All Four Seasons in the Garden State

Before moving to New Jersey I spent nearly a decade living in the deserts of Arizona.  I went to high school in Phoenix, college in Tucson and encountered very little seasonal diversity during those times.  Arizona is a beautiful and unique place, but all the seasons feel a lot like summer. It rarely snows there and the botany mostly consists of cacti and imported palm trees.  Before I left the desert, I had vague memories of the four seasons from a childhood spent in Oklahoma and Tennessee, but I was not prepared for the strength and vibrancy of each season.  After moving to the garden state, I was completely captivated by the beauty and spectacle of the four seasons; I had to try and capture them on film (or SD card to be more accurate).  I've posted links to most of these albums before, but now that the project is finished I felt they should all be together.  Click the links below to watch my Flickr albums for each season.

Fall: Persephone departs and nature mourns

Winter: Persephone, Queen of the Underworld

Spring: Persephone returns and nature rejoices

Summer:  Persephone, Goddess of Vegetation

I hope you enjoyed the change of the seasons as much as I did.  I think I'd like to focus another series on the four seasons, this time concentrating on the less glamorous phases of each season like dead, brown leaves in fall, dirty snow in winter, sweltering heat in summer.  Because I don't just want to capture beauty with my camera, ultimately what I'm looking to capture is truth. 

Some Observations About Snow

This morning I woke up to discover that it was snowing outside once more.  They were giant, fluffy flakes that drifted from the sky so calmly it felt like the world was moving in slow motion.  Snow always makes me feel calm and in some strange way connected to the past.  A lot has changed in the few thousand years humankind has lived on this blue-green dot.  Our culture has changed, the earth's animals have changed, the earth's plants have changed, even the great big ocean is always changing.  But not snow, snow is one of the few constants in this world.  Sure there are different kinds of snow, and once it lands it never just stays pristine.  But this is how snow has always been.  Since the very first person saw their very first snowflake, snow has always been cold and white and beautiful.

© Jeff Howick 2010 - taken near the beach in Sea Bright, NJ

Some things I have observed about snow:

Snow is not as easy to tunnel through as I had imagined.  Tunneling is never easy business, even when it's through snow.  If someone ever says to you, "lets go make a snow tunnel!", be prepared to get cold, wet and tired.  It's still a worthwhile experience, just don't expect it to be easy.

© Jeff Howick 2010 - Taken after a blizzard in Sea Bright, NJ

Summer, a nice place to visit

My wife and I recently went back to Tucson to visit with some family for the holidays.  The Southwest has a unique, exotic beauty.  The sky is never so open as it is in the desert.  My wife finds a certain freedom and joy in such wide open skies and distance horizons.  While I on the other hand find it somewhat...oppressive.  At least during the day.  The sunsets are certainly beautiful in the desert, and at night the stars are spectacular.

An Arizona sunset captured while on vacation

It felt really good to visit Arizona during the winter and get a taste of warmer weather.  A blizzard had just hit the East Coast, and it was nice to have a quick escape.  But it was even nicer to return to glorious winter after our brief vacation.  My world just doesn't feel complete without four seasons.  Enjoying warm weather during winter is like eating breakfast for dinner; it's a fun, exciting change on occasion, but I wouldn't want to do it all the time.  I love summer, but if I get too much it loses it shine.  I spent a decade or so living in Arizona and I grew very tired of summer and sunny days.  Constant summer is like eating your favorite meal everyday, without variety things begin to taste bland and boring.  

But I don't just love winter because it makes me appreciate warmer weather.  Cold weather forces me to live in the moment, which is sometimes hard for me.  The cold can make even an ordinary day an adventure or a battle. Winter tests us all and keeps us sharp and strong.  And how could I go without the beauty of snow or the joy of sledding and snowball fights and building snow tunnels and snow men!  Hot chocolate never tastes as good as it does in the winter.  Yes, my soul needs winter.  Although sometimes, like exercise, I don't realize how good it is for me until I have it.

Our beach shortly after returning home 

I love winter as much as I love summer, spring and fall.  And though I loved taking a brief vacation from winter, it feels so good to return to normal.

"If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work." -William Shakespeare   King Henry IV Part I  Act 1 scene 2

Photo Album of Fall in New Jersey (and New York) 2009

New Jersey Eats

There is a curious culinary phenomenon in New Jersey and the east coast which people here call 'diners'. Diners seem to be defined by their small locations, late hours, and extremely eclectic menu. Although I'm sure there are some exceptions, these small, local restaurants have turned their nose up at the stereotypical restaurant model of drawing in customers with delicious food. Despite their inability to create delicious food, diners litter the landscape by the hundreds here. They remain so popular because people don't go to diners for the food, they go for the company.
When you're at a diner everyone there is your friend. The first diner I ever went to I felt immediately at home. A few minutes after we sat down I asked a woman who had just entered if she could take our picture. This sparked a conversation and soon the entire diner was involved. Later a gentleman came in and sat behind us with a couple already there. He had never met them, but he was instantly welcome at their booth as if he were an old family friend. I've never been anywhere as unconditionaly welcoming and friendly in my entire life.New Jersey is the diner capitol of the world. For it was here diners were born and there are still more diners in Jersey than any other state, not more diners per capita but more diners total. Fairly impressive when you realize that new Jersey is the fourth smallest state in the union. So if you're ever in New Jersey, do yourself a favor and stop into a diner. You'll be glad you did.

Summer is Here

Ahhhhhh, it feels so good. Summer has arrived with the bounce of a trampoline and the swing of a hammock.Summer means freedom, the freedom to swim in the ocean and grill outdoors, the freedom to wear sandals or hike mountains. Yesterday it meant enjoying an entire afternoon playing games and eating food outside under the great summer sky. This is my first adult summer spent outside Arizona and summer in New Jersey is much different than in the 'Zona desert. It's not just because the temperature is below 120 degrees.Summer out here has a beginning and an end. I already miss winter, but not in the way that I miss my first cat. Unlike the eternal summer of the desert, I know this summer will eventually end and winter shall return. This finiteness makes me enjoy the freedom of summer much more than I ever have. Variety is my favorite spice in the meal of life. So bring on the summer fun, I'm ready to enjoy it while it lasts.