(ignore April 30, 2017 publish date – this was published on January 20, 2021 – Inauguration Day!)

 

                                                   2020 IMAGE FOLDERS

(Plus 9 stragglers from the first half)

 

Annoying facts (similar to those of the first half):

Included are 259 images and 7 videos I photographed on 176 of the 184 days of Jul-Dec. Not counted as more than one are the ones with multiple images in them. A full 74% were taken from my apartment (why do you think I like living here? It’s a lazy photographer’s dream).

It’s become a MAJOR chore to do this on an annual basis, what with me taking about 14.6K photos this year. I DO try to lessen the load with daily placement of good pix into folders of varying subject matters and editing those folders on a monthly basis, but still…………

And instead of just throwing everything I shot into monthly categories to show some semblance of order, these will have a daily sequence.

To make this MORE time-consuming, I’m adding information to most of the images because I get a lot of “Nice pic – what the hell is it?” questions.

So let’s see how it goes for the 2020 second half. Feedback is appreciated.

 

And if you’re a glutton for punishment, here’s the post for the 2020’s first half pix:

https://iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com/?p=10658

 

The first-half Stragglers

May 5 – I just liked the crossing shadows that the upper wood made. BTW – that’s Holy Trinity School behind it, where all the Leafe kids learnt readin’, writin’, and cipherin’:

 

June 13 – Meanwhile, across the street, the Holy Trinity Church’s steeple gets framed by a pair of cranes:

 

June 23 – A man on a ladder – near a man with two ladders – gets handed a ladder, while a man with a shopping cart (possibly in the market for a ladder) goes by………and I get to capture all this top-flight drama from my living room:

 

June 24 – A construction worker dances a dangerous Twist six floors over Main St:

 

June 25 – Two more laddermen put up a confusing sign:

 

June 28 – Nice parking space if you live here:

 

June 30 – 3 odd, same-day pix from the same building:

 

So much for the first-half leftovers………….and now – on with the show!

 

JULY

July 3 – Victory! (no idea over what……………finding her car?):

 

July 4 – All of these were taken on the Fourth of July. Hackensack fireworks were Covid-cancelled, so some kind soul set off his own under a full moon – the only two fireworks shots I got this year:

 

July 3 and 4 – Well, I DID get some some local parking lot pyro video on the 3rd and the Empire State Building’s display on the 4th – some 10-12 miles away (see YouTube video in this link):

http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,3951.0.html

 

July 7 – Don’t look for this in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone:

 

July 11 – During and after the rain:

 

July 12 – No idea what’s going on here, but thanks for the thumb’s-up (and I hope your son’s head grows back):

 

July 14 – Interesting assortment of people:

 

July 15 – Two thoughts when I saw this pic: the Easy Rider movie and E-Z Wider rolling papers (Wider Rider):

 

July 16 – I took this photostitch at a portable, 1-day Covid testing site at Hackensack High School:

REGARDING ALL PHOTOSTITCHES AND ENLARGEMENTS: Click once or twice on the image for full enlargement. To go back, click however many times you did to get to the final enlargement and then hit your back button to return to the post.

 

July 16 – This was the most interesting sign at the testing site, so if you ever get dry mouth, go here:

 

July 16 – When I got home, I found these droopy wires partially blocking the church lot where I park. I called somebody and it got fixed the next day:

 

July 17 – New metal bench coming off a dolly……it was installed in the new sidewalk:

 

July 17 – Natural blonde?

 

July 18 – What a cute dog!

 

July 24 – Shelter from the storm:

 

July 25 – That horrible moment when you discover you’ve been ticketed………multiple times:

 

July 25 – Practicing for when it rains:

 

July 25 – C’mon, Mom – get with the program and pink it up!

