by Marlene Berlin Talk about delayed gratification. About two dozen volunteers came out Sunday, November 10th to plant daffodils and other spring bulbs along the west side of Connecticut Avenue in Van Ness. And they won’t see the fruits – or flowers – of their labors until spring. Kathy Sykes is a friend of Van […]
Five things I learned from five years of photographing birds
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 […]
Photos: A Forest Hills snow/slush day
by Marlene Berlin Residents of Forest Hills DC woke up to snow on Wednesday. We are used to waking up to the sound of early morning snowplows on these days, but as of 2:30 p.m. many of the streets and sidewalks remained unplowed and unshoveled. The first plow came up 30th Street at 4:10 p.m. […]
Photos: Broad Branch and Linnean Streams on ice… and an unexpected touch of spring
by Marlene Berlin Cold and clear weather provides a great opportunity to see our local streams dressed up in their icy finery. On my walk Wednesday to Broad Branch Market to get my Black Rooster Rye bread, I decided to take a look at the Broad Branch and Linnean Streams. Because of all the rain […]
Photos: A walk through a wintry wonderland… give or take some unshoveled sidewalks
I was greeted by a winter wonderland scene outside my kitchen window Monday morning. I waited till the afternoon to get out and explore. By 2:30 p.m., Albemarle Street was clear. Getting down into Soapstone Valley from Linnean was not too bad. And these were the scenes that greeted me. Cars were parked outside the […]
Photos: Late-arriving fall foliage makes a dramatic entrance
by Marlene Berlin Last weekend, our late-arriving fall colors finally popped. (The Washington Post says it was the best in years.) It was a glorious time to be out walking in Rock Creek Park and the neighborhood. With a picture perfect blue sky and brilliant sun, the yellows, oranges and reds danced off the waters […]
Photos: The spookiest block in Forest Hills DC
Many of our neighbors go all out for Halloween. But few blocks do it up like Chesterfield Place in Forest Hills. The decorations are massive, including inflatables stretching two stories high. A deejay serenades trick-or-treaters with spooky music. One participant projects classic scary movies onto one of the houses. Scariest of all? According to resident […]
Photos: Rock Creek roars again
by Marlene Berlin I was high above Rock Creek when I heard it roar. So I trotted down to creek level. The sight that greeted me was a captivating display of the power of water. My Sunday morning hike followed the record-breaking July 21st rainstorm. Rapids at times edged up to the trail. As water […]
July 4th flashback: When the Netherlands celebrated U.S. independence
Happy 4th, everyone! In 1919, the Embassy of the Netherlands entered this float in the National Independence Day Parade. It looks almost real enough to set sail on the Potomac. Alas, these seafarers had just half a ship. The Netherlands is one of the United States’ oldest allies, with ties dating back to the American […]
Photos and videos: Overflowing Soapstone and Broad Branch streams after a record stretch of rainfall
by Marlene Berlin According to the Capital Weather Gang, more than five inches of rain fell in the District last week. The average rainfall for the entire month of May? 3.99 inches. On six consecutive days, we received at least .4 inches of rain. That lengthy stretch with so much rain is a record. And […]