Forest Hills Connection || News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood
Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield
by Marjorie Rachlin Did you know there is an heirloom orchard in Forest Hills? It’s next to Peirce Mill, our restored grist mill on Rock Creek at Beach Drive and Tilden Streets. This orchard is planted with heirloom apples and pears, old varieties that would have been grown in the 19th century when the mill […]
Plans for your July 4th week staycation and beyond! Washington, DC has an abundance of historical sites, beautiful vistas and fun activities, and some of them are quite close to home. Here are a few nearby things to do and places to see, whether you have out-of-town guests to entertain or are looking for a […]
by Marjorie Rachlin It’s birding time in Rock Creek Park. Migrating flocks have begun to move up the east coast to northern nesting sites, and local birdwatchers are gathering on the ridge near the Rock Creek Nature Center, too. On a good weekend morning there will be 30 or 40 birders walking the trails in […]
by David Cohen The Audubon Naturalist Society (audubonnaturalist.org) has its headquarters at Woodend, its Chevy Chase, Maryland mansion and grounds at 8940 Jones Mill Road. Its first mention that I can find on the Forest Hills Connection came in a 2012 post by Marjorie Rachlin, “Table Manners At The Bird Feeder.” Marlene Berlin (“A birdfeeder […]
Some of our neighbors are inviting us over in May. And we should jump at the chance to visit. Embassy tours on May 6th and 13th feature diplomatic missions here in Forest Hills and Van Ness. The first one is the Around the World Embassy Tour, one of a number of Passport DC events sponsored […]
by David Cohen Thank you, Marlene Berlin! When I sent my photos from Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, Virginia, she suggested I look at Marjorie Rachlin’s marvelous 2013 and 2015 postings on wildlife in winter. That prompted me to look for winter wildlife in our neighborhood. Once again, it took a trip afar to […]
by Gary Stevens I am an orchidholic. There, I admit it. Like so many things in life, it started with just one. Then like potato chips, I couldn’t stop. Now I have about 400 orchids. (It’s best not to be too specific about exactly how many are in my collection, or I may be in […]
by Marjorie Rachlin There’s a spectacular constellation in easy view this time of year – Orion, the hunter. Look due south (from Northwest DC, that’s toward downtown) and you will see him, striding over the trees. Orion’s body contains two of the ten brightest stars that we can see year-round. Above photo by Matthew Spinelli; […]
The folks who bring the 19th century Peirce Mill to life for us made an unexpected discovery. We can’t improve on their telling, so here it is: Last Sunday at Peirce Mill, the staff were alerted by an excited visitor that “there is a wild chicken in the holly bush across the road in the […]
by Marlene Berlin A gray, drizzly walk in Rock Creek Park ended up being a photographer’s delight. Last Saturday’s freezing rain kept me from my usual walk, so I was determined to get out on Sunday. My determination was rewarded. First I was absorbed by the bare tree limbs reaching into a sky textured by […]