 

July 25 – Giving Mom a well-deserved pat on the shoulder:

 

July 25 – Couldn’t let him in without a mask:

 

July 25 – Sun…

 

July 25 – …set

 

July 27 – Lazy dog…..and that mask now serves a dual purpose:

 

July 28 – Wire Dance:

 

July 28 – Shot through a window screen:

 

July 29 – Two construction shots from home (Hackensack Hospital and Main St):

 

July 31 – Tree trim:

 

July 31 – A sight I don’t usually see coming down Main St:

 

AUGUST

August 1 – Start the month off with a tall, thin, yellow smile:

 

August 1 – She was told to have a seat…………so she did:

 

August 1 – A Mickey Mouse shirt and flaming shorts? This is a very confused young man:

 

August 1 – No leash? No mask (that I can see)? And wearing 1 1/3 sleeves? More confusion………..

 

August 2 – This was a pretty cool story and you can read all about it here: https://iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com/?p=11128

 

August 3 – Fan of the fan:

 

August 4 – Burn up that watermark!

 

August 5 – Roomie swipes my face coverings:

 

August 5 – The victim was no match for that stomach-bump:

 

August 5 – Poor kid never saw a dead fence before (nice boots!):

 

August 5 – Maybe they can make a new fence from this:

 

August 6 – This is one of the few good shots of a fish crow:

 

August 6 – Usually, they’re flying around with stupid things in their beaks:

 

August 6 (and October 5 and 14) – The Two-Minute Stupid Fish Crow video:

 

August 6 – Same sidewalk, different purposes:

 

August 6 – The local – and rather iconic – Sears – was to close in September, so I took photos and video leading up to the close. The video is here: https://iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com/?p=11195, but I did want to include one unusual shot I took in this post of some of the faceless staff waiting for the end:

 

August 6 – OUCH! As you may have seen in the above video, after the Sears shoot, I tripped on an uneven street next to a construction site on my way home and – while protecting my camera – I landed smack on the top of my shoulder and sprained my AC joint. I didn’t even notice the arm problem (second pic) until after I got home. Fortunately – after 4 months of physical therapy – I’m pretty much back to normal:

 

August 6 – I was so angry and in pain from this incident that I polished off a bottle of Hennessy and bit a big chunk out of this wheel:

 

August 8 – Another daredevil 6 floors over Main St:

 

August 12 – My injuries turned yellow:

 

August 12 – I’m sorta filling in for a missing bird:

 

August 14 – On the left is my hat pin (I’m the king of my hat). When I took this picture, someone was selling the same pin (or trying to) for $50 on eBay. I had never seen a silver-colored one before until I found this one on a site in Spain for about 5 bucks:

 

August 15 – A lot of people in my neighborhood do this:

 

August 15 – Something bad must have happened in the time between these two shots:

 

August 17 – Strange clouds on my birthday:

 

August 17 – Besides that multi-unit project that I shoot from my east-facing living room window, I also get to shoot this one from my north window:

 

August 19 – And here’s another from that north window:

 

August 21 – Another dopey fish crow with something it can’t eat in its beak……..especially when it’s sitting in a tree and can’t put it down:

 

August 23 – I don’t know if that tinting is legal in NJ, but it looks cool:

 

August 24 – I’d love to know this guy’s shirt story:

 

August 26 – I DO know this guy’s shirt story because I read it here: https://iaintjustmusic.bobleafe.com/?p=11433

 

August 26 – This guy needs at least one more hand:

 

August 27 – If I read this woman correctly, she’s a Coronavirus nurse AND a census-taker. Double-hero!

 

August 28 – I’m not reading ANYBODY correctly in this pic. It just looked strange so I shot it:

 

August 29 – Didn’t know they did cars too. Hey – why not? They used to BE one!

 

August 29 – Someone’s getting a welcomed delivery:

 

August 29 – Cool-looking hearse:

 

August 29 – Mount Cloud erupts:

 

August 30 – Hackensack has decided to give itself a really unfortunate nickname: “The Sack”. This is a mural just off Main St:

Could you guess? I’m not a fan: http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,3980

 

August 30 – Here are 3 other shots I took while on Main St:

 

August 30 – Good way to finish the day’s shoot:

 

August 31 – Are these guys fighting over a bike?

 

SEPTEMBER

September 1 – Nice wheels!

