Stressed Out in #Bloomingdaledc by The Public Works

Detour sign instead of tree

Huge concrete truck lumbers onto quite side street

Large sheets of metal covering up huge holes

Lately, I've been feeling quite stressed out by all the public works in the neighborhood. I can't figure out if it's all the water tunnel dig, or gas pipes being moved, or other utility work, but it's all becoming a bit of a nightmare.  And, it's not just the bright orange and yellow plastic things -- signs, pipes, vehicles, worker jackets but it's all the big lumbering vehicles and the ever-changing lanes and roads and alleys being worked in, or the increase in heavy service trucks.

Steel plates & graffited toilets & orange cones

Huge equipment, mysterious yellow barrels

And for another thing, it seems like every time I leave the house during the day I encounter some kind of blockage:  this might be a slow-down due to having to drive more carefully over the large metal plates that are mysteriously appearing in some alleys and roadways (and what huge holes lurk underneath them); it might be a temporary "road closed" sign forbidding me to enter a street I used to routinely use;  or it might be some giant concrete carrier or truck blocking the road, trying to turn a corner or grinding its gears going over the speed humps of our quiet residential street. Some of them are even 18-wheelers (yes, I've counted them) who seem to have got lost in the "Bryant Street Detour" and are attempting to get somewhere. Who knows what an 18-wheel behemoth is doing driving westbound on Adams Street for instance, or why another two-tonner is attempting a U turn on First street.

 

giant coils of yellow plastic pipe & orange cones

I want to also mention the increasing number of helicopter flights by police, park police, news stations and others (that I have been unable to identify their origin). Their noisy circling over all the development is adding to the nervous tension that I now feel as I try for some peace in the garden or on the deck. I'm sorry to say I just give them the one-finger salute as they disturb the rose pruning.

Diggers and drillers and more ORANGE things

Oh no, another street closed!

Maybe it's also the sight of the large blue toilets that the road crews must have that now also have graffiti on them, or maybe it's all those orange cones and orange nets and signs taped onto trees, but I'm finding it all GETTING ON MY NERVES. Did I mention all the added dust and litter -- since street sweeping has been suspended -- and grit and grime?  Did I mention the 2 a.m. drilling digging sounds from McMillan site?  This Bloomingdale neighborhood is no longer the quiet outpost it used to be. We're living in the middle of a giant department of public works project and it's exhausting.

Cranes looming over

More heavy equipment blocking quite residential street

Workers in orange, yellow with STOP/SLOW signs

Thanks to all the people who put the bloom in #Bloomingdaledc

on W St NW

alley behind Adams NW

on 1st NW

on Thomas St NW

I think it's great that there's so many people in Bloomingdale who are putting the bloom back in our neighborhood!  From window ledge pots, to small groupings of pots, to overhanging garages to planting around street signs and in tree boxes, even a short  walk about the streets shows a myriad of flowers and plantings.  Roses, petunias, vines, begonias and geraniums seem to be favorites and so many others I still enjoy despite not knowing their names! I'm just hoping none of them get destroyed in the July rains!

Seems Like It's Really Spring in #BloomingdaleDC

view south into Crispus Attucks park

some of the lovely daffodils in the 'hood

Just a short walk about locally near my house and you just can't miss that it is spring. There's tons of blossoms on the trees -  achoo! -- and there's so many daffodils, narcissus, stocks, tulips, violets and other pretty flowers everywhere. Also, it seems like every thing is very green, including the grass and all the other things suddenly sprouting out of the ground. I see the bluish green blades of the irises and the yellow green stalks of the day lilies coming up in some of the gardens.  Also you can see what is going to come up later such as the reddish leaves on the hundreds of rosebushes that people have planted that means there will be masses of roses later. 

Tree Dying that Saved Man's Life

I've always liked the big tree at the bus stop on North Capitol Street at Adams Street NW. It provides shelter from rain, wind, sun and traffic while I'm waiting for that Route 80 bus that goes downtown.  The tree  also did its duty stopping a drunk driver going up on the sidewalk as the massive dent in the side of the tree shows. In fact I recall hearing the tremendous crash-boom when it happened a few years ago.  Some guy went out of control going southbound on North Capitol and smashed into the tree; his car was crushed when it slammed into this tree guarding the sidewalk. The driver mysteriously survived the impact -- probably quite drunk and relaxed so didn't resist as much so nothing "snapped" -- but I don't think the tree is going to last. The impact stripped off a big chunk of bark and over time rubbish and mold and critters and fungi have lodged in the dent and the tree will surely die faster than it was intended to. I doubt the guy whose life was saved by the tree appreciates what this creation did for him. But there's always the hope that somehow his life was changed by the tree's sacrifice.

