No, Not A Pinata, But A Wasps' Nest

Look, up in the tree, it's a balloon? A ball? A pinata? Nope, it's a huge wasps' nest! So amazing. We were driving on Q Street NW in Washington DC and looked up at what we thought was trash or something in the tree but on closer inspection turned out to be a giant wasps' nest. Or at least that's what I think it is as it looks like one I once saw in a museum.  I zoomed in with my camera and saw the opening and expected to see things buzzing in and out but it's probably too cold for wasps right now.  But I am wondering, where do wasps go over the winter? Do they die or hibernate?  I'll have to go look this up!

Well, I just ran off to Wikipedia about wasps and learned a lot including that it is probably a wasps' nest as "social" wasps chew trees and other stuff to make a paper pulp to make their nests. Apparently there are lone wasps too, but they don't make big nests and live together. (Sounds like some people we all know!).
I expect this nest will get covered up as the tree leafs up but I'll keep an eye out in about a month and see if I can still see it. 
The address for this wonder of nature is about 1406-1408 Q Street NW, just east of The Bike Rack shop nearby.

Some of the herbs in my #bloomingdaledc garden

Basil

Cilantro

Rosemary

Spearmint

Sometimes I don't realize how much stuff I have growing in the garden until I pull out my camera and say to myself, let's see what's there. And lo and behold I find I have quite a few herbs -- all of which I use for food flavoring all the time.  There's a basil plant just starting, a really pretty cilantro, a well-established rosemary and some spearmint invading any flower bed it can get into.  I usually dry the basil leaves in the oven (after it's turned off!) or use the leaves in a salad.  Cilantro is great in guacamole and in just about any soup or rice dish. Whenever I make roast potatoes I usually crush a bunch of rosemary in olive oil in the blender and pour that on the taters, with a bit of salt (very yummy!).  And the spearmint tea is good for tea in the summer (pour boiled water on a few sprigs and then cool it).  I lost my lavender plant in a recent rainstorm as it got soaked and the roots rotted as I forgot to check the pot and clear out the water in time. I grow these herbs as they are so EASY to grow and the soil around here seems to helpful to the plants.  The big danger is if they are in pots and I forgot about them and they either die from lack of water or too much water. It's just so wonderful to run out into the garden and get something to flavor your food and which is likely very beneficial to your health.

Meade in front of Prettyman

Stumbling along near the Mall recently, I noticed this sculpture of General  George Meade in front of the District of Columbia district court house, the Prettyman building.  Such sculptures and their locations often give me an excuse to delve into history and local development, an exercise that the Internet has made very easy and that allows me to tank up my personal knowledge database.  Apparently, Meade was an American Civil War Union general who commanded the Army of the Potomac and defeated Confederate General Robert Lee at the decisive Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, the largest land war in the western world. I was less aware of who E. Barrett Prettyman was but it turns out he was a longtime Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which meets in that building. Prettyman was also a tax expert teaching at Georgetown University and acted as the District of Columbia's tax attorney at one time.  This Prettyman building is the site of many historic legal arguments in cases such as involving the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate trials, the Francis Gary Powers U-2 spy plane and thousands more cases heard in the US District court. In fact, you can see news media camped out on the forecourt of the building -- "on the beach" -- their vans bristling with antennas and made-up news announcers staring into cameras during these major proceedings. Who knew that such a plain looking building and figurative sculpture would give me such keys into American history? Amazing!

October Roses in Bloomingdale

There were a few days recently in October when it was Indian summer and the weather was so nice I ended up walking about in the neighborhood a bit and of course, since I had my camera with me, snapping away at whatever caught my eye.  So of course when I saw these bright pink roses growing by the roadside I just had to kneel down and take the shot against the background of the historic houses nearby.

Orchids on My Breakfast Table at Hotel in Colorado

On a recent business trip, I really enjoyed my stay in Colorado at a Westin Hotel (in Westminter). Part of the enjoyment was having fresh flowers on the breakfast table in the restaurant at six in the morning. I really hadn't expected anything like that and of course had to get my camera out and arrange the vase and flowers a little and take a photo.

Those Bus Riding, Plugged In, Finger Tapping Twenty Somethings

reading & emailing

ear buds in

blackberrying  and i-tuning

I just couldn't resist it the other day on the bus into work; just about everyone sitting near me was either plugged into I-tunes or sending messages on their smartphones or doing both at the same time. These fellow passengers were all in their twenties or so, and kept themselves very busy with these wondrous technology gadgets.  So I just had to photograph them, surreptitiously, despite the loud clicking shutter sound my "feature phone" makes when I snap a photo on that cell phone. They were so absorbed in what they were doing or had ear plug buds in that they never heard what I was doing using what to me is a wondrous technology gadget. I think it just amazing that I can take photos on a "phone" and then send them, through the air (!), to an email address and use them later, such as in this blog!  I could say how I can remember when we had a phone installed in our house, and shared "a party line" (not what you think!) and then when transistor radios came out they were so tiny you could put them in your bag but I would really be dating meself and besides, that's boring. Although, I do like the look of stunned disbelief on the young people's faces at work when us over 50's reminisce about copying documents on mimeo machines (remember the manual crank!) and hiring messengers on bikes to take letters across town (there's a buggy whip bizniss!) or having someone answer the phone who wrote down caller's messages on little pink pieces of paper from preprinted phone pads that were put in your message box with a metal clip (that was email then!). Not to mention, of course, sending a roll of film off to be developed and asking for one week expedited prints! Ha ha. How it all changes, but you know, people don't change much!