 

September 1 – Slightly ominous-looking:

 

September 4 – These are two pictures taken 2 minutes and 11 seconds apart as the reflecting sun sets:

 

September 5 – Nice double image:

 

September 5 – Something I don’t see every day:

 

September 5 – Another double image. Her top says “Hell was boring” (so she came to Hackensack instead?):

 

September 6 – How to ruin nice wheel covers:

 

September 8 – Interesting message:

 

September 10 – Rain on the roof:

 

September 11 – (STITCH) Considering the date, the clouds behind Manhattan remind me of the smoke coming out of the WTC 19 years prior:

 

September 11 – Same date……..I think you know what this one’s about:

 

September 11 – Still the same date………I think my eyeball burst a blood vessel in sympathy. Nothing serious, no problems and it went away:

 

September 12 – Part of Fairleigh Dickinson University on the Teaneck side of the Hackensack River:

 

September 15: Blue Jay from my living room window:

 

September 15: White Manna is a FAMOUS burger joint (ask Guy Fieri) that’s 3 blocks from where I live. In this pic, it appears that the place gives you gas on one side and it Hertz on the other:

 

September 16 – When I first saw this scene, I was half-expecting this thing to raise one of its steel legs in the air:

 

September 16 – This strange-looking vehicle is an Uber Eats delivery bike:

 

September 16 – Gotta show off that tummy ink:

 

September 16 – Remember when the smoke from the California fires was heading east? This is what sunset looked like when it got here:

 

September 19 – More carried kids:

 

September 20 – Flower girls:

 

September 22 – Six days later, the California smoke is still hanging around:

 

September 23 – Yelling Guy Smokes! video:

 

September 26 – Love to know what this guy was rejoicing about:

 

September 26 – Or what this shirt is about (besides money):

 

September 26 – This is a job I’m glad I don’t have:

 

September 27 – I see these women every Sunday morning outside of a church and their outfits are a joy to view. There will be more upcoming:

 

OCTOBER

October 1 – The Birthday Fairy:

 

October 1 – Sometimes, the better shot comes right AFTER sunset:

 

October 2 – Did this guy drive into the back of a flatbed truck? (No, but it looks that way):

 

October 2 – This shows the moon and Mars (tiny white dot in upper left):

 

October 3 – Remember the uglified wheel covers this guy painted last month?

 

October 3 – Speaking of uglified…………..

 

October 4 – Imagine paying thousands of dollars a month (when it’s finished) to live in this Main St-fronting building (this is the back) and finding out there are freight train railroad tracks right next door:

 

October 4 – Pretty creative bicycle – now built for two:

 

October 4 – I found all these little blue pinwheels on the lawn of the Bergen County Courthouse, but was never able to find out what they represented:

 

October 4 – Would this be your first choice of a name for your pizzeria?

 

October 4 – There used to be a Woolworth’s Five and Dime at this location on Main St many years ago, so it’s nice that they’ve kept the name and the color scheme for this new multi-unit residential project. I’m guessing that one-bedroom units go for a nickel, two-bedroom ones are a dime and the penthouse is five and dime? Sign me up!

 

October 4 – Remember that propped-open storm grating in August? Perhaps these are the brand new replacements:

 

October 4 – I’d hate to tell people that I lived in a place with a name like “The Current” or “The Modern” (in Fort Lee) because the automatic response is “The Current/Modern what?”. Adjectives are not names. However this one might work if you use the picture on the left with all the electrical wires. Then “The Current” could be a noun:

 

October 4 – North and west are the same direction?

