Thanksgiving 2005

He had Thanksgiving with his family.















This photo shows the thanksgivers about to dig in to the antipasto.














Impatient for dessert, Spider is caught in the act of sneaking a taste.

The Winter Giraffe Migration in New Jersey

He was at the winter Giraffe migration.








Since the ban on giraffe trapping instituted in the
state in the late 1950's, the giraffe population of
the North Central Highlands of New Jersey has
increased dramatically. The increase in the population
usually results in a serious overgrazing condition
in the central and northern forest habitats of the
giraffe by the early winter time. The scarcity of
food causes the principal giraffe herds to migrate south,
across the Newark Plain and into the southern Pine Barrens
region in search of a reliable source of food.
The photograph shows the Valley of the Blue Brook herd
as it leaves its home in the first ridge
of the Watchung Mountain Range in Union County
on its way south this past week.

Battle of Monmouth

He was at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold, New Jersey today. The monument to the Battle of Monmouth stands in front of the courthouse.

Monument to Battle of Monmouth 

Washington's council of war at Hopewell 

Pumpkin Jack Sighted

He nearly spotted Pumpkin Jack.

The morning paper reported several sightings of Pumpkin Jack, a.k.a. Jersey Jack Scarecrow, on Halloween night. The closest encounter to Junior occurred on the Red and Green Road in the Watchung Reservation. A purportedly sober witness told local authorities that as he was driving through the reserve, a tall, gaunt figure suddenly stepped into the road ahead of him causing him to brake his car sharply to a stop to avoid a collision. When he collected himself, the driver said that he saw a seven foot tall man in a faded red coat with a grinning Jack O' Lantern face staring at him through the front windshield of his car. Then, in a flash, the figure sped away up the ridge and was lost to sight in the dark forest.

Sightings of Pumpkin Jack, while not common, occur on a regular basis, especially at Halloween time.

The illustration is a drawing of Pumpkin Jack taken from " A History of East Jersey" by W. P. Gadston, published in 1888.