Still Time for Joy

The Delaware Bay is known as the horseshoe crab capital of the world. In May and June, millions of crabs come onto the beaches to spawn, and each female lays thousands of eggs. 

While the horseshoe crab has existed for some 400 million years, more than once their population has been decimated by overharvesting. In turn, other species have been severely impacted - including the threatened red knot - that depend on horseshoe crab eggs...

On Saturday, May 24, 2025, the Lacey Elks Lodge in Ocean County, New Jersey, held a large party to thank first responders for their work battling the Jones Road Wildfire, with no loss of homes or lives. The fire, that started April 22 after a bonfire in the Pine Barrens was improperly extinguished, spread quickly, threatening homes and businesses in Lacey Township and Ocean Township, an alpaca farm, and even an inactive nuclear pow...

Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program matches women volunteers with home construction projects and opportunities to perform critical home repairs. In volunteering, the women learn new construction skills, help people in their community with housing needs, and forge lasting friendships.

Kristine Novakowski, chief executive officer of Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity in central New Jersey, at the Jersey Shore, explains how the...

There are so many benefits to native plant gardening for the environment, wildlife, and people.  Lisa Mazzuca is an Ocean County Master Naturalist at the New Jersey Shore, who has created a food forest by knowing which plants to choose, and how to care for them.

The magic starts with the soil, which in New Jersey’s coastal plain, is famously sandy. Mazzuca explains how to improve the soil, and lists numerous plants and tre...

The 33rd Annual River to Bay 5K Classic was held in Island Heights, NJ, on May 3, 2025, a fundraiser run by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Toms River. The popular event was started by a beloved local dentist and past president of Kiwanis, the late Dr. Ed McComsey. Over the years the event has raised well over $500,000 for various children's charities at the New Jersey Shore.

Members of Kiwanis say they enjoy the camaraderie of the...

     For years, Loree Mahalchick has been providing therapeutic horseback riding, especially to children with special needs. She and her husband, Tom, run the nonprofit Horse Sense Therapeutic Center in Howell, New Jersey.

     The couple's only son, Tommy, an avid ice hockey player, was prescribed oxycontin for several injuries, which eventually led to a heroin addiction. 
Last June, while trying to protect a nei...

Often, when people move, they don't know what to do with the food in their pantries, and they simply throw it in the trash. Adam Lowy, whose great-grandfather started the family moving business more than 100 years ago, began offering in 2009 to take customers' unwanted, nonperishable food to the local food bank. He then founded the nonprofit Move for Hunger, based in Neptune, NJ, which has since grown to include a network...

Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia can be a very rewarding experience, but also can leave caregivers feeling frustrated, due to challenging behaviors that are often part of the journey. Watch this episode for some simple tips on dealing with repetitive questions, anxiety, and even hallucinations. 

Deb Hallisey, who is the founder of Advocate for Mom and Dad, a caregiver advocate, and a ...

In early spring, ospreys return to the New Jersey Shore and other coastal areas after spending winters in places as far away as South America. There were only about 50 breeding pairs of ospreys here in the 1970s, after widespread use of the pesticide DDT and development caused their numbers to plummet. After DDT use was banned, biologists, environmentalists, and volunteers--led by legendary naturalist Pete McLain--installed nesting...

The underwater world of SCUBA diving can be incredibly peaceful and beautiful, the perfect environment for combat war veterans to decompress and quiet their minds after serving in the military. Some veterans return home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and statistics show about 17 veterans in the United States die by suicide every day.

Wanting to do her part to help lessen the suffering, Sharon Patterson co-f...

The arrival of spring means the greenhouses at Lanza's Flower Farm in Wall Township, New Jersey, are bursting with young plants—pansies, petunias, begonias, and more. Chris Difeo spent much of his life working in the family car dealership business before buying a nursery in 2020 and converting it into a flower farm.

Difeo feels great satisfaction from raising flowers and beekeeping, and his customers find great joy in visiting ...

In June 2024, Toms River Township's 10-year-old animal shelter was abruptly shut down, leaving animal advocates scrambling for solutions. Now, a shared services agreement is in place, which calls for Ocean County to run Toms River's shelter after renovations are completed.

Some residents have rallied and thousands signed a petition, angry that the relatively new shelter was shuttered. They also are unhappy that animal...

Best Friends Animal Society is holding "Bring No-Kill Home Summits" around the country as it strives to reach an ambitious goal: end the killing of adoptable shelter animals in 2025.

For decades, millions of healthy, adoptable animals were euthanized in shelters every year when the facilities ran out of space. Best Friends made a commitment in 2016 (when their statistics showed about two million deaths) to work towards end...

For people living with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, memories of music often remain, even after so many others are gone. With the help of a book, "Music, Memory, and Meaning", co-authored by music therapist Tara Jenkins, caregivers can learn how to use music to bring some joy to their loved ones, and in some cases, even reduce difficult behaviors.

Jenkins, founder of Harmony in Dementia, has been a boa...

When is the last time you explored the night sky firsthand and looked at the moon and the stars? Watch this episode with beautiful images of the moon, the Milky Way, and more, to be inspired to get outside and look up.
Jim Webster, president of the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area (ASTRA), says we all should explore the night sky more often. ASTRA holds "Star Parties", where members share their telescopes a...

Grief is an inevitable part of the caregiver journey, especially in dementia caregiving. Grief may not be acknowledged as people living with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia are still present, even as caregivers watch with despair as they slip away, often over the course of many years. 

Caregivers also grieve the changes to their own lives, as dementia caregiving can quickly become all-consuming, and exact a heav...

When you think about techniques to reduce stress, holding your breath underwater may not immediately come to mind. But with proper training, free diving can provide both physical and mental health benefits, similar to meditation practices and yoga.

Brandon Cadalzo, who grew up snorkeling and scuba diving at the New Jersey Shore, found free diving helped him deal with the trauma of working as a respiratory therapist during the Covid-...

Caregivers often are so busy scheduling appointments with doctors for their loved ones, and handling countless other caregiving tasks, that they wind up neglecting their own physical and emotional needs. This is not sustainable, and it leads to frustration, anger, and overwhelm. Caregivers need to shift their mindset and realize that their own needs are just as important as the needs of their loved one. 

Deb Hallisey is a ...

If you’re looking to instantly add a little more joy to your life, consider sending flowers, or buying some for yourself. Studies show gifting flowers boosts the mood of both sender and recipient, and also strengthens their bond. The sight and fragrance of beautiful, fresh flowers increases feel-good brain chemicals, too.

Ken Malagiere, owner of Narcissus Florals in Toms River and Spring Lake, NJ, explains how his own work...