Early Halloween on a lake in New Jersey

A friend of mine lives on a lake in Medford and Saturday we witnessed a first, at least as far as I've ever seen: Trick-or-treating by canoe and boat.

The whole lake community was alerted a few weeks ago that the kids, and some parents along for the ride, would be trick-or-treating on the lake. Some people had their docks and bulkheads fully decorated for Halloween, complete with scary music, cobwebs, frightening costumes and even a smoke machine.

The trick or treat flotilla went on from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, and kids and parents seemed to love it. Some people wore masks, and some didn't. No one was within six feet of each other for more than 10 minutes, which is the standard considered a "close contact" for potential exposure to COVID-19 according to CDC contact tracing guidelines.

It was the first year this lake community did anything like this to the best of anyone's recollection. It really was a bright spot at a time and in a world where we can use as many as we can get. Here are some highlights.