Walking Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

A rare perfect July day to me says get out of the house and go soak up some nature, right now! Yesterday, I picked up my friend Meron for a day at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to see the Lotus, waterlilies and native plants and creatures who inhabit the park which sits at the edge of the tidal Anacostia river. It's a huge marsh land with a farm for cultivating those delightful water flowers.

Meron enjoying the garden tour

We enjoyed all the wonders of nature in the ponds and around the edges. Frogs we croaking, Turtles were sunning and dragonfly and butterfly were all around us.

Turtles like those we used to get as children for an aquarium pet were much larger than any I ever raised but this is their natural habitat complete with muddy shells. Meron spotted some sort of snake from our safe perch up on the high boardwalk over the reeds, thank goodness.

Kenilworth also is a birder's paradise and I was challenged several times to identify some new ones we saw. The only one I got a good portrait of was what I now think was a familiy of northern rough-winged swallows.

Honestly it was hard to sort out this bird identity even with these photographs but without the bird guide book and the internet's great resources I wouldn't have known anything but that it was likely some kind of sparrow.

One I did know very well was the red winged blackbird and I  didn't get a great shot of any of them but this one and there were about 75 of them in the marsh but they got down in the reeds where we couldn't see them and the grasses were swaying back and forth making it quite difficult from our location. Might be worth a return trip with tripod and time to sit and wait to get a series of this beautiful black bird.

Canada geese were swimming in the marsh channels searching for grasses they like to eat and what I thought was a duck flying by turned out to be a favorite of mine the green heron who gave it's self away by landing on a log at the edge of the channel rather than on the water like a proper duck would do.

can you find two geese in this shot?

In the end the flowers drew me out on this beautiful day but the call of nature has a powerful draw all it's own. So here are the native and tropical waterlilies that are blooming now...

black berries for the birds

Our picture perfect visit lasted from 11 till 4 PM next time I will take along a picnic lunch and iced water. This weekend is the big festival of waterflowers at Kenilworth and I have to say it is a very special place. You can read about it in this week's Washington Post article here: Kenilworth water lilies thrive.

summer begins

with a picnic by the tidal basin.

 Decadent fried chicken and potato salad with some French pink sparkling lemonade. Then off for an after dinner walk around the whole tidal basin. Perfect weather and a slowly setting sun made the walk fun and different from the usual mid-day walks we normally take. All around the basin were the usually lovely cherry trees but this time of year they are covered in dark green leaves.

along the route we noticed a vine covered wall across the roadway leading to 14th St. Bridges.

upon closer inspection we realized the entire wall was covered by one single vine which I believe turns red in fall for an amazing display. 

decorative rails on one of the bridges caught my eye.

Canada geese were nibbling grass at the edge of a flooded area. 

in the distance Washington Monument has a new skin of scaffolding built to repair earthquake damage from 2011

here you see the Jefferson & Washington memorials and the flooded edge. Seas levels are rising right here in the capitol.

Waxing moon is high in the sky

 We made it home before sun was all the way down to see a pretty pink purple sunset reflected on the few clouds along the horizon. Then I set to work and finished up the sewing of a binding on my big orange quilt project. Now it will be turned under and blind stitched over the next few evenings and an embroidery label is on the way.

I worked during late afternoon to make my chocolate brown binding for the nearly completed Orange improvisational quilt inspired by Gee's Bend quilters.