Places

An afternoon by the river

The Potomac River shore in late afternoon. Taken near Great Falls, MD.

Places

Blackbird sakura

A blackbird rests on a branch in bloom. Taken in Washington, DC, USA, during the 2008 Cherry Blossom Festival.

Places

Afternoon view

A japanese maple from our neighborhood, bathed in afternoon light. Taken in North Bethesda, MD, USA.

I wanted to try something new and to post a photo directly from my photo catalog. I like the way this looks, more so than posting directly from my Flickr account.

The tree is a Japanese maple, and it lives in our community, in North Bethesda, MD, USA. We were walking one afternoon, and I just knew this was a photo opportunity not to be missed. I have a few more photos from our community in my North Bethesda set, and several thousand more to process and post…

Places

National Arboretum

This past May, Ligia and I visited the National Arboretum here in DC. We try to go there at least once a year. The grounds are huge, and they have both outdoors and indoors facilities. Admission is free, and the grounds are open from 8 AM to 5 PM daily, every day of the year except on Christmas.

The National Arboretum was established in 1927 through an Act of Congress. It is administered by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. Its mission is to “serve the public need for scientific research, education, and gardens that conserve and showcase plants to enhance the environment”. It sits on 446 acres and has 9.5 miles of roads.

Among its gardens are:

Single-genus: azalea, boxwood, daffodil, daylily, dogwood, holly, magnolia, maple, and peony.
Major gardens: aquatic plants, the Asian Collections, the Fern Valley Native Plant Collections, the Flowering Tree Collection, the Flowering Tree Walk, the Friendship Garden, the Gotelli Dwarf and Slow-Growing Conifer Collection, the Introduction Garden, the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, the National Capitol Columns, the National Grove of State Trees, and the National Herb Garden.

If you’re in the area and you haven’t been yet, please visit, it’s worth your time.

Places

Photos from Beach Drive

Beach Drive is a picturesque road that winds its way through Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC and the surrounding suburbs. Although called by different names along its various portions, it starts at the base of the Lincoln Monument as Rock Creek Parkway, NW, and ends somewhere in Rockville, MD, possibly at the end of Dewey Rd. I’ll let you trace it from end to end — it’s fun to follow it on Google Maps — just remember, the road should be inside the wooded areas at all times, and houses shouldn’t line it on both sides.

Certain portions of it are closed during weekends so that cyclists and pedestrians can take walks alongside it without the danger of cars. Road closure details are listed on the NPS – Rock Creek Park website.

Rock Creek Park and Beach Drive are truly one of the places to see in DC. The regular roads can get so clogged at times, and it can become so inhuman to sit in traffic and stare at buildings and cars on either side, that Beach Drive provides a welcome respite from the city.

Literally surrounded on each side by tall trees and bushy vegetation, it’s easy to forget one is in the middle of DC. It’s just beautiful. The only time the road’s proximity to nearby development is seen is during winter, when the houses and the roads are revealed to be only a few hundred feet away or less on certain portions of the road.

Understandably so, my wife and I go there often, and we also take photos. Here are a few taken on a recent trip. Click on each to enlarge it, then click again to view at full size (currently 720 pixels wide).