Phototelegrapher 212

Although my display of fall-color pictures will progress until winter, here is the true condition of our foliage status as of last week. Several storms that passed through Central New Jersey blew down most of the leaves, and what is coming tomorrow will surely rip the rest. Despite a tardy start, we did enjoy lots of local color, but now it's gone.

When we moved in 13 years ago, our trees were twigs, and the backdrop was the Sourland Mountains and the Watchung Range to our north, and Rocky Hill toward the south. From upstairs, we could clearly see (with binoculars) the two World Trade Center towers and the Empire State Building, 45 miles away. Gradually, the trees gained height, and we lost our distant view. Now, in summer, we see only as far as the nearest branch, and even our neighbors disappear. However, to our delight, there are many more birds. Time does change the appearance of our surroundings.

Pettoranello Gardens

Kona

Judd and Kristin spent last Thanksgiving weekend at his parents' home in West Virginia. Upon arrival, a tale was told about a friend whose headlights had found a tiny kitten wandering a country road at night, and the undernourished, ill orphan was in a cardboard box in the garage awaiting an unknown future. Judd and Kristin quickly accepted the situation as an inescapable responsibility.

So, Kona rode home in Kristin's lap, and that began a month of isolated, medical care until we were sure it was safe to introduce her to the other three. As expected, Heidi and Polly hissed and ignored, but Calvin quickly considered Kona his little sister and joined our task of showing the newest family member what our household was all about.

Throughout spring and summer, Kona grew to be Miss Curiosity, and, being so small, no crevice excaped her explorations. My favorite photo is of her looking and listening. All our pets are "indoor," so the windows are their world, and their monitoring goes on continually.

Kona has become unusually affectionate, and I am sure she appreciates the care we have provided. If I cup my hand on the sofa, Kona will nestle her little head in my palm and purr herself to sleep. Calvin and Kona are best friends, real buddies, but, mind you, there is a considerable size difference, so play often becomes rough enough to warrant time-out.

Now that you have met our complete cast of characters, you will know who is who and can follow the antics that will probably occupy this blog during the confining months between fall colors and spring blossoms.

Green and Orange

Behind Pettoranello Lake

Millstone Bypass

Over the several years that I have been visiting the D&R Canal State Park, a change in water flow has been noticed around the old red mill at Kingston. The dam that creates Carnegie Lake, plus the dam next to the mill, enclose a large pond that once provided energy for the gristmill. That dynamic can easily be seen in an earlier photograph.

Repeated, recent flooding has now breached the bank around the bend in the left half of that earlier image, and you can see a small spit of land near where the break occurred. Now, water from the pond flows around the mill dam and re-enters the Millstone River downstream, as below.

During high flooding, the overflow also joins the tributary shown in my Autumn Branch picture. What is relatively new is that there is now an occasional flow even during times of low water. Last week, it was particularly brisk. Because the gristmill long ago ceased its operation (the upper floors are now a home), this change is merely part of the morphology of the Millstone River, and one that has been fascinating to observe and record.