"The last spring," New Jersey, April 2011

Spring, finally, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I took this photo in the spring on my walk to the train. The tree in full bloom with the cloud-dusted sky and the church steeple -- not to mention the late-afternoon light -- just caught my eye. It was a beautiful sight, a wonderful opening to spring and the promise of the weather to come.

On my walk today, I neared the church and felt something was amiss ... and then I saw it. Or, rather, didn't see it. The tree; it's gone. It's the second tree from in front of the church that has disappeared since we moved to the block, the first one cut down after half of it was damaged in a wind storm. I hadn't noticed any recent problems with this one, so I hope it was some sort of hidden disease or another problem not noticeable to casual passers-by and not simply because someone didn't want it there anymore.

"Game 1 hero," Camden, New Jersey, August 2007

Game 1 hero, originally uploaded by NJ Baseball.

With Spring Training well under way and Opening Day now three weeks away, I've been enjoying all the baseball images popping up (as well as looking through some of my own). So when it came time to find a celebration, I thought back to some of the home-run high-fives I've captured over the years. This one was at Camden's Campbell's Field, where Matt DeMarco (center) won the first game of a doubleheader with a walk-off home run. Looking at the smile on his face, it may have been the first such home run of his life.

"Edie's, Little Silver," New Jersey, October 2010

Edie's, Little Silver, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I love this little luncheonette in my hometown. It's a nice little slice of suburbia. I wrote more about it here.

Christmas lights time-lapse, December 2010

Christmas lights time-lapse, originally uploaded by DC Products.

My first time-lapse! I've been dying to try this and decided that putting up the Christmas lights was as good a subject as any. Now I'm hooked.

It's 729 frames, at 2 seconds per exposure, taken every 10 seconds and put together at 18 frames per second. I doubled up (by 10) on a few frames (you'll notice them) for the heck of it.

But here's the lesson to learn: Be sure to check your photo applications thoroughly before buying software. I missed that Picasa -- the awesome free photo editing software -- has a "time lapse" setting in its movie maker and it allows for several speeds of frames per second. So I went and bought QuickTime Pro, which wasn't as flexible (or as easy to add music to). It was a not-cheap (but not outrageous) $30 (anything more and I wouldn't have bought it; if only it were $35). Oh well. Just gonna have to sell some things on eBay.

At least I'm happy with the end result.

"Sunning in Secaucus," August 2009

Sunning in Secaucus

Waiting for his train home, this guy took a moment to absorb the sunshine.

"One-on-one drills," New Jersey, August 2009

One-on-one drills

Brandon Moore (65) and D'Brickashaw Ferguson (60) engage in a turbulent one-on-one drill between linemen during Jets training camp in August.

"Fiery sky," New Jersey, November 2007

View from Clifton

So often, I find myself walking to the train station in the late afternoon or evening just as the sky is putting on a hell of a light show.

"The eyes have legs," New Jersey, May 2005

Family portrait

I just had to dig up this photo of the characters for the Lakewood BlueClaws' eyeball race to post for Lens Day. (I only got the e-mail a few hours ago; not sure why it didn't come on Wednesday.)

The eyes have it.

"Shed in the snow," New Jersey, February 2010

Snow shed

Yeah, so we're having a little weather here today. I took these photos this afternoon, when my wife and I went out to shovel the 5-6 inches we had. I usually prefer to wait until the snow stops falling, but because that's projected to be tomorrow morning -- giving us pretty much 24 hours' worth of snowfall -- I figured our muscles and backs would be better off tomorrow if we tackled some of it today. In the five hours since then, we've had about another 4-5 inches. And there's more to come.

Day 363 of 365

We're getting a new streetlight!

