the meadowlands giveth

Many thanks go to my brother Chris for agreeing to let me use his canoe and for enduring tides, winds, gnats, nasty smells, sunburn and general weirdness on the marshes. The meadowlands indeed giveth, but only on their terms. What they give they can take back at will

Photos from May 16

New Meat

The most recent photos and new vidi are in the can. I was out yesterday on the water with my brother Chris fighting the winds and the tides from Lyndhurst to Snake Hill and back.

I made three important observations yesterday:

1) The outgoing tide on the Hackensack River is a force to be reckoned with, especially when you're paddling against it.

2) Some places out there are downright nasty, especially when you see them close-up. There is land made of garbage, and that was especially noticeable in Lyndhurst from the canal where we put in the canoe.

3) Some places out there are absolutely gorgeous. The marshes on the west side of the river opposite Secaucus are near pristine, with clean water and virtually no trash. There are even patches of the original salt hay, most of which has been choked out throughout The Meadowlands by the notorious common reed. There are some areas where the salt hay has been restored through mitigation, but the areas we saw appeared to be natural.

The new video and photos will be posted shortly.

maverick (big meadow pt 7)

This features my dog...