 

October 7 – The view from Foschini Park:

 

October 7 – A park resident:

October 7 – At first glance, this guy could have been kidnapping this child and throwing her in the trunk. It turns out to probably be her grandfather, who might pass for Chris Mathews, late of MSNBC:

 

October 7 – Oops! (I heard this happen – they cleaned it right up):

 

October 8 – Art behind my building (I had to shoot fast from a distance, so the composition isn’t great):

 

October 10 – Dark laundry day:

 

October 10 – Three buds:

 

October 10 – Awkward grabby guy:

 

October 11 – Sidewalk and street traffic:

 

October 11 – Higher on the tire:

 

October 13, 14, 15 – 6:06pm, 6:11pm, 6:05pm:

 

October 15 – When I took the picture, I thought the guy was in a hole:

 

October 17 – Hmmm………..I wonder what that guy’s looking at. It sure ain’t what she’s looking at:

 

October 18 – More Sunday morning color:

 

October 19 – (More stupid fish crows) The Bergen Bench Players put on a show for a spellbound audience:

 

October 19 – This one flew from the garbage can to a fence with his prized piece of aluminum foil, started to shake it and then dropped it. I’m sure his friends were impressed:

 

October 19 – ……..and this one watched from the garbage seats:

 

October 19 – But the real reason I visited the Union St Park – about a mile down the street from me – was not avian stupidity, but rather the work depicted in these 3 images:

 

October 19 – Then I went home and was underwhelmed by this pic taken from my north living room window of the 435 Main St project:

 

October 23 – More progress on the same project. I think this is the extent of what they’re taking away from my view of the Sears tower:

 

October 24 – This was such a nice fall colors shot when it included the river. What will the future occupants think when they see me constantly aiming a camera in their direction?

 

October 24 – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a going-out-of-business sign on a car before. Who would be able to read everything on the sign while it’s passing by – Evelyn Wood? (you might want to Google that name) Usually, the roof holds a Domino’s Pizza sign:

 

October 24 – These are 3 consecutive shots taken as I dial back the distance on this rather astounding reflection and then a 4th after it calmed down a bit:

 

October 24 – Hmmm…………..a cigar or a blunt?

 

October 25 – These are sections of scaffolding piled high on a construction site:

 

October 25 – Equally colorful are my favorite church ladies:

 

October 27 – What exactly are self-cleaning elevator buttons? Did my finger clean off the touch of the prior person going to the same floor?

(The answer: It means turning dirty, high traffic public touchpoints into cleaner surfaces you can see.

NanoSeptic Skins and Mats turn dirty high traffic, public touchpoints into continuously self-cleaning surfaces. Powered by light, NanoSeptic surfaces utilize mineral nano-crystals which create a powerful oxidation reaction. Working 24/7, the surface continually oxidizes organic contaminants. Unlike traditional disinfectants and cleaners, the NanoSeptic surface uses no poisons, heavy metals or chemicals, and nothing is released from the surface since the nano-crystals are molecularly bonded to the material.)

Got that?

 

October 27 – I took that elevator to go up to “2” for my shoulder physical therapy, where – during my first exercise – I noticed this cute little Halloween figure next to a rather interesting name. Did one ID the other? Who knows? Shoot first and ask questions later:

 

October 27 – This day – 4 days before Halloween – was when the therapists would have their Halloween party during their lunch break. The theme this year was lumberjacks (?) and every therapist looked the part for the full work day – not just at the party – so my shoulder got worked on by someone in a flannel shirt and jeans (one of the therapists in the below pic I took before I left – let’s just say it was the redless non-conformist).

I didn’t stick around for the party, but I did introduce them beforehand to an appropriately-humorous song that I think was played at the event:

 

October 31 – Halloween! In the first pic, a young boy discovers his father’s favorite alter-ego. In the second one, all this buzzing around from door to door has made this bee too pooped to fly:

 

NOVEMBER

November 3 – It looks like all one piece. Where does the bike end and the rider begin?

 

November 3 – Oddservation on “Last Week Tonight”:

 

November 5 – An unusual assortment of shapes at Physical Therapy:

 

November 5 – Jackhammer cigarette break:

 

November 5 – Death of a traffic island (and a traffic cone):

 

November 5 – For want of a “T”……..Geez, you can even see the quarter that’s “suck” and there are only 5 words to proofread. You deserve to be fined 25 cents!

 

November 5 – This is the day I was invited to shoot from the roof of the big project across from my living room window – the 389 Main St project……….the one that now blocks my great view of the Hackensack River that I had for 31 years.

