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May 14 - 21

Land Grab

Game camera captures image of a late night fox and skunk land dispute.
Your backyard can be more than just an area you need to mow on Saturdays. Even on a small lot in a congested suburban area, you can grow enough food to put away dozens of quarts of delicious homegrown produce for consumption throughout the year. And it is fascinating to take note of the wide variety of wildlife with which you share your domain. You may even want to invite more!
When you're done planning, take advantage of a calendar budding with intriguing things for you and your family to enjoy. Or check our Day Trip Map for good ideas for a Sunday drive! For the more aerobically inclined can choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website.

How does your garden grow?

Shawna Bengivenni admires her organically grown garden in Wantage.
Local gardeners generally consider mid-May the frost-free line for our region -- the target time for getting vulnerable plants in the garden. Everyone can grow their own veggies in garden plots, raised beds, deck planters or any small space. Here are some great tips on how to grow your best garden in Mary Jasch's best (and easiest) veggie garden primer.

Hide and Seek

This spring, head for the woods on a special type of hunt. You won't find explicit directions, but if you log any appreciable trail time in the spring, you'll eventually come across a vernal pool. These distinctive wetlands are seasonal surprises, maybe something that you've never noticed before. The pools play hide and seek with woods walkers and the critters that inhabit them.

Passeriforme Passion

From late April through May our diversity of habitat brings dozens of types of warblers and vireos, scarlet tanagers, northern orioles, indigo buntings, thrushes and brown thrashers into our forests.
As the season progresses, the forests come alive above the leaf line with a growing chorus of migratory songbirds. Passeriformes, the largest bird order, includes over 5,000 species—mostly small perching birds, many of them songbirds, having evolved complex muscles to control their sound-producing organ called a syrinx, different from our vocal chords. The more you listen, the more you hear passerine calls in all their incredible beauty and complexity. The mix of ridges, valleys, and wetlands in our region creates a perfect stage for this seasonal symphony—best enjoyed from any trail, roadside, or even your window.

North of the tension line

Photo by Dan Balogh
Drive up Route 23 North, and after passing countless big box stores, fast food chains and traffic lights, the landscape suddenly turns all green. And steep. This is wild West Milford, home to over 100 miles of marked hiking trails and more 1,000-foot summits than anyplace else in the Jersey Highlands. Bag some peaks!

Thanks for joining us in our appreciation of Northwest New Jersey and all the brilliant ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season. Tap our calendar for the best events for you and your family, or check our current stories. Pick from a multitude of daytrip itineraries and watch out for our virtual efforts to keep you informed. For the more aerobically inclined, the Outdoor Map shows the way to go, or choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website.
Like many other small, independent and specialized information sources, our budget will increasingly rely on reader donations. Help us keep you informed about all the great stuff to do in and around Northwest New Jersey! If you like what we offer, we hope you'll consider a contribution.

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