Putting the Bloom in #BloomingdaleDC

Wandering about the streets in our sector of the city, there's lots of plants and flowers to see. And sometimes there's some extra special effects such as a staircase of herbs in front of an ivy wall, or pots of petunias on the fence or sunflowers in the parking lot.  You just know someone has gone out of their way with these flower displays. Despite the heat, it's worth while doing a walk-about and seeing the extra efforts everyone has done to make our spot of the city so pretty. I found these on Bryant, V and First streets and am sure to find more!

Summer Garden, BloomingdaleDC

June was a terrific month for flowers in my city garden this year. It seemed like everything bloomed profusely all at once. Not just the day lilies and the Asiatic lilies, but the pink and the white roses, as well as the biggest hydrangea heads in several years, not to mention the petite little orange nasturtiums that I am very happy about as this is the first year I really got them to flower after growing them from seeds. And now we are in July, many of them are deadheads or getting very wilted as the heat is so much for them.  But the flowers have been wonderful so far even though we are now only enjoying crepe myrtles and tube vine and some honeysuckle which I will photograph soon and add to this page.  I just love having tons of flowers in the garden. 

So many flowers, so little time to enjoy them

queen liz roses

little purple irises

my spring garden

sweet little dandelions

It seems like spring got here quite early this year with the roses already blooming away before my azaleas are even fully flowering!  I'm not sure why the Queen Liz rose bush is doing so well with over three dozen flowers already, but maybe it's because we cut it back last fall and gave her tons of rose food and some fungus killer. Eh voila, that worked!  The irises are having a fine time showing off as well with yellow, purple and dark red ones all coming out at once (!) and some of my favorite "weeds" such as dandelions and buttercups are also showing their lovely faces. I've had so many flowers that I've been able to pick bouquets and give them to sick relatives and friends and even a kitchen table arrangement or two.  I just love spring for all these reasons. I just wish I had more time to hang out in the garden and porch but starting a new job and taking care of family business has had me very busy lately.

Lots of blooms in Bloomingdale's Crispus Attucks Park

I just had to take a walk in Crispus Attucks park the other morning to see all the flowering trees and bushes and anything blooming on the ground. The pink and white magnolias were out, as well as the little blue and white eyebrights and of course some lovely purplish hyacinths.I did spy some dog poop left behind on one of the pathways but decided not to foul up the flower pictures here with that! Although you can see that photo on twitpic via the twitter.com connection below (after the Yelp thing) or if you follow me @jeniferjs.These are not the only flowers gracing the park so you will have to go walk there yourself to see everything else.  And it will be a great walk too. And, mind the poop, or scoop your poop, as appropriate.

Vintage Corner Stores in #BloomingdaleDC Neighborhood

New Reservoir Market

Cookies Corner Market

Micro Market

Flagler Market

These are the local stores near me that seem to be open all the time and are probably in walking distance of most people in the area. There were at least two others I can think of, but they've not survived. These stores are for just when you need a cold beer, or some milk or have a craving for potato chips, or you just gotta buy a lottery ticket or need a packet of cigarettes or some ice or that one little thing you need to complete making a dish for dinner or breakfast. I've bought mayonnaise, potatoes, syrup, eggs, pancake mix, candy, ice cream, wine and incense in these stores. Most of them have ATMs as well, but I've never used one. These days they have been smartened up a bit: they've nearly all had some paint or other "freshening up" in the past few years presumably to compete with the trendier stores in the neighborhood. They share the characteristic of being the front room of a house, most of them have tin stamped ceilings, collections of beer lights and some of the securest windows and doors you can find.  Since I've lived here for over 20 years I've heard stories about all of these corner stores -- people shot inside, people shot outside, people dealing drugs, people fighting, etc They are part of the history and character of Bloomingdale so  I decided to photograph them recently for fear they'd all be swept away one day as the specter of development and its impact grows.

Sunbeam Market

Flowers and Unleashed Dogs in #BloomingdaleDC Park

Crispus Attucks daffodils

Flowering trees

Unleashed dogs with scofflaw owners

Sign says" ALWAYS KEEP YOUR DOG ON LEASH"

On a recent walk in the local Crispus Attucks park I saw the very welcome signs of spring like flowering trees, tons of daffodils out, and some crocuses and hyacinths. I also saw someone working on the plants, cleaning out the winter debris. I also chucked out a bottle of vodka (empty!) found in the flowers.  Some local people -- scofflaws -- seem to forget that this park is NOT a dog park and were letting their dogs freely roam UNLEASHED having a great time tearing about in the "dog" portion of the park.  I guess some local residents think we all like dogs and dog poop or maybe they can't read the signs all over the park which advise users of the local rules.    

Daffodils in January in BloomingdaleDC

DAFFODILS!

It's so astounding to see daffodils in the middle of January.  There were two clumps of them blazing yellowly in the cold windy air of this unusually warm winter month over on First Street, NW in Bloomingdale. Often by now we have had snow or rain or used at least two tankfuls of oil to heat the house. But it's been so warm we've had the windows open even, during the best part of the day. And we've got daffodils sprouting and blooming. Totally amazing!