Hallelujah, It's a Bloomingdale Spring!

How could I not take my digital camera with me every day and take photos of all the flowers as I  make my way to the bus each day this past week? There's pansies on porches, tulips to toe by, daffodils to dote on, and Eastern rosebud trees to walk under as I hurry down First Street. It's spring for sure and there's just flowers everywhere and I just love to see the shoots shooting out of the ground and the bright splashes of color of the flowers that are now blooming. In the brighter light of spring, even the grass seems very green and the tree trunks seem a brighter brown after the soft mild grey tone colors we've become used to over what seems like a very long and cold winter.So, I'll probably keep snapping away either on my cell phone or my clunky digital camera throughout the season which is surely one of the best gifts from the Creator that we see each year.

On Capitol Hill Again

Capitol Building Facing East

It is my privilege to have to go to meetings on Capitol Hill every once in a while and today, while  on my way to a House hearing this morning, I snapped this shot of the U.S. Capitol Building. Very soon the trees will be blossoming and leafing and this photo would not be possible at all. A short while later, on my way to the Rayburn building, I paused for a moment and saw the Washington Monument all the way down the Hill and onto the Mall. I'd never seen this view before because usually the trees block the view but they are still not blooming and the air was clear and sunny so I could see quite far. I was so glad to have my digital camera at hand, glad to be early for the hearing and be able to take the time to stop and stare and record these images of the nation's wealth that I enjoy almost on a daily basis.

View from Capitol Hill to Washington Monument

Ronald Reagan Airport Cathedral Ceiling

hubster blackberries

I never noticed this before! I met a friend for dinner at TGIF's at our nearest airport, the Ronald Reagan airport or DCA, and lo and behold, I glanced up at the ceiling and it looked like a gothic cathedral. And the reason I had my camera with me was to take a photo of our friend at the airport, but of course, it was another one of those times when I brought the camera along for a specific purpose and drab nabbit, I forgot to snap the shot. By the time I remembered I had the camera, she had run off to her flight!  The three of us -- hubster, friend and I -- had managed to have some dinner together -- a not too dreadful pecan-crumbed salmon salad thing -- and of course, a martini for  me. Once she'd scurried off for a TSA handling experience, I glanced around and noted the wide open space, the mosaics on the floor, and the careful lighting of what is a very controlled environment. So, is an airport some kind of new cathedral?

Golden Diana Between the Courts

Between D.C. District Court building and the Court of Appeals is a small park with a gleaming statue that beckoned me this hazy August morning. Of course, I had to run over and photograph it with the miracle of my cell phone camera. It was a gold painted (?) statue of a nude female figure standing with her dog contemplating a round pool in front of the District Court of Appeals building. I imagine that at one time there was a fountain from the base. But today the water was clear and still and the figure gleamed brightly against the gray buildings. I haven't been able to find the sculptor but it seems to be from that era of artwork installed in the city and that is an echo of the ancient pagan civilizations.  I recognized the figure instantly, both as the Roman's Diana of the Hunt and the Greek's Artemis and then remembered that both of them had once also personified justice and wisdom until reduced to lesser roles by the patriarchs. But for those who today see only figures of naked women as pornographic, this sculpture should be a reminder that Wisdom is present today in many forms.

Supreme Moment

It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit so I took a cab home past the Supreme Court the other day and when the cab paused at the traffic light, I rolled down the window and snapped this shot. In just a few seconds ancient Greece is captured, tourists visiting Washington, D.C., tons of gleaming white marble are displayed, not to mention some incredible representational sculpture, a security guard, an interesting lamp, and "equal justice under law". A closer inspection indicates a wonderful frieze of figures with a crowned Wisdom presiding over several figures, two admiring centurions, one holding a scroll and another holding a sword.She looks off into the far distance, through the netting that holds back the pooping pigeons, ignoring the steps, the tourists, the security guard, the hot pavement and my cab. Well, it's just a building but an awful lot hangs on it.

Gargoyle or GeeGaw?

