Friday, September 28, 2012

Back from work travels...

Home at last! I look forward to visiting and catching-up on your photos! Meantime, here's a wee "Pooh" stump from Cambridge, Massachusetts (outside Harvard University's Science Center, back story here) - only because I've not been able to take Princeton photos for days, and this stump was rather sweet!:) 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Fresh harvest

{Watermelons and cantaloupe, in season through September}
It's hard to resist these roadside farm stands. Everything smells of fresh sunshine and earth. I'm signing off for the week because of work travel, but will be back soon - enjoy your week!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Weekend explorations: Whimsical Tribeca

Why hello sweet little statue. New York's Tribeca is now a trendy area where celebrities live, but once upon a time was an industrial and artists' enclave with cheap rent. This fellow seemed to recall that bohemian past.

Friday, September 14, 2012

"O, what a place for a lake!"

{Lake Carnegie and dam on the Millstone River}
Industrialist Andrew Carnegie reportedly uttered those words when he saw this area. Carnegie's gift, the construction of  Lake Carnegie, provided a great place to row, ice skate, sail...or just soak up some sun.
~Hope yours is a sunny weekend!~

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Al fresco

Relaxing over lunch at the local dairy farm, with cheeses made on-site. Our days are still warm, but evenings are noticeably cooler.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The 1830s canal

Canal, lock and locktender's house
The Delaware and Raritan Canal, built 1830-34, now offers a trail for walking and biking. Hand-dug by Irish immigrants working in difficult conditions, the 66-mile canal ran for 100 years, floating mule-towed barges and steamboats.

Lock #8 here is a pleasant 2.5 mile walk from Princeton. One of the first commercial uses of the telegraph ("the Victorian internet") was at this locktender's house and station - to wire canal traffic reports!

Standing on the canal lock.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Photo op

A sure sign of summer's end is the return of Princeton University students. These first-year freshmen - so excited and happy - had gathered for a group portrait. At left, BBC reporters interviewed an excited Princeton parent (it's pretty funny the BBC was there!).

(My camera battery chose that moment to die, so I sadly resorted to my phone.) 

Monday, September 10, 2012

Weekend explorations: Looking up at the Met


Ceiling, wood, Spain, 16th century, in Moorish-influenced Mudéjar style
Skyward glimpses of the newly-renovated American Wing and Islamic Art galleries, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. You could spend days here and still not see everything.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Portals of Princeton: Escape hatch

Princeton Junction train station. Portal to the world beyond (and great for cases of wanderlust).
~Have an adventurous weekend!~

Thursday, September 6, 2012

What's up, tiger lily?


Tiger lilies - one of several species known by this common name - add a bright touch. (These may be L. lancifolium). I'll miss seeing outdoor flowers when cold weather arrives.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The March of the Mill Children

While our town square is known for boutiques (and mass yoga), that bottom left sign marks another chapter...

...The 1903 anti-child labor "March of the Mill Children" made a stop here, led by activist Mary "Mother" Jones. "Mother Jones showed the crowd James Ashworth, who was 10 years old and stooped over like an old man from carrying bundles of yarn that weighed 75 pounds."
***
The march drew much attention: New Jersey State passed its first child labor law in 1906, a decade before the U.S. passed its first such national law.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

September theme day: People watching

I'm still living in the 1990s and haven't joined Facebook, so just recently learned today's theme (time to join FB - and the year 2012!). Taken a previous weekend, these yoga enthusiasts were enjoying a morning stretch in our town square, a great people-watching spot.

Enjoy your weekend and see other CDP entries here.