Oh, the excitement of Day 363! This was it, as far as unexpected happenings today. Well, I suppose there was the downed wires north of here that delayed Casey's train into the city this morning, so I drove her to Secaucus so that she could get to work on time (or close to it) rather than waiting for the delayed train. And then she got out earlier than expected, but still would've had to wait for the same train back home, departing Hoboken at 10 p.m., so I went back to Secaucus to pick her up. In between, it was a few more errands consisting of an exchange at Staples and some groceries at Whole Foods. Other than that, I stayed inside on this frigid, windy winter day.

Day 357 of 365

Park between the candy canes

This house is just a few blocks from another Griswoldian effort in the neighborhood. Imagine if they'd been next-door neighbors. The main difference -- other than the 10-foot candy canes flanking the driveway of this house -- is that this house has a speaker on the lawn playing Christmas music, while the other one has a sign telling drivers to tune their radios to 94.1. That's some dedication right there.

Day 353 of 365

Winter still life

Winter came down heavily today. Only two days after I heard we might get some snow this weekend, the flakes started falling lightly around 1 p.m. By 8 o'clock, street lights were obscured behind the white curtain and the roads melded with the curbs, the lawns, the sidewalks.

Every hour or so, Casey or I would peek at the view from a window to monitor the progress. No point in shoveling to keep ahead of it, I thought, because all that work would be erased by morning. Besides, I'm happy to give the two neighbors with snow blowers a chance to go an extra few feet to clear our sidewalks, as they've done in winters past without a request.

Winter has arrived in earnest a few days before it arrives on the calendar. The days may soon start getting longer, but spring has never seemed so far away.

Day 349 of 365

Streaks in the night

On my way into the city for the company Christmas party, I paused on the overpass while waiting for the train to get some tail lights on the road below, with a house decorated for the holidays in the background, of course.

Day 344 of 365

Happy Holidays to ALL

We always get a kick out of the two-line community events sign at Boro Hall in my hometown of Little Silver. The top line, if it has anything, is usually something topical, such as the current "Happy Holidays." The second line is used to inform residents what can be put out curbside for collection/recycling this week. Yet without punctuation, my family always gets a kick out of reading it literally:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS NEWSPAPERS[,] CARDBOARD [AND] LEAVES[!]

That's how we see it, anyway.

Maybe I'll make this a Christmas card. Might have to go back in the evening, when the tree is lit. I bet there'd be enough light from the street to see the letters on the sign.

Day 342 of 365

The tree in Palmer Square

In Princeton for a family dinner tonight, we got there early on purpose to walk around a little and enjoy the town at Christmastime. Palmer Square was brightly lit, with holiday music coming through speakers on the square. It all made for a nice distraction from the cold.

Day 341 of 365

Clifton's big tree

I'm a sucker for big trees and big displays and colored lights at Christmas. Our municipal complex pretty much has it all for the holidays, so I enjoy driving by it at night. For this shoot, I walked over to it and strolled around the grounds to take it all in.

Day 339 of 365

First snowfall

The first snowfall of the season started as large, fluffy flakes during a transition from an early afternoon of rain. It didn't make for the best photo, but as the ground chilled, the grass and yards soon were dusted with an inch or so of powder, and by evening the roads had a light coating as well.

Day 334 of 365

Framed by the porch

I allowed myself to put the lights up before Thanksgiving this year, just by one day. That day was Nov. 25 -- so 30 days before Christmas -- and I wanted the extended family coming to the house for Thanksgiving (some seeing our place for the first time) to get the full-on holiday experience.

And I wasn't the only one. The white tree in the middle distance and the lights at the end of the block were up before mine, and the closest neighbor turned his on today.

Day 333 of 365

Ordering Elevation

Burger places keep popping up these days, but I'm not one to complain. The wife and I zipped down to Montclair for lunch at Elevation Burger (Stephen Colbert approved!) to sample a worthy East Coast substitute for In-n-Out.

With a Five Guys under construction in Upper Montclair, White Manna over in Hackensack, Bill's Burger Bar near work in the City and Shake Shack always an option, I've got my burger cravings covered.

Day 332 of 365

Dusk in the trees

The sun sets in Monmouth County on the last Saturday of November.