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.

Cabbage Becomes Casserole For Dinner

Beautiful cabbage

Large pan of cabbage and potatoes

Shopping at Giant recently I was captivated enough to buy an amazingly fresh-looking green cabbage. I brought it home and wondered for a whole day how I would cook it rather than staring at it in wonder. I even photo'd it as I was impressed with how it looked. So I tweeted about what I should do with it and a friend tweeted back with some ideas about combining the cabbage with potatoes and onions. So I steamed some of the chopped-up cabbage, boiled some sliced potatoes and cut onions in rings. I also fried some nitrite-free lowfat bacon and considered some suitable spices to add (sprinkles of cumin and a pinch of salt).  So I made three layers of cabbage, onions and potatoes, adding in the cut up cooked bacon and spices. I also sprinkled in some layers of mozzarella cheese. I cooked the whole thing for about 40 minutes in a hot oven and served it steaming hot. And photo'd the final dish even though you really can't see the cabbage pieces inside which were different shades of yellow and green when cooked.  This was a tasty and delicious meal.  Even cabbage-hating hubster ate some of it. If someone was vegetarian, I imagine they could substitute something else for the bacon, but that flavor seems essential to me when combined with the cabbage. Simply deelish!