Category Archives: Whitecaps on the Potomac

Perspectives, thoughts, doings during five years in Washington, a tempest-in-a-teapot kind of place to be, except that our “teapot” is the river.

Tree Seed Season: A Million Bursts of Life

Life muscles on, fights to propagate, to reproduce itself.  It won’t take no for an answer, even when that no is the pavement and asphalt and more people than the city hardly knows what to do with.  Life’s insistent shout … Continue reading

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Naked Tulips

I waxed eloquent recently about how even when blossoms fall, the beauty of the plant is still there.  True for cherry trees, but not for tulips.  On the walk to work over the past few weeks, I enjoyed watching a … Continue reading

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I Wished I’d Noticed…

In town late last week I saw the results of an act of man-made destruction.  I was shocked and appalled, completely powerless to do anything to alter what I saw or ignore what the act represented. City workers or possibly … Continue reading

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Sunday Afternoon Notes

Drove to the General’s.  Woods along the GW Parkway peppered with dogwood and redbud, white and purple seasoning sprinkled among the early spring green. Two automotive events tried to thwart the trip: a flashing dashboard light pulled us over to … Continue reading

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Requiem for Blossoms

Even with all my best efforts, I couldn’t halt the inevitable.  Six visits to the Tidal Basin couldn’t stop it.  Nearly 80 pictures, though pretty to look at, couldn’t capture and protect the sight.  Not even three essays, complete with … Continue reading

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Early Spring Saturday at the Alexandria Market

The morning is cold and crisp, like an apple picked in a cool, fall orchard and eaten straight away.  The bite, the shiver, are sweet and delicious this morning.  I’d like to see a little more sun and blue sky … Continue reading

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Loveliest of Trees: Posted too Soon!

Eager beaver blogger that I was, I posted, long before I should have way back in cold January, a poem about cherry blossoms.  One of the first I memorized, “Loveliest of Trees the Cherry, Now” by A.E. Housman, perfectly captures … Continue reading

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51 Year Old Blossoms

Today I took my fifth trip to Cherry Blossom Land.  I’m determined to see them through their annual journey from fresh-faced babies to shriveled petals on the ground.  I arrived at the Tidal Basin during lunch and recognized the trees … Continue reading

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High Bloom

March 29 I walked to the Tidal Basin during my lunch hour.  The height of blossoms starts today and continues for the next three or so, yet the weather gurus predict rain and even (horrors!) a wintry mix.  The blossoms … Continue reading

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Steaming Spring Ferment

A rite of spring in this gardened, landscaped, greenspaced city on a hill is the annual Application of the Mulch.  This Festival begins mid to late March and continues through much of April.  Walking to work from the bus stop … Continue reading

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