's history. The preserved portions of the former nursery lands are a key part of the Kingston greenbelt. Read about the history of Princeton Nurseries here.

The anniversary celebration, from 1 to 4 pm, will feature Princeton Nurseries' displays, historic vehicles and live music by The Bare Root Band, which includes William Flemer IV and friends. Refreshments and birthday cake will be served. The event is free and all are welcome. The Mapleton Preserve is located at 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston. If approaching the preserve from Princeton Landing, the entrance is on the right, marked by a sign for the D&R Canal State Park Headquarters.

Extra hands are needed, so if you can assist with set-up, registration, serving refreshments or parking, please call 609-683-0483 to volunteer.

Recent Visitor — Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Click on the photos to get a closer look at her.

Haste Lays Waste

Yesterday morning many of us heard the noise of large mowers racing over our lawns. On July 16 we were told by Management that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are mowing days, so this burst of activity on a Friday was unexpected. Even more surprising was the speed with which the work took place. The mowers were sprinting across the turf, the men with the edgers were practically running with their tools, and the blower team went through the property at a record clip. It looked like an attempt to compress three days of work into one and mow the whole community in a single day. But speed is not always an asset, especially in getting a job done well.

Now it's likely that the Association will blame the weather for this compressed schedule. It rained very heavily on Tuesday morning. But it was certainly dry enough to mow on Wednesday afternoon and all day Thursday. So why not spread the mowing over those days? Why try to do it all at once? Why do a job in so much haste that it can't be done right? The Landscape Committee and Management need to consider these questions. We need better planning, more advance notice to residents and more careful execution if we are ever going to get the Princeton Landing landscape back into decent shape.

Recent Visitor — Horace's Duskywing

Question of the Week

We've written here before about both poison ivy and Princeton Landing's continued bad decision not to mulch. The use of mulch helps control this noxious weed. So it was probably inevitable that we'd see poison ivy growing on the property—maybe on the berms as we usually do or in other brushy areas around the community. What was surprising was to spot poison ivy growing in full view in a bed next to a homeowner's driveway. As you can see from the photos below, it's a good size plant and its trailers are making their way through the bed. Actually, what's most surprising is that the poison ivy was not noticed by anyone on the parcel landscape walks or by any member of the landscape team. Does the Association feel any responsibility to remove poison ivy so close to homes in Princeton Landing?

What Are We Paying For? (#2)

Last Wednesday, July 31, a Princeton Landing resident left a comment on our post "We Get Things Done?" (#3). This resident, who lives in Parcel 1, spoke of being "embarrassed to invite people over because everything looks so shoddy . . . mainly the awful trim and the grounds."

This disturbing comment caused us to revisit our two posts about the wood trim in the Parcel 1 condos. The first piece, a Question of the Week, dates back to June 8, 2012—over a year ago. It showed photos of just some of the rotted wood trim and asked the question, "When will the wood trim in the Parcel 1 condos be repaired and painted?"

We revisited that post about six months later on December 3, 2012, asking again, "When will the wood trim in the Parcel 1 condos be repaired and painted? Some of the trim has been replaced—though not painted—but much of it is still rotted or missing."

We shot the photos below a few days ago. As you can see, the trim is in the same state. Much of it is still rotted or missing around the windows and has not been replaced. The trim that was replaced still has not been repainted.

There are 120 units in Parcel 1. If each unit pays a maintenance fee averaging $300 a month, that would be over $400,000 a year to the Association from residents in Parcel 1. Again, we must ask, "What Are We Paying For?"

Recent Visitor — Peck's Skipper

August Recycling Dates

The recycling dates in Princeton Landing for August are the 12th and the 26th. There is also a link to these dates in the right-hand column under Popular Posts.

Just Peachy Festival at Terhune Orchards

Terhune Orchards is celebrating their inaugural Just Peachy Festival this weekend, August 3 and 4, from 10 am to 5 pm. Join the Mount family at the farm for this new summer harvest festival featuring one of our state's favorite fruits—peaches.

The festival will include activities for kids, including rides through the orchards on tractor-drawn wagons, pony rides and games. Adults can visit the winery tasting room to sample wines, including the award-winning Just Peachy wine, as well as peach sangria. The winery will also house an art show and sale from The Creative Collective of Mercer County; click here for information. There will be live music featuring Blue Jersey Band on Saturday and Swing Dixie on Sunday.  

A special event at this new festival will be a "Summer Harvest" farm-to-fork tasting section featuring local chefs who will use locally sourced ingredients to prepare recipes for visitors to sample. The tasting area will be open from noon to 4 pm both days. Admission to the special tasting section is $5 for adults; children 12 and under are free. For more details on participating vendors and their menus, click here.

Food will also be available for purchase at Pam's food tent, offering peach pie, peach cobbler, sliced peaches and cream, and peach salsa. The Bent Spoon will be scooping peachy treats on Saturday and Jammin' Crepes will be selling peach crepes on Sunday. Barbecued chicken, hot dogs, homemade gazpacho, salads, apple cider donuts and cider slushies will also be available. Pam Mount's popular canning and freezing class will be held on Saturday at 10 am. The class is free.

Terhune Orchards is also taking part in the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council's first "Perfect Peach Pie" contest during the Just Peachy Festival. The contest is open to amateur bakers. The recipe must be for a peach pie or a peach cobbler. The entries will be judged at the farm on Sunday at 1 pm. Bring your baked item with registration form at 12 pm on Sunday. The form is here. For the rules and prizes, click here.

Admission to the festival is free. Parking is available at the farm, located at 330 Cold Soil Road in Princeton.

Swiss National Day

August 1 is Swiss National Day. Once upon a time while hiking in the Alps, a beautiful local greeted my friend Emil and me. Paul and I wish all of our dear friends in Switzerland a very happy holiday!