While I waited for the project superintendant in the garage, I took a shot of this original artist’s conception of the building that was on his work desk. I have no idea what the yellow tube paperweight contained:

 

November 5 – Of course, the first thing I did when I got on the roof was to shoot a multiple-image photo stitch of the river that lined up and turned out well (many don’t when you try to line them up hand-held):

 

November 5 – Aliens on the roof:

 

November 5 – West view (the top 2 windows on the right are my bedroom windows):

 

November 5 – The traffic island destruction from 6 floors up (while I’m laying on my stomach at the edge):

 

November 5 – PHOTOSTITCH – Main St looking south. On the horizon, you can barely make out some of the Manhattan skyline in the haze:

Interesting story: Right on Main St where the next block begins (after where the truck and red car are crossing Main St) is where the south-facing stage for the annual Main St Festival is erected.

In 2015, the entertainment headliners were the Village People, whose “dressing room” was in the big brick building on the left. That building is the……Y-M-C-A !

I happened to take a few pictures that day if you’re interested:

http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,3206

 

November 5 – A rather weird photostitch of Main St and the demolished traffic island taken looking straight down:

 

November 5 – Taking Down The Traffic Island video (from ground level and 6 floors up):

 

November 6 – Awwww!

 

November 7 – Great costumes, but they’re both about a week late for Halloween:

 

November 7 – Best news of the year:

 

November 8 – An odd assortment of things:

 

November 8 – It must be Sunday:

 

November 8 – Side view, upper floors, 389 Main project:

 

November 9 – return to 389 Main’s top floor to shoot apartment views from Main St side (east) and Ward St side (north). No roof access today:

 

November 9 (same shoot) – These are two photostitches showing west views. I took the first one for me. My unit is right above my watermark. The wide window on top is my big living room picture window, from which I take most of my pictures, including NYC:

 

This one shows everything than can be seen – side-to-side – from this unit (you can see parts of the building I’m in on both ends of the stitch):

 

November 10 – What the hell is he carrying (besides a drink)?

 

November 10 – Usually, everything makes sense when you show the entire item. But when you only show part of it………….fingers start scratching heads:

 

November 10 – A cute little squoil behind my building:

 

November 10 – Remember this scene? Someone added a wheelbarrow…………I don’t think it helps:

 

November 14 – From my kitchen window (overlooking the roof):

 

November 15 – A quick-moving, nasty little drencher came through this evening:

 

 

November 16 – Two more reflection shots taken 15 seconds apart. I had to compose quickly to capture the plane coming in for a landing at Teterboro Airport:

 

November 17 – The winner of the Oddest Christmas Door Mat award lives right below me:

 

November 19 – A view from the Physical Therapy room (why is there an apostrophe in “Sundays”? Jerk, indeed!):

 

November 21 – Momma, the bike mechanic:

 

November 21 – Probably not Rosie the Waitress from the old Bounty commercials:

 

November 21 – Hon and Dearie again:

 

November 21 – I have a friend named Eric Leefe (no relation), whom I’ve written about many times on this blog. He’s been wheelchair-bound for his entire life (Cerebral Palsy), but he fronted bands on Long Island back in the day and still writes songs and puts out albums. He once told me that he wanted to be remembered in connection with the 1980s music scene.

He mentioned the 80s so often that I told him early on that my nickname for him was “Eight-Oh”. I’ve called him that almost all of the time since we met 7 years ago.

On 11-21-20, I saw a rubber band on my desk and instantly thought of Eric because it looked like it had formed an eight and a zero, so I had to take a picture of it.

Good thing I did because once I picked it up, I could never get it to form the same shape again.

So here’s my friend Eric – the “Eight Oh” yellow rubber band:

 

November 27 – These are two shots from my south-facing window – one near and one far. The near one was two houses away where a crooked chimney was being repaired/stabilized. Everything was a little off-kilter and I felt bad for the man trying to navigate on this crooked structure.

The far one was about a mile away where Hackensack Hospital was building a large addition. Both pictures were illuminated by early-morning sunlight:

 

November 28 – Faceless walker with an umbrella on a sunny day:

 

November 28 – It looks like it’s cold on the far side of the street and warm on the near side, as the cold man observes the warm woman lugging a pink crib – something you definitely don’t see every day:

Interesting shot to end the month with.

