The NJSEA offices will be closed on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5. DeKorte Park will remain open.

For additional upcoming holiday closings, click here

Note: DeKorte Park will be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society as they introduce you to this wonderful natural area that is usually closed to the public. The walk runs from 10 a.m. to noon.

Harrier Meadow is located off Disposal Road in North Arlington.

Contact: Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.

Due to anticipated cloud cover, the William D. McDowell Observatory public viewing session for tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 30, has been cancelled.

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society as they introduce you to this wonderful natural area that is usually closed to the public. The walk runs from 10 a.m. to noon.

Harrier Meadow is located off Disposal Road in North Arlington.

Contact: Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society for a guided walk through DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. The park features several walking trails, including the Marsh Discovery Trail, a boardwalk loop over a tidal impoundment. There are also beautiful gardens, and plenty of birds. The walk runs from 10 a.m. to noon.

If you have never been to DeKorte Park, it is an absolute gem and you’re in for a treat!

Meet outside the Meadowlands Environment Center, 2 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst.

Contact: Don Torino (201) 230-4983 greatauk4@gmail.com

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society on a walk through these peaceful parks and natural areas that reflect the connection between the human experience and nature. The walk goes from 10 a.m. to noon.

Meet at Mill Creek Point Park at the end of Millridge Road, Secaucus

Contact: Don Torino – (201) 230-4983 greatauk4@gmail.com

Walking along the BCAS Butterfly Garden path at Overpeck County Park, I was stopped in my tracks by a beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly. It took me by great surprise. It was the end of September, not a good time to be an Adult Swallowtail, and unfortunately, this beauty was struggling on the ground.

I watched it try its best to get up and fly, but its struggle was to no avail. I carefully picked it up and placed this black and teal colored beauty on some nearby goldenrods in the hope that it would get some strength and live out its time in our garden. But I knew, as nature did, its time was very limited.

Our garden was now winding down; it was time for change. The spicebush took on the glow of the Goldenrods which framed the garden in a gilded light. The Asters stood tall, from the whites to purples and everything in-between. It was now the moment for the White Snakeroot and the Thoroughwort to greet the fall like the painting of an early snow. The swamp sunflower just now blooming as if to say the beauty of the garden is still very much here, just stop a while and take a look.

We made it through another summer together, no season ever the same, everyone different from the other, but always with the same inevitable change.   

Sometimes, making it through the seasons comes with personal loss. But even so, like nature it is joined together with  a brand new beginning,  and yet that is what nature is, always moving ahead, always changing, always bringing forth a new season and renewing life, no matter the circumstances of our life’s journey. Never sit on the sidelines, it is best to go along with her and take it all in and enjoy nature’s beautiful ride.

The last flowers of summer are the first flowers of fall, and eventually even they will become the browns, ambers and russets of winter that are nature’s life energy that will eventually bring on the spring. Yes, it will seem to some like nature has slowed down, but in reality nature is taking a long, deep breath, gaining strength for its time of rebuilding, renewing and rejuvenating itself. The Eagles will fly along our lakes and rivers, the canvasbacks with gather in the Meadowlands, and the Harriers will hunt the grasslands again.

 For us, it is a time to slow down just a bit. But that slower pace also makes it the best time to sit back, consider what is important, and connect with nature and each other once again. Since time and immemorial we have become part of nature’s change and ultimate renewal, just as the last flowers of fall and the first flowers of spring .

See you in the Meadowlands

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society on a walk through these peaceful parks and natural areas that reflect the connection between the human experience and nature. The walk goes from 10 a.m. to noon.

Meet at Mill Creek Point Park at the end of Millridge Road, Secaucus

Contact: Don Torino – (201) 230-4983 greatauk4@gmail.com

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society as they lead a walk through one of the last remaining low-lying woodlands in the Meadowlands. The trail may be muddy; boots are highly recommended. The walk goes from 10 am to noon.

Losen Slote Creek Park is located in Little Ferry. Park in the lot adjacent to the soccer field on Mehrhof Road.

Contact: Don Torino at 201-230-4983.

Weather permitting, the William D. McDowell Observatory will open at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, for A3 Comet viewing. The comet will be visible from approximately 6:45 p.m. to 7:15 pm. Regular public viewing will then continue until 10 p.m. NOTE: Potential cloud cover or haze may impact the Comet’s visibility. Please bring binoculars if you have them.

The rare, once-in-a-lifetime comet is visible once every 80,000 years.

Please call 201-460-4001 on Wednesday for weather-related updates.