Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - May 15, 2016

Good morning! Since it's a Sunday morning, that means it's time for my weekly off television topic reflection on the week gone by in both words and photos I've taken along the way. Please stop by on Wednesday evening at 8pm EDT for east coast live blogging and the blog party for the season finale of Survivor: Kaoh Rong!

After having an entire week of rain the previous week, this past week was more sunny and spring-like here in New Jersey. Oh, sure ... we had some stormy weather. But, thankfully, not an entire week of grey dismal cloudy skies and rain!

As for me, just another week in the life of work, home, eat, (not enough) sleep, pay attention to a cat and then rinse, repeat. I didn't do anything exciting, nor did I go anywhere except to work. I often feel like I'm doomed to complete exhaustion and will end up working until the day I die. With my luck, I'll probably die AT work. Gah. I so want to retire and move onto doing something I actually enjoy doing and have less stress in my life. I'm tired of being so tired.

Wah. Sniffle. Sniffle.

Now that my whining is done, here are some random takes on the week gone by:

• The Somerset Patriots at the TD Ball Park in Bridgewater were rained out one night, but played last night as the dark stormy skies were rushed away by strong winds. Their ballpark food always smells SO good as I walk by on my way to the train station! 
• Other than some rare random hammering as they hang pictures or something, I haven't heard a peep out of the new neighbor(s) downstairs. Hopefully they can say the same about me. Well, except for the hammering part, that is. While I actually own a hammer, I can't tell you the last time I used it!
• On the other hand, my upstairs neighbor had his stereo going full blast in short spurts Friday night. Hmm. I've come to the conclusion that he's a loud guy whenever he has guests over. Unfortunately, he has guests every weekend. I have to work on Saturdays. If I were new here, I'd just think sound travels. But I know better. In the time I've been here, there have been a handful of different tenants in that apartment. He's the ONLY one with a pounding bass stereo at an unreal volume. He's also the ONLY one whose conversations I can hear when they're not even arguing/fighting. You pretty much have to shout for me to make out the words in my apartment and he does. Sigh.
• We might have record cold temperatures tonight. Eek. I hope some of this chilliness carries on through the summer. I wouldn't be upset at all if we had no heat waves!
• Is Norma really dead on the Bates Motel? 

That's all I have for you! It's onto the photos I've taken this past week. If you click on an image, it will open in a larger gallery version.

Spotlight on the azaleas

I edited this shot with the Google NIK Color Efex Pro 4 photo editor to darken the edges and bring out the color on the row of blossoms a bit more. These are growing outside of the TD Bank Ball Park in Bridgewater.

Red pansy

I used the same effect on this shot, but made the edges even darker. There were not so healthy blossoms nearby this beauty. By using this vignette filter, they were taken out without cropping the photo and they no longer distracted from the beauty of the red pansy.

How do these things happen?

This is right down the street from my apartment. There is no cross street there. Plus, traffic shouldn't be moving all that fast if adhering to the speed limit. That's a cast iron fence. Sheesh. A drunk driver is the most likely cause.

Pretty pansies in a row

I did absolutely nothing other than resize this photo down for posting. It's all just plain ol' nature's beauty.

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

Gotta get the pollen

Even to the point of getting covered with it and carrying a big pollen sac on his leg!

Busy bee

Spring colors

Move along

A Plainfield police officer moves along a bunch of the daily/nightly bums hanging out and taking up one of the shelters on the eastbound platform of the Plainfield Train Station. They need to start paying attention to the westbound platform and the grounds lining the back of the newly rehabbed and fairly expensive apartments there. The bums are plentiful and litter that whole area. Tenants willing to pay the price of those places shouldn't have those guys constantly hanging out there.

Red azaleas

Pink azaleas

Some of the azaleas are passing while some have yet to bloom. 

Almost metallic-looking anthers

The anthers on the azaleas other than the white ones look like a shiny metal.

Allium in bloom

With pink azaleas in the background. I took this shot on Berckman Street in Plainfield. I think it's some kind of boarding house -- it usually has rotating tenants. But I believe the men there work as landscapers and they always have beautiful flowers planted every spring and summer.

Yes, I see you

New squirrels have been born under the bridges at the Bridgewater Train Station. Once again, we have the cacophony of a gazillion baby birds echoing under the bridges, as well.

Meanwhile, in Plainfield ...

... they've planted these in the big planters along East Front Street.

Hey, Vincent! Hey, Vincent!

Wake up! Wake up! Oh. Okay. Go back to sleep. I might just join you in that endeavor.