US Botanic Garden - December 2013 - Part I

The US Botanic Garden conservatory displays model trains and models of buildings from natural materials during the holidays. This year the buildings included “World’s Fair” models as well as the usual Washington DC buildings.

We arrived just as the building opened at 10 on a rainy Saturday morning - and there was a line to see the display in the East Gallery. We had umbrellas and the line moved - not rapidly but never standing still. There were a lot of children that could hardly contain their excitement to see the exhibit and then once they were inside, the motion of the trains - the stops and starts, the whirring buy, one train that lost one of its cars but kept going - brought delighted giggles.

Some of my favorite models were the Lincoln Memorial

The White House with a swing set!

 And the Botanical Garden Conservatory

Enjoys some of the other sights of the special exhibit in the slide show below!

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 28, 2013

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Arctic on course for ice-free summer 'within decades', scientists say - Where will the polar bears go in an ice free summer?

The Arsenic in Our Drinking Water - Scary findings. Evidently arsenic causes problems at lower concentrations that previously thought.

John Green on health care expenses in America - A fast paced video about how American health care expenses and outcomes compare to the rest of the world. Does anyone want the status quo? The answer has to be ‘no’ but we definitely have a challenge agreeing on how to change the system.

Antibacterial Products Fuel Resistant Bacteria in Streams and Rivers - Yet another reason to read the labels on liquid soaps, toothpaste and other cosmetics…and avoid triclosan. I’ve noticed recently that there are more companies that are removing it from their products so the research and consumer choices are having an impact.

National Park Quiz: How Good Are You When Quizzed On Fall In The National Parks? - I am not a quiz taker any more - but I enjoyed scanning through this one about national parks.

For Scientists, Early to Press Means Success - A study that included 1400 biologists from around the world. Do the results apply to other scientific fields? It seems logical that they would….and should be used to guide the early career of scientists (beginning while they are still in school).

Introducing The Landscape Architect’s Guide to Boston - A guide to the green spaces of Boston. A similar one was published last year for Washington DC. If you are going to be walking around either city these guides are another source of information about the city landscapes.

10 More Fascinating Photos That Look Like Paintings - A collection from 10 photographers.

Ancient merchants are responsible for modern horse genetics - Isn’t this something that was always suspected…and we just have the DNA analysis technology to prove it now?

Geography in the News: Cobras - From National Geographic

US Botanic Garden - March 2013

The US Botanic Garden is one of my favorite places in Washington DC. I make it part of just about every visit. It is located on the Smithsonian Mall side of the US Capitol building. There were a lot of people around for the Kite Festival the day I was there in March; it was beginning to feel crowded by the time we finished our walk around the conservatory an hour after it opened. The warmth and lush vegetation of the conservatory were a welcome contrast to a blustery spring day!

Outdoors the birds were fluffy in the cold.

The pitcher plants still had some color but were showing the ravages of winter as were some of the other plants in the garden.

The tables and chairs were out in the gardens but it was too cold to be comfortable sitting in them. The sounds of the water in the First Ladies Water Garden were soothing --- no warmth though! At least the miniature iris and daffodils were blooming.

Washington DC Smithsonian Mall

A few days ago I posted some photographs from the kite festival held on March 30th. Some of the other sights that day are in this post.

The buffalo dancer sculpture in one of the gardens beside the National Museum of the American Indian was new to me. The stance of the figure was exotic but the face looked familiar.

Washington DC is full of classical columns. The photo of Ionic columns is from the National Gallery of Art. Another feature of the city are the fountians. They are often tucked away in small parks or courtyards between the buildings; for example, there are fountains on either side of the main entrance to the National Gallery.

The curves of the National Museum of the American Indian - both the façade and embedded in the glass of the doors at the entrance - are soothing and welcoming at the same time. They evoke the natural world in the middle of a city. 

We walked the length of the Smithsonian Mall - the Capitol at one end and the White House to the side. The Washington Monument was surrounded by scaffolding - still under repair for earthquake damage.

Too Early for Cherry Blossoms

When I made the reservations for a cruise on the Potomac to see the cherry blossoms on 3/24, the projection was for them to be near peak on that day. Then the area has some cold days that turned into a couple of weeks of colder than usual weather and the cherry blossoms were delayed. We opted to go on the tour anyway.

The day was cold and damp. Everyone stayed in the enclosed part of the boat. There was a birthday party next to us. They gave us desert parfaits to make up for the noise the little children were making; it was a nice little treat and the children actually were making happy noises making the day brighter even without the sun.

Being on the river provides a different perspective than fighting the traffic on the roads around Washington DC. The scenery slides by: Haines Point, the National War College, the capitol, the Washington Monument, the 14th Street Bridge, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, National Airport, and a flock of seagulls as we get close to our pier.

We’ll have to try it another year when the cherry blossoms are blooming.

Kite Festival in Washington DC

The kite festival at the Smithsonian Mall in Washington DC is held the last Saturday of March and usually coincides with cherry trees in full bloom. It was last Saturday (3/30). This year the cherry tree buds were yet to open - and the breeze was so light that the majority of kites did not make it up very high or stay aloft. The image in the center of the collage below is the myriad of kites looking down the Smithsonian Mall toward the Washington Monument (still undergoing repair from the earthquake damage). The kites were brightly colored. The butterfly and parrot kites were my favorites although the sky shark was fun too.

On the plus side - the day was the warmest of the week and that was enough for the crowds of people to enjoy the day. Joggers dodged in and out of walkers, parents or grandparents pushed strollers with babies and young children, toddlers were enjoying the different textures of turf or pebbles or concrete, elementary aged children were trying to fly their kites….everyone seemed to find something to enjoy.