Guide Me Home to Chatham, NJ

Apples, pumpkins, corn stalks, and various colors of mums all signal the start of the fall season! It’s hard to believe that summer has passed and fall is officially here. I hope everyone had a great start to the new school year; the real sign that fall has arrived.

As the leaves begin to change, there are many fun events to experience this time of year. Most local farmer’s markets will stay open through the fall season. A favorite of ours is the return of apple cider from local farms. A wonderful way to spend an afternoon with kids is at the local corn maze at Wightman’s. They have hayrides, pumpkins and much more.

To learn about other locations with mazes in New Jersey, click here.

Enjoy a theatrical performance in Madison at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. The Grapes of Wrath will be running from October 21st-November15th.

Harding Township offers wonderful parks where soccer games, field hockey, cross country and boys tennis are in full swing.

The Friends of Great Swamp has a fall calendar of events featuring everything from deer hunts to the Junior Refuge Manager program for kids.

So enjoy the fall; get out and have some fun at the various activities going on right now in your neighborhood.

Posted by:Lois Olmstead

Harding Township is a rural community made up of New Vernon and a section of Green Village (the rest of Green Village is part of Chatham Township).

Harding Township and its surrounding communities share a special resource: The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. It’s one of my favorite places to take a walk.

Part of “the swamp”, as it is affectionately called, is in Harding Township. It’s essential to Harding’s character and helps preserve the rural setting. Another important function of the swamp is to help clean and maintain the watershed. It is a wonderful community entity, with several educational centers and numerous trails. The “wildlife” part of the title is well deserved as it is home to a variety of thriving wildlife.

One Saturday morning we took my brother, his wife and our nephews, (who were visiting from Connecticut) on a hike in the swamp.

It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for such a venture. As we approached the Wildlife Observation Center on Long Hill Road, we noticed the parking lot was full. There were people everywhere; volunteers from the Friends of Great Swamp greeted us with lots of information about their programs and asked for donations to help support this worthy cause. Highlights of our walk included seeing, by my nephew Michael’s count, about 25 painted turtles. There was a group of adult volunteers who allowed us to look through a special telescope to see an egg that was in a nest closely guarded by a female Mallard. We were told it will be about 28 days and that she must keep the egg warm and moist for incubation. It was an exciting trip!

Posted by:Lois Olmstead