Just in time for driving around the countrside and visiting farms and orchards, Exploring Nature’s Bounty, a new release by Rivergate/Rutgers University Press, offers a hundred outings within a couple of hours of New York City – therefore, several destinations in North/Central New Jersey are included, along with places in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. And, of, course New York – so if you’re planning to visit the Hudson Valley, Long Island, really almost anywhere an hour or two from the city, take this handy book along.
The book focuses on the natural, the organic, the sustainable, and the close-at-hand, and of course the places included welcome visitors. There are farms, orchards, herb gardens, and vineyards, preserves and historic sites, u-pick-it spots, plus apiaries and unusual greenhouses.
This is a collaboration (and not the first) between lifelong friends Lucy D. Rosenfeld and Marina Harrison, and it covers a lot of the more out-of-the way places not everyone from outside the immediate area might know of. Did you know about the beautiful Evergreen Farm Asian pear orchard in Hamilton? It’s in there. Of course, Terhune Orchards is in there too, as are cranberry bogs (complete with a recipe), and spots for mushroom hunting forays.
The authors also provide a list of festivals featuring local produce and, at the end of the book, a guide to choosing an outing that will best fit your needs. Directions are provided in each write-up as well as information on schedules, guided tours, and walks within many of the sites.
(A thought – I wonder if a new edition someday might use scannable QR codes that automatically load a map onto your smart phone?)
NJ SPICE 