an ending

1. If you found this photoblog through a search engine, and you're looking for a particular search term or image, try typing those keywords into the search box up on the left-hand side of the menubar (technically, "navbar") at the very top of this blog, above where it says "Ocean Township Daily Photo." (up there ^ )

2. If you're looking for newer photos from JosyC, check out Snapshot Optimism.

3. If you're wondering about this post, my mother and I are driving to Chicago tomorrow. I will not be returning to New Jersey for the forseeable future. (See yesterday's post for details.)

Tschüss!

down the shore

A big trend nowadays on the Jersey Shore is using your car to proclaim that you're a local (and not, heaven forbid, a benny) AND what town you're from (in the manner long practiced by European countries). They make stickers like these for all of the shore towns, but these were the only ones I saw A) on parked cars B) while I had a camera handy.

tropicana!

A mysteeeeeeeeerious orange flower.

It's mysteeeeeeeeeeerious because its identity is a mysteryyyyyyyyy.

Thoughts?

kaboom!

Fireworks at Joe Palaia Park for the USA's Independence Day! Viewed from a slightly distant supermarket parking lot with all kinds of trees and power lines in the way.* I had loads of company in that parking lot--many families threw little tailgate parties for the event. Due to the limited visibility, though, I heard sarcastic teenagers-who'd-been-dragged-along comments, like "OH MY GOD! THE FIREWORKS ARE AMAZING!" when the explosions didn't quite clear the trees.

*Okay, technically, I was in the middle of a field that I probably shouldn't have been in. Okay, technically technically I wasn't in the middle-- I was about 12' away from the edge of Route 35. But I did park in that parking lot.

fireflies!

You may or may not be able to see, but this nightscape is full of FIREFLIES! (Or whatever you call them. I grew up calling 'em "lightning bugs" but slipped into calling them "fireflies" at some point. Either term is acceptable around here.)

Some of those fireflies might be the same ones, as this photo is actually a composite (of like 10 of the FOUR THOUSAND PHOTOS--okay, more like 40-- that I took. I've been trying to photograph these guys for a few days now, but my camera's longest shutter speed is 4 seconds [and highest decent ISO is 200], which... just wasn't enough. Google confirmed that this is a supremely tricky task that's virtually impossible with a shutter less than 60 seconds. So I gave up and cheated).

monitors (but not lizards)

In Ocean Township, the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month are bulk trash day. This means that you can put your "bulk trash" (which is "large non-metal items") out on the curbing the night before, and some nice trashpeople will come by in the morning and take it away for you.

This is, of course, fantastic, but there are certain weird rules that need to be followed.

For example, my family tried to get rid of some old tires. However, we could not put the tires out on the curb until we'd separated the rubber from the metal wheel. This is, unfortunately, a service that local shops will not provide for free. On top of THAT, the trashpeople are only allowed to take three tires at once. Three tires? THREE TIRES?! What on earth is the point of that?!

Anyway. This photo was just too cute to pass up. What sort of suburban residence has that many monitors to begin with?

two views

I know this is a little small, but if you can keep from feeling seasick from looking at this split-level diptych, you'll note something a little different between the two white buildings (aside from the obvious seasonal difference). That's right--the park FORMERLY known as Deal Test Site installed a [communications?] tower while I wasn't looking. wtf.

On an unrelated note, dear readers, if you're interested in a sneak peak of my own future... I'm going to grad school in Chicago (for medical illustration) in August, and there are already three Chicago Daily Photoblogs. What to do?! Answer: I've started a new semi-daily location-nonspecific photoblog [CLICKY CLICKY] (read: ANOTHER pointless photoblog clogging up the internet). It's not officially "on the market" yet--I'm still tweaking it, and you won't see it in my Blogger profile or listed in any photoblog directories--but I am posting things, if you'd like to check it out, bookmark it, and/or offer suggestions. :)

ANTS

Ah, summer is in the air! The birds are singing, the rainshowers are unpredictable, and... the ants are swarming.

holy

Presbyterian Church on the Hill--not to be confused with Tower Hill Presbyterian, which is about a half-hour's drive away.

Side note--after my dad and I fiddled with the internet for a few hours this morning (and finally convinced it to not poop out every couple minutes), I went to SpeedTest.net to check the connection. Turns out, my DSL line is running faster than--get this--8% of other American connections and 16% of connections worldwide. Man, no wonder I have such difficulty loading everyone else's photoblogs!

street sweepin'

I was lucky enough to catch this guy as he was sweeping through our neighborhood!

red

Ugh. It's gardening time. And time for an experiment, sort of, in not-sharply-defined focus.

On a completely random note, for some reason, Roger Miller's "King of the Road" goes through my head every time I look at this photo for more than 5 seconds.

birds of state

I think I'm still the only official City Daily Photoblog based in New Jersey, so I suppose it's necessary to include a little education about the entire state once in a while. :)

The Eastern Goldfinch has been the official state bird of New Jersey since 1935. Nobody knows why.

imagine

Did you ever lean back in your seat at school and look at the ceiling... and wonder what it would be like if lights were on the floor and desks were stuck to the ceiling? I used to imagine walking on particleboard (being careful not to step on the long fluorescent lights) while wondering if the glue that secured the furniture to the ceiling was actually strong enough. I thought it would be neat to decorate a room like that--or at least make a walk-through art installation of it.

When I look at this photo, I see some sort of otherworldly scenario, with waist-high anemones sprouting from the floor, and an undulating cave of light formed by some incredible natural phenomenon. What do you see?

you're just another

Ever looked closely at a wall? It's kind of interesting.

(This particular wall belongs to our local Tar-JHEY, which is how many of us pronounce Target. Maybe not many of us. But some of us get a kick out of imagining it as a classy French store.)

hi-vi resea

There was a small pile of broken audio (/visual?) equipment in the corner of someone's front yard. The materials were becoming grimy and leaf-covered; they'd been sitting there a while and were starting to blend in with the ground.

It was an otherwise decently landscaped yard.

congregation

I am so incredibly bored of all these flora and architecture shots. So here's something a little different. Cliched, overdone, yes yes yes, but still fun!

dusky dust

Dusty-looking iris buds at dusk.

...Okay, bad joke.

door 2

Found in Joe Palaia Park (formerly Deal Test Site). I'm not sure for what they currently use or used to use this structure.

cheery

The daffodils (or are these narcissuses?) have been in bloom for quite some time. Bonus information- they're my mom's favorite flower. :)

i saw three ships a-sailing

This is a monument to Christopher Columbus, erected in 1992 (500 years after 1492) right outside what used to be the Ocean Township Public Library (until about 2-4 years ago--the library has since moved about a mile down the road).

...I remember when they were building this memorial. Man I'm getting old.

Carved across the bottom:

1492 Once he returned, no one forgot America was there 1992