Cicada Parade-a

Summertime, and the cicadas are emerging.  We had quite a cold spring this year but the ninety-degree heat is more than making up for lost time.  My garden plants are finally taking off and on Friday I heard the first drones of a few lonely cicadas as their brethren make their way out of the ground.

With greater numbers of the human population getting vaccinated and the CDC telling us that things really are improving, the emergence of local cicadas after isolation seems to be the perfect metaphor for human life.  Hans and I have gotten together with friends in person a couple of times in the last month and today we wandered a popular street in Baltimore (still occasionally while wearing masks) and even visited a brewery.  Hello, everyone!  It's been a minute!

Speaking of Baltimore, the city is hosting a public art event in honor of Maryland's 17-year Brood X cicadas.  All around the parks and streets you can find sponsored sculptures that have been mass-produced from a casted design and then decorated by local artists.  Hans and I went on a photo safari at Patterson Park and Hampden (one of our favorite neighborhoods).  While we walked through the park you could see cicada nymphs and adults clumsily crawling around.  Many became lunch for the local birds.  I guess that explains why my backyard bird feeder is suddenly not being visited as much!

All of the below photos can be found on the Instagram page.  For more information about Cicada Parade-a, check out their website here. There's a map where you can click each little bug to see an image of the sculpture that it represents and a description from the artist.  My favorite from today is the "salt box" named Pete!

We Closed

It's kind of sad to see the state of downtown.  Yesterday the National Park Service closed the entire National Mall and its monuments after conferring with the National Guard, Secret Service, and other agencies that have been entrusted with providing security for the presidential inauguration next Wednesday.  After the storming of the Capitol, DC isn't messing around.  The mayor has been having daily press conferences to say that this year's inauguration should be enjoyed exclusively from home.

This leaves DC with a National Mall that is completely enclosed within tall barricade fences to keep out pedestrians and road closures that are three blocks deep in some locations.  Some places have razor wire.  Arlington National Cemetery and behind the Lincoln Memorial were a bit grim and tense this morning.  Some areas of the cemetery are off limits until next Thursday, understandably.

When it became clear that there was not much to see even from the hilltop vantage of Arlington House, I drove over to a Capitol Hill neighborhood to see what "regular" life looks like for residents right now.  There were plenty of people taking their dogs for a walk or doing some shopping but then I came across the barricades that run behind the Library of Congress and several photographers with press passes walking around.  There are estimated over 20,000 members of the National Guard around and their presence is not something that you usually see in American cities.  I hate to say it: It feels like we're letting the terrorists win just a little bit.

Below the Lincoln Memorial you can see barricades running along the river

Ohio Drive is completely closed off.

Behind the Library of Congress

This is the closest/clearest view of the Capitol right now

Photojournalist documenting guardsmen

Looking at the back of the Supreme Court

In case there's any confusion about why we're here:

Golden Hour in the District

Hi, everyone.  How's pandemic fatigue going?  Last night I randomly asked Hans if he'd be willing to get up early and drive into DC before dawn for a much-needed long walk and some camera practice.  We headed out the door at 5 am and enjoyed being on "tourist" mode with our backpacks and walking shoes.  The air was quite chilly but when the sun came up we enjoyed some beautiful clear skies.

After the violent and fascist-driven madness that transpired at the Capitol building on Wednesday I also needed some inspirational views of American monuments that I sometimes take for granted.  It's been a rough week after a challenging year.

The Arlington Memorial Bridge just underwent a massive re-surfacing and cleaning.  Two years ago the roadway was literally crumbling.  Looks pretty good today!

Sunrise view from the Lincoln Memorial.  There were a few small groups of people camped out with blankets and coffee on this tranquil morning.

Korean War Memorial, engraved with the words "Freedom Is Not Free"

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

Multiple layers of barricades and extra manpower has been installed around the Capitol since Wednesday.  There are other regular chain-link fences scattered around the main lawn in preparation for the inauguration on January 20th.

Flag at half mast in honor of the Capitol Police officer who died 

as a result of injuries sustained in the events of January 6th.

High-res early morning shot with the crescent moon.

Another high-res photo.  Cropped version of one above.