 

DECEMBER

December 1 – Two interesting exterior shots of a food establishment on Anderson St – about 3 blocks from me:

 

December 2 – A GREAT sunrise!

 

December 5 – Remember Momma the bike mechanic? Here she is going 1 for 2 throwing a Frisbee:

 

December 5 – Mr. NYFRSH is also Mr. NJNOMASK, according to his hat:

 

December 5 – Camera-shy dog stares at my watermark:

 

December 5 – Uh-oh! Political “humor”. Looks like election fraud. Call Rudy!

 

December 5 – Two more photostitches taken near sunset – one near and the other far:

 

December 12 – Fashion battle! I think I’m leaning to the right on this one (and THAT doesn’t happen very often!):

 

December 13 – Final Sunday church lady shot of the year:

 

December 13 – I don’t know who gets all of these Christmas goodies, but I know my name’s on one of those packages:

 

December 13 – Somewhere, a crèche is missing its child:

 

December 13 – There’s nothing special about this shot. I just liked the bright-colored towels in the sun:

 

December 13 – A house of worship across the river in Teaneck:

 

December 13 – Four sunset reflection shots:

 

December 16 – These look like a bunch of used face masks shot from underneath, but why and what do they represent, if anything?

 

December 16 – Actually, there are about 27 of them, I think, and they represent each Physical Therapy appointment I attended for my shoulder (I had “graduated” the day before. The facility wouldn’t let me use my bandanna mask, so I got a new one from them on each visit). My 7’ roommate – who stands guard by my front door – holds onto them for when I need one quickly, like whenever the doorbell rings. He also keeps a new one in each of his two pockets. I guess this kinda makes up for him paying no rent:

 

December 17 – This is the only semi-significant snowfall we’ve had this winter so far (we were supposed to get 10” and wound up with about 4):

 

December 18 – Another blazing sunrise:

 

December 18 – Can this Hackensack crane successfully pluck this century-plus old chimney from its base across the Hackensack River in Bogota?

 

December 18 – Are you getting tired of these sunset reflection shots yet?

 

December 19 – EVERY Saturday, this car dealership puts out these balloon displays, as if seeing balloons makes people REALLY want so much more to buy a car:

 

December 19 – Kids. Why walk on a cleared path when you can trudge through the snow?

 

December 19 – Interesting-looking vehicle. BTW – the restaurant’s name is “Noches de Columbia”:

 

December 20 – Some slob dumped a pile of crap in the parking lot and the fish crows went wild:

December 20 – The Fish Crow Feast video:

 

December 22 – These guys are just happy they’re not fish crows:

 

December 22 – A few days earlier, I had to go through a 4-hour nuclear stress test and during the treadmill part, had all these electrodes attached to me. When I got home, I realized that somebody forgot to remove them, so I had to. I stuck all 10 of them together – complete with chest hairs – and made a show of “returning their property” to them on my followup visit. BTW – I passed:

 

December 22 – Four days after trying to uproot that old chimney, the Hackensack crane now thinks it can yank the Empire State Building out of Manhattan. Good luck!

 

December 23 – 4 pix from a stroll on the Hackensack River Walkway (the video for this is in my previous post, “2020 – Escape from the apartment for an hour”):

 

December 26 – A walking, faceless hooded parka:

 

December 26 – Day-after-Christmas party?

 

December 27 – New Christmas clothes for his kids?

 

December 27 – Sunset near the hospital:

 

December 30 – Stunning sunrise on the year’s penultimate day (the second shot is my view from home of the top of the New Jersey tower of the George Washington Bridge – about 6 miles away):

 

December 31 – Cleaning up after early celebrations that this is the final day of this horrible year:

 

December 31 – What better way to end an extremely sucky year than seeing a little girl make one final big splash to wash it all away? I shot this in late afternoon on 12-31:

 

So, how have I spent the first couple of weeks of 2021?

Putting this monstrous post together – hope you enjoyed it.