Wrap up:
By now, I had used up all my
film. I did not want to start a new roll, since I had tired of looking
through my camera viewfinder. It was time just to sight-see.
Dave and I headed to the last site, a well-known, publicly accessible
location called Webb's Mill Bog.
I would say without reservation that if you had limited time, and could
only visit one New Jersey site, make it Webb's Mill Bog. This place has
a great boardwalk so you can tromp all around the bog and never get your
feet wet or mess up the Sphagnum. We saw in glorious abundance
all the
common carnivorous species (Sarracenia purpurea,
Drosera intermedia, Drosera rotundifolia, Drosera filiformis,
Utricularia cornuta, Utricularia striata, Utricularia
gibba, and Utricularia subulata).
We also saw "Curly-grass fern" (Schizaea pusilla), a
very primitive plant of interest.
Particularly noteworthy was
the largest Drosera rotundifolia I had ever seen. With its large
lamina and long petioles, it was approximately 9-10 cm (3.5-4 inches)
in diameter. I was astounded.
A storm was brewing, and I had to get back to my rental car and drive to
Virginia, so I told Dave I wouldn't be able to have dinner with him. Alas.
Rain started pelting us from the dark clouds,
so we had to trot out of the bog.
After I said my goodbyes to Dave, I drove by myself through the tangled
roads of the Barrens. As I
reflected on the day's events, it dawned on me--all
the pieces fit. The proximity to Egg
Harbor. His death-goth music. The strange affinity
to ticks. His bright red hair. Did the angry storm appear only
only after I had refused
his dinner suggestions? Could the connection
to the Jersey Devil be any more obvious?
During the entire day, Dave never removed his shoes.
Cloven hooves would have been a dead give-away.