Everyone knows I'm on Capitol Hill quite a bit lobbying on disability issues, but it's also an opportunity for me to snap a few photos with the miracle of a cell phone camera. Nope, not an iPhone, just a simple ole LG for $40 that came with the Verizon service plan. This time I looked up from my walk from Rayburn over to the Ford building as I stood in the shade to cool off from the 90 degree weather. Not only was I standing under a wonderful flowering Southern Magnolia but I could see this gargoyle gee-gaw thing on the top of the wall column. It seems to be a cornucopia or horn held by a creature like a squirrel and looks over toward the HHS building, past the ornamental garden that is alongside the Route 395 entrance way. I'd never noticed this before and wondered what was behind the design for this. If you look closely, it turns out to be the head of a little winged horse with a giant horn behind it and it may have waves carved in the base stone, although it's hard to see from below. It does remind me of the wonderful fountain sculpture in front of the old Library of Congress, so I think one day I will conduct some research and find out about this stone creature and when it was put there and what the iconography is all about. It just doesn't seem to fit into our techno modern world of sleek literal easily understood icons. Or at any rate, I've forgotten whatever it is I might have learned in Art History about this type of ornamental sculpture. But what a mystery to bump into, on the way to a policy wonk meeting with committee staff in a drab building! It quite got my mind in a better frame of thought, curious about its meaning. Can I say it influenced what I said at the wonk  meeting or did I say less as a consequence? I don't remember but the image has stuck with me where the conversation has not.

Museum Days

With my mother-in-law visiting, it was a perfect excuse to tank up on the exhibits at the National Gallery of Art, the American Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art. So we saw a somewhat interesting set of portraits of Elvis Presley, the Norman Rockwell exhibit from the collection by Stephen Spielberg and a good walk-through of favorites from the National Gallery. I always have to check out my favorite paintings and the wonderful experience of walking through the computer-generated light tunnel to the cafeteria for lunch in the national gallery. There's all the Madonna and Christ images that I must see as well as the huge American Frank Church landscapes and the Turner-Mallord seascapes. So this time, I took my camera with me and took photos of many of these.  On special loan from another museum was the Auguste Saint-Gaudens sculpture called Memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th African American regiment that fought in the civil war. This is truly a spectacular relief type sculpture in a bright red shiny bronze material and well worth the visit alone. To our surprise the museums were not that crowded and when we ate at the very nice, and expensive, cafe-style restaurants at the galleries the food was fresh and there were not long lines. For a weekend in the middle of July I really did expect more people in the galleries. The same was true for parking -- plenty of available spots for the National Gallery. Manifold blessings in the city!

Floating Car

I couldn't resist snapping this shot with the miracle of a cell phone camera when I saw this car floating overhead inside the Gallery Place Regal cinema building. It's actually one of those new huge posters you see draped over the sides of buildings, or in this case, draped inside the atrium space. The rest of the space makes it look like the car is being beamed up or held up by some mysterious light force. It just goes to show that your eye wants to make sense of what you see around you. But it's worth remembering that things aren't always what they seem and we should be aware of our perceptions and not take them as fact but stick to the real truth.

Chinatown Crepes

After going to the movie theater in Chinatown to see Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in "Knight and Day" we stopped at the crepe makers' stand and got snacks. Hubster had a chocolate and banana crepe as they were out of strawberries and I had their savory crepe with Swiss cheese. They make them right there in front of you so I snapped the crepe maker as he did his job, using the miracle of my cell phone camera. These were a very satisfying and filling treat, so much so, in fact, that we didn't finish them and brought half of each home for a tasty snack another time. And, by the way, this movie is a great date movie. Totally ridiculous violence where in extended gun fights only the bad guys die, and some incredible chase scenes including dodging a bull run. Not a bad spoof of James Bond action flicks, only in this one the dame doesn't die and in fact rescues the agent. Whoops! Have I given the plot away?

Back in the City after Visit to Greener Virginia

Driving back into the city today after visiting family members in Virginia I noticed all the tourists in town and how they were enjoying themselves looking at all the spectacular monuments and buildings that there are to see. In particular, I seemed to get stuck behind at least three open air double decker red buses loaded with lolly-goggling out-of-towners looking at all the sights. I'm not sure if these buses give an audio tour for them but judging from the number of times I got stuck behind one of these red former London city buses, it would seem like the tour goes all over the Mall area, where most of the critical sights are located. Even though it was past sunset the tourists were on the bus, cameras flashing from the bus upper deck, at the views of Congress and the Korean war monument nearby. I just don't see how they got a picture at all! Earlier in the day, on my way out to Virginia, I'd seen crowds of tourist groups all over the Mall. One group of 12 year old girls, all dressed in lime green T-shirts (so they could find each other?) crossed Constitution Avenue in unison while there were also families pushing children and babies in strollers in the 90 degree heat, standing at intersections, wondering which way to go next. I marveled at their willingness and persistence in clambering up all the steps at the Archives building and the Lincoln Memorial, both of which seemed to attract many visitors today. After spending most of the day in the green rolling fields and suburbs of Virginia, I thought how interesting and pleasant and historic Washington, DC looked in comparison. I'm so glad to live in this city sometimes!