Forest Hills Connection || News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood
Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield
by Marlene Berlin I know of one show that has not been postponed or cancelled. It’s free and open to the public. The outdoor temperature just has to be warm enough for its performers. The American toads take center stage, trilling along with the high pitches of the spring peepers and the leopard frog’s faint […]
by Marlene Berlin Signs of spring are popping out everywhere, so a few days ago I headed over to Broad Branch and Linnean Streams to look for two of my favorite springtime creatures – tadpoles and frogs. I found both, and both were very difficult to catch with my camera. The frogs were gone in […]
Shortly after we rang in the new year, spring arrived. At least, it felt that way. The National Weather Service reported “much-above-average temperatures” for January, and on February 3rd, it recorded a record high of 67 degrees at Dulles International Airport. It feels like spring to area plants and trees, too. Some of these are […]
by Marlene Berlin Some lessons of the bird feeder: Birds definitely have a pecking order. Never bet against a determined squirrel. And birds and squirrels aren’t the only creatures interested in its contents. A few nights ago, a mouse came to try its hand at getting seed out of the feeder. It did not hang […]
by Marjorie Rachlin Winter is a great time to take a good look at our trees. With no leaves it’s easy see their “bones” – shapes, structure, bark, seedpods. Here are seven to look for. Beech When I look out of my library window, I see the gray trunk of this beech, and below, the […]
by Marlene Berlin If there’s an upside to the cold wintry blast this week, it’s that the ponds in Broad Branch and Linnean Streams begin to ice over, and the patterns they create can be exquisite. The varied ice formations show how the water moves through these streams. Overnight freezes should enhance this ice show […]
by Marjorie Rachlin At night, high above us, a stream of birds is flying. Migrating birds are on the move. Some of them are migrating short distances – 200 to 300 miles – but many are long-distance migrants going to the tropics. Go out after dark, and you may hear their flight chirps. Migration is […]
It is too late now to hear the songs of most birds. Even the wood thrush has stopped its singing. I miss it. Next year. But the cacophony of nature continues in late August as insects take a starring role. Please take out your ear buds for a few minutes and listen to the sounds […]
by Marjorie Rachlin Wildflower or weed? It can be in the eye of the beholder. Take a look at some of the interesting summer wildflowers you can see on roadsides and meadows nearby. Rock Creek Park and the Broad Branch stream restoration are good places to start. Swamp milkweed In early August this lovely native […]
by David Jonathan Cohen In the last five years, I photographed birds in parks and wilderness on three continents. Here are five things I learned. Use the light. Where are the sun, the clouds, the shadows, my lens, and the bird? In a photo of a downy woodpecker, I see a sequel to days of […]
