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. This year, they are ubiquitous. Beech drops aren’t splashy and colorful so they tend to blend into the background, but once you know what to look for you’ll see them […]
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Our 2020 Ward 3 voter guide: From the at-large Council seats to ANC 3F
We’re updating this article periodically with candidate questionnaires and other information as they are published. New on 10/6: ANC candidate questionnaires. We’re pretty sure you’ve made up your mind about the presidential candidate you’re backing in this election. But what about the crowded at-large DC Council race? Who will you pick for at-large member of […]
Backyard Nature: Some delights of nature to look for as summer slides into fall
by Marjorie Rachlin In September I make a trip to Rock Creek Park to see how the Chinese chestnut trees are doing. These trees were planted nearly a hundred years ago, after the chestnut blight had decimated our native chestnuts. As you can see from the photo, they have a bountiful crop of prickly chestnut […]
Photos: Walking off Covid-19 worries in Rock Creek Park
by Marlene Berlin I slept fitfully Sunday night. Downpours interrupted my sleep at times. When I awoke the next morning, I had one thing on my mind: to get into Rock Creek Park and hike along the Black Horse Trail before people arrived. I had given up walking this trail because it has become so […]
UDC’s Master Naturalist program is back, and you have until Nov. 30 to apply
If you’ve been reading Forest Hills Connection for a while, you will not be surprised that we are excited about the return of the UDC Master Naturalist program. As Marlene Berlin wrote ahead of UDC’s first Master Naturalist training in 2018, “One of the great joys in five years of publishing Forest Hills Connection has […]
Northwest Neighbors Village celebrates a decade of helping seniors age in place
“[Northwest Neighbors Village] ‘opened its doors’ on March 2, 2009,” co-founder and board member Janean Mann wrote in the organization’s January/February newsletter. “But there were no doors to open, as we had no office! We did have a Blackberry that four of our founders/board members passed around to connect our 22 members seeking a limited […]
Backyard Nature: Beech drops drop in
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, […]
Photos: The fungus among us
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. – […]
Neighbors Recommend: “The Art of Burning Man” at Renwick Gallery
by Marjorie Rachlin “Quirky.” “Lots of fun.” “Amazing.” I heard these remarks from friends who visited the Burning Man exhibit at the Renwick Gallery downtown. So I went too – and found it exhilarating. Burning Man is an annual event located in the middle of the Black Rock desert of Nevada. It lasts a week, […]
Become a “Master Naturalist” through UDC
by Marlene Berlin One of the great joys in five years of publishing Forest Hills Connection has been finding, in our email, one of Marjorie Rachlin’s Backyard Nature pieces, or a neighbor’s photo of a chance wildlife encounter. The site has also been a vehicle for sightings and observations from my many walks of the […]