Forest Hills Connection || News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood
Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield
by Marjorie Rachlin What is that pile of junk and brush in my garden? It’s a winter hotel – a place for insects and small critters like toads and garden snakes to find shelter. They need a place to keep out the winter cold and protection against predators. Many butterflies, bees, beetles, ladybugs and other […]
In the summer and early fall, sudden downpours would send us running for cover. Now, we risk being bombarded by acorns. The Washington Post confirms Washington’s white oak trees are producing a bumper crop, the likes of which we see only every few years… like in 2012, when Marjorie Rachlin wrote about the dining habits […]
by Marlene Berlin In the fall, as acorns rain down on our heads and mushrooms abound, another rather strange plant pops up: the beech drop. Beech drops don’t get their sustenance from chlorophyll. They are parasites that develop a structure called a haustorium. It grows into the beech roots to siphon off nutrients. For pollination, […]
by Marjorie Rachlin photos by Larry Meade, North Virginia Bird Club Have you noticed the dragonflies lately? Swooping over your front yard? Dodging the cars in the Politics and Prose parking lot? Patrolling in a loop-the-loop over your garden? Where’s the water? Dragonflies always live near water, right? Actually, they will use any large open […]
The excessive rain and humidity of the past month has been rough on trees and roads. But it’s been absolutely perfect for mushrooms. Usually the soaking rains of fall are what coaxes these fungi to sprout in our tree boxes, yards and Rock Creek Park. The park is where I found these fascinating specimens. – […]
by Marlene Berlin A new family has moved into Forest Hills. By the looks of it, they probably made their first appearance in the spring, but I missed it. Introductions were made along the Linnean stream on July 15th. The mother and her three offspring were enjoying a swim. Dad was off gallivanting somewhere, I […]
by Marlene Berlin What would tempt me out on a hot July day that was supposed to reach 99 degrees? Bullfrogs, of course. I heard a couple of bullfrogs on a stroll one recent evening by the Linnean and Broad Branch streams. Then, on a Sunday morning walk along Rock Creek north of Peirce Mill, […]
A sure sign of spring (in one of the un-surest springs we can recall) is the annual herring run. Marjorie Rachlin wrote in 2012 about the annual upstream migration. If the conditions are right, some of them head up Rock Creek to lay their eggs. It would seem that conditions are right. Can you pick […]
by Marlene Berlin When the calendar says mid-April but the temperatures are more early March… well, it’s discouraging. But take heart. Nature knows that a warm-up is right around the corner. We saw early signs in the blossoming trees and blooming daffodils of early March. Early this month, wildflower blooms gave us another hint of […]
by David Cohen Love vibrant color and stunning design? Marvel at the magic of nature? Go crazy over butterflies? Then April 18 is your day! Walk into “hundreds of brilliant live butterflies from North America, Costa Rica, Africa and Asia…” Discover “their amazing metamorphosis, the important role butterflies play in healthy ecosystems, and how to […]
