I took advantage of the warm weather and the fact that everyone would be inside watching the Super Bowl to visit the Van Wickle House, a Dutch farmhouse built in 1722. I’ve visited the house several times but each time it has been either too dark or too cold to photograph the formal garden attached to it. Today I was hoping to get some interesting contrasts between the disarray of a garden in winter with the structured formality of the brick walkway and picket fence. Alas, the recent storms left too much snow on the ground. I was unable to capture the textures that I was seeking.
The Photo of the Day will give you an idea of how much snow was on the ground:
The Photo of the Day will give you an idea of how much snow was on the ground:
As much as I like the colors in this picture, I think that it would work better in black and white.
Frustrated in my attempt at capturing a certain mood, I headed out on the wetland boardwalk to the Delaware & Raritan Canal that runs in front of the house. The end of the boardwalk was partially blocked by a tree that I initially thought had blown down during a storm. A closer examination of the base revealed the handiwork of beavers.
Beavers! In overbuilt central New Jersey. I would never have guessed they lived here.
The D&R Canal was dug, mainly by hand, between 1830 and 1834. By the Van Wickle House, it runs along side the Raritan River. Today the canal was covered by ice.
While just a few feet away, the river was ice-free, providing recreation to a flock of Canadian Geese.
If they aren’t the State Bird, they should be. They are everywhere.
You can see all of my pictures of the Van Wickle House and D&R Canal on Flickr.
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