January 6, 2025
In a winter pose, the Asbury Mill used water power to grind grain, and later process graphite. It anchored the growth of Asbury’s Historic District, which includes a number of extravagant homes from the 19th century. The Mill underwent significant structural rehabilitation, completed in 2019, with plans to open as an Interpretive Center with exhibits. The Mill exemplifies people’s connection to the Musconetcong National Wild and Scenic River – a recognition based upon the Native American, industrial, agricultural, and recreational uses of the river. Photo: Alan Hunt
Warm greetings and best wishes for a year marked by achievement and fulfillment! We hope you keep the
personality of the New Jersey Skylands near and dear when you need to freshen your horizon among the hills and valleys of Northwest New Jersey!
Original Thought
On November 20, 1824, legislation entitled “AN ACT to erect the southwesterly part of Sussex county into a separate county, to be called the county of Warren” was passed by the Council and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey.
Warren County's origins are celebrated during this year's
Bicentennial. And where did
that name come from anyway?
Hand Warmers
Peters Valley School of Craft is excited to offer some innovative
online workshops this winter and spring. Workshops will be added to the calendar on a regular basis and will complement our in-person learning.
Check out the schedule and register online. You don't have to worry about getting to school through foul weather.
Rural Repoussé
Robert Lobe's Invisible Earth required excavation in order to expose a root system which got increasingly complicated and inspired the title.
Take an afternoon to explore the exhibit
New Sculpture/New Jersey at the
Morris Museum, open through February 2. Showcasing just over forty works from eleven sculptors together with short video interviews with the artists, the exhibition connects visitors with the purpose, context, and meaning driving their work and motivating their choices. One of the featured artists is
Robert Lobe whose fascinating technique was largely developed
in the woods of Northwest New Jersey.
Cold Calls
The shortened days of winter in the Skylands afford a chilly but unequaled opportunity to draw closer to nature and to enjoy the quiet that descends with the withdrawal of activity to the indoors. On these cold days, while local countryside vistas remain open and unshrouded by their canopy of leaves, the fields, forests, and woodlands of our region are prime for the pastime of winter birdwatching.
More...
Breaking the Ice
Looking for a new relationship? Well, how about you and Northwest New Jersey; Perfect Together? The landscape is frigid and quiet, yet stunningly attractive. Somebody's got to
take some action here. If you don't do it, somebody else will!
Life of Wiley
Coyote in Winter. Painting by John Mullane.
If rarely seen, the coyote is frequently heard. In the winter, during the January to March breeding times, listen for nocturnal howls when coyote are at their most vocal. They are happy to tell other coyotes, and the world, their location.
Stop and listen. They'll fall silent all too soon.
Consider
Hamburg Mountain from Pinwheels Vista along the Appalachian Trail in Sussex County. Photo by Dwight Hiscano. A lifelong conservationist, Dwight has served on the boards of several conservation organizations in his home state of New Jersey. He has volunteered hundreds of hours and raised thousands of dollars for charities and conservation efforts. He founded and curated the Annual Highlands Juried Art Exhibit with the New Jersey Highlands Coalition.
The
New Jersey Highlands hold countless stories from the past, but what about their future? The answer is both urgent and clear:
climate change. Despite stark warnings, including this year’s devastating fires in Sterling Forest, many of us respond with passive acknowledgment, as if immune to the looming crisis. Meanwhile, local communities face mounting pressures—expanding development and a growing demand for living space—threatening the very
values that define this cherished region.
For many, winter is a season for reflection. The challenge of the season strips away pretense, and offers a time for learning. The word
“consider” traces its roots to the early French term for “star-like,” derived from the Latin word sidereal. Originally, its use implied that significant thoughts, judgments, and decisions should be guided by the wisdom and perspective of the stars. Today, we might say the meaning of “consider”
has expanded—suggesting that by adjusting our perceptions, we can also be inspired to
transform our actions.
December 19 - 26
Hark the Herald!
The High Point monument; photo from the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress.
A winter landscape and ancient holiday traditions blend to evoke a sense of wonder, reflection, and renewal as the
winter solstice officially greets the new season on Saturday, December 21.
Tripod Rock on Pyramid Mountain
The annual solstice seems to have inspired ancient people to observe the year's shortest day with carefully aligned markers on a sight-line that points to the sun's low point in the sky. The most famous of these is
Stonehenge in England, but there are
local monuments that may have had a similar function. On the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River,
overhanging rocks form a shelter perfectly placed to observe the sun rise out of the center of the Water Gap on the winter solstice.
A large obelisk protruding from the earth near Hainesville in Sussex County might have been similarly used. And three “sighting stones” near Mt. Bethel in Warren County seem to align with the winter solstice sunrise. Along the shore of Mountain Lake in White Township is a large flat rock outcropping on which legend claims the Lenape stood in ceremony to “bring up the sun”.
And the 170-ton
Tripod Rock resting on top of Morris County’s Pyramid Mountain suggests use as a "calendar site" long ago.
The Owls Have It
Snowy Owl. (Brian E. Kushner, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
During the winter months fewer people venture outside to explore the forests. What many don't realize is that this season opens up a whole new opportunity for the nature lover. Since the canopy of leaves is gone, there is visibility for
spotting owls. Owls draw us in with their big, soulful eyes and luxuriously soft-looking feathers, and we appreciate how that spark of interest can be nurtured into the type of informed appreciation that leads to conservation action. These amazing birds have earned their moment of fame and the platform it provides for education.
Wisdom on the fly!
Watershed Moments
Pohatcong Creek flows past the historic Hixson-Skinner Mill near Springtown.
Geologic record helps understand the human history and impacts of settlement and lifestyles in
each of our watersheds, which take on regional characteristics of their own, connecting communities by a shared vital resource. The intrinsic appeal of their landscapes is enhanced by a heaping portion of openly accessible recreation facilities, either publicly owned or privately managed with the visitor in mind.
Following Pohatcong Mountain, another of the many Appalachian ridges that run through Warren County, the
Pohatcong Watershed lies parallel and between those of the Musconetcong River to the south and the Pequest to the north.
Follow the river!
Go with the grain
Loaves and baguettes at the Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse include (counterclockwise from right): Garlic duckfat ciabatta, local baguettes, cranberry walnut breadstick, rosemary epi, heirloom Fife, medieval baguette, Flax Armadillo loaf, rustic olloaf, Petit levain, cranberry walnut loaf.
There is now a proliferation of literature telling us to avoid wheat altogether, but the great news is that the nutritious and varying flours can be baked into nutritious and varying breads, season by season, loaf by loaf. It just requires that food makers relinquish their expectation that flour be exactly the same from harvest to harvest.
See how its done, and look forward to an informative trip to
Bobolink Dairy and Bakehouse, where Nina Stein White and her staff have produced millions of
healthy and delicious breads! and where they also produce
grass-fed beef and make artisanal cheeses is also the place where
369 Stamets Rd, Milford (Hunterdon County), 908/86GRASS. Or
order online!
Schedule an elegant holiday celebration, a tasty visit to a brewery or winery, dinner and a show, or your winter sojourn along the Appalachian Trail! Sign up for the
Warren County Wanderings newsletter, your guide post of discovery and a nexus of community in a culturally rich and environmentally singular area.
