[Journal entry for February 28, 2015; Alpine Marsh, Alpine NJ] For a few minutes in the late afternoon, I walked around the edge of Alpine Marsh, just west of Route 9W in Alpine NJ. I have driven by the marsh hundreds of times, but this was the first time I stopped to view it. Its surface was snow-covered and crossed by long shadows of tree trunks cast by the later afternoon sun. The east end has tall bushes extending up through the snow, but its surface elsewhere is completely buried. The north shore is set against a picturesque background of tall trees, lit nicely by the sun. One is branchless and hollow; a good roosting place for hawks. 0:20.