Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - September 9, 2012

Good morning, world! Or, at the least, a little bit of the world. I don't think I'd want the whole world here anyway. I'd have to get out of my fuzzy slippers. This is my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. If you're looking for Big Brother content, you might want to skip this post and head here instead.

Thinking back on the week, it wasn't really all that remarkable in the greater scheme of my life. Yes, it was a four day work week at my day job and I did have an extra day off. But, with the BB live feeds coverage going on, a day off doesn't necessarily mean a day off. However, the end is in sight -- the finale is September 19. The live feeds cut down drastically before then.

The weather here hasn't been cooperative in light of my photo taking, either. It's been immensely humid and/or raining half the time as I made my commute back and forth. Since I didn't really go elsewhere with my camera(s), my photos this week are a bit limited.

A few random thoughts from the week:

• It's bad enough that some high school age kids called me "ma'am." But when an Emminem thug lookin' wannabe in his mid-20s wearing a "wife-beater" shirt called me "Ma'am" ... GAH! I feel suddenly OLD.
• I got hit on by a drunk Mexican man downtown. Why? Very annoying. I pretty much had to turn him around and give him a push to make him go away. He didn't respond to "Shoo!" with my hand motions.
• Vincent hasn't done not a thing around the house. I would expect he'd at least do the dishes now and then or Swiffer up his own cat fur. 
• One morning on the train, I saw two deer and a snowy egret. Alas, the train was going too fast for clear photos. But I like to think it's a lucky day when I spot wildlife on my way to work.
• I should clarify -- the deer and egret were not ON the train. I saw them out the window.
• Once the leaves start falling, I'll be able to see more. In a way, summer makes my train ride more boring as it hides things with all the leaves.
• The days seem to rapidly be getting shorter even though we aren't anywhere near losing Daylight Savings Time yet.
• I like the new angles from the sun, especially in the mornings.
• Starting today, the oppressive humidity we suffered through for most of the week should lessen. Good.
• We were under tornado watches for several hours yesterday. I had my camera ready, but no tornadoes here -- the closest one struck in Brooklyn.

That's just about it. Onto the photos -- clicking on an image will open it in a new window, clicking again will result in a larger image. Closing out that window will return you right here.  

Lonesome dove

I believe he (she?) was indeed lonesome. I believe mourning doves pair up and are  monogamous for life. This sole dove perched atop the flag pole in front of the Plainfield Police Station, observing traffic and probably thinking, "Look at those silly humans."

Man vs. Nature

The skies were spectacular one morning. You'll see that I took advantage of that for several of my photos this week. This one was taken looking through the parking lot fence at Union County Community College on Church Street in Plainfield.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

Delicate mushroom

Unlike the phallic stinkhorn mushrooms prevalent in wood chips that appear overnight and droop in the day's heat, these delicate little mushrooms last several days. They just get more translucent by the day. I realized that because the stinkhorns and these particular ones grow in mulch and/or wood chips, I never really saw them while growing up. We didn't wood chip everything back then.

Pink train station morning

By the time I approached the train station that spectacular sky morning, the skies over the Plainfield Train Station were mostly pink.

Venus the Spider this week

Venus, the orchard spider in Bridgewater, is still doing her thing. Her web is looking a bit shabby this week, but she's hanging in there.

Sunrise in Bridgewater

Soon I'll be able to catch the sunrise daily. This technically is early morning sun rather than the actual sunrise. It wouldn't be New Jersey without some man-made stuff blocking the beauty.

Colorful skies

Back to the spectacular morning. I took this one on Roosevelt Avenue in Plainfield looking towards the Union County Psychiatric Center.

Red skies in the morning ...

Same morning. I told you these shots would dominate. I really wasn't inspired this week, I guess. I took this one at the corner of East Second Street and Roosevelt in Plainfield.

What do you mean you ran out of catnip?!?!

This is Vincent's irked by the camera one ear awry look. He'd rather I play with him or carry him around than take photos of him.

How was your week?