The Great Swamp

Today I met a friend for brunch in Bernardsville, New Jersey.  It was our first time at the Mockingbird Cafe.  The food was delicious, especially the lemon ricotta pancakes with berries! Yum!!

After my friend and I left the restaurant I decided it was too much of a nice day to go home.  I took a very short drive to one of my favorite spots, The Raptor Trust.  The Raptor Trust is a bird rehabilitation center.  It is a place where people work to help a certain type of sick birds to get better and to stay safe.  I have always found birds to be fascinating creatures.  Today I saw Bald Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks, Red-Shouldered Hawks, a Common Raven, a Barred Owl, a Great Horned Owl, an American Kestrel and a Perregrine Falcon.

Here is one of the Bald Eagles I saw.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE RAPTOR TRUST WEBSITE.

After visiting The Raptor Trust I decided to take another short drive to The Great Swamp.  

Check out my photos to see the beautiful views I was able to capture.

Fun on the Court

Today was a beautiful day!  After soaking up the sun on a long walk, my friend and I decided to play some basketball.  We both had not played in YEARS!  It was great to do something we hadn't done in so long.  We had an awesome time and look forward to playing again the next chance we get.  :-) What is something you like to do but haven't done in a while?  Put aside some time to do it soon! 

Here are some books you can get from the County Library System about basketball:

Dairy, Dairy Quite Extraordinary

Today I had a meeting in Trenton with some other people who work at schools in New Jersey and some who help teachers in New Jersey.  After my meeting I decided to stop by a place that I had wanted to go for a long time.  For about 6 years I have been noticing a billboard sign as I drive through Trenton on Route 1.  It is an advertisement for Halo Farms.  Well, it wasn't until just recently that I made the connection to one of my favorite ice cream shops, Halo Pub, in Princeton, New Jersey.  They have a chocolate ice cream with strawberries that is so tasty!!   Since I was in the area, I finally decided to take a trip buy myself some ice cream to keep at home for myself and for some friends to try when they visit.

Halo Farm is not an actual farm.  It is a small dairy and store.  Farmers in the area bring their cows' milk here to be made into ice cream or to be packaged into milk cartons.  Check out the videos below!  I loved watching the machines at work.  Maybe you'll grow up to build some amazing machines like this!

Go here to the link: http://www.halofarm.com/

I bought a few goodies.

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali to all who celebrate!!

Hiking Through The Sourlands

Today I pulled on my hiking boots and decided to get some fresh air with a friend.  We took a short 15 minute drive to the Sourland Mountains.  I jumped from rock to rock on the way up and down the steep trail for some good exercise.  Once we were tired, we climbed up to rest on a huge boulder. We also saw different types of birds, which you know I always enjoy.  It is an easy trip to Hillsborough. You should take your family to check it out!  

Check out the trails you can hike on:

Find this trail map and more at http://www.somersetcountyparks.org/parksFacilities/sourland/SourlandMtPreserve.html

Fire Safety is Important!!

Ms. Millers and Ms. Tricarico tried on some new hats!

One of my favorite days each school year is when the firefighters come to visit!  It is a great opportunity for us to think about easy ways to keep safe.  The shiny red trucks are hypnotizing for students and teachers alike.

Does your family have a safety plan?  Does your child know your address and phone number?  Please talk about these things with your family immediately to keep everyone safe.

Check out the shiny truck!

Even Dr. White got in on the fun.  He went up in the ladder truck!

                               

Autumn Walk on the Beach

I love the beach in the summer, but I have learned that it is a nice place to visit in the fall too!  The beach was almost empty this weekend, even though it was sunny and hot out.  

It was great to be able to take the time to enjoy the birds and the rest of the scenery.  I took a super long walk, and it was fabulous!

A Horseshoe Crab

It was warm enough to dip my toes into the water.

The seagulls were enjoying the quiet beach too.