Hi Everyone, well the last week of August has certainly snuck up on us. Summer is usually such a busy time for me, and this year it just wasn’t so it seems to have flown by. This week brought some very good news from the local side of Washington D.C: a new baby panda was born at the National Zoo. The pandas are very near and dear to our heart here in Washington and have been since Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing first arrived in 1972. I grew up alongside those two, and the city mourned their loss when they died. The two never had any babies which survived more than a few weeks. Thankfully we were able to bring two young pandas to Washington after they passed, and Tian Tian and Mei Xiang have had five babies, two of which lived to adulthood and have gone back to China. This new baby, as yet unnamed, is a bit of a surprise at their age, but we welcome it with open arms and pray for its survival. The next few weeks will be critical, so we’re keeping it in our prayers and in our hearts.
I’ve been spending more time with my two year old buddy, Mason, and we’ve been having a lot of fun together. His dad has pointed me to one of their favorite spots in Glover Archbold Park where we can sit by the stream and throw rocks in the water. It’s a peaceful place where we can hang out outside but in the cool creekside shade and listen to the cicadas. On the way there and the way back we look at all the different colored flowers in peoples’ yards and keep an eye out for bumblebees and butterflies – two of his, and my, favorites. Sometimes he rides his bike while I run alongside. Our days are full of singing and laughter and it’s been really wonderful to hang out with him. He’s been keeping me busy though and wears me out, so I haven’t been up to too much else this week (which is just fine with me).
Last Friday night we paid tribute to another lost rite of summer: the county fair. We gathered outside for some fried cheese and corn on the cob and shared a six pack of assorted beers with fair-like themes (many from Clown Shoes Brewing Company). Then we moved inside where we had a dime-toss, played some dice games, enjoyed some grilled sausages and chocolate eclairs and had a couple more beers. It definitely wasn’t as much fun as the real thing, and we missed the lights and sounds of the carnival rides and games, the animals, crafts and produce, but we had a pretty good time all things considered.
Saturday I had some friends over for a socially distanced couple of beers to celebrate my friend James’ 45th birthday. Mason came over too and I brought down some of my favorite big Tonka trucks for him to play with. It was nice to have some people over to talk to and to sit outside with on a Saturday afternoon. When everyone left we moved out back and had some food delivered so nobody had to cook.
I had some friends in town on Sunday who had come to bring their children to the National Zoo. While it is still too early to see the new baby panda, we did see some other great animals which were out and about. The elephants, lions, tigers and sea lions were definitely enjoying the overly warm weather. While most of the indoor exhibits are closed, the outdoor space is still largely open. Masks were required and they are only allowing a certain number of people in, both of which seemed very reasonable. It was great to see my friend Luis too as it has been many years since I saw him last. A long walk in the midday heat took a lot out of me, so a long afternoon nap rounded out my Sunday. It was a nice weekend spent with family and friends, even if at a safe distance.
As I mentioned, I’ve spent my days this week exploring the town with young Mason, but my mom and I still went for a bit of a trip on Tuesday afternoon. We headed down to Old Town Alexandria to have a wander and look at some of the wonderful old homes there. I was there to take some photos for my series on DC’s Oldest Homes, remembering that Alexandria was a part of the city from its founding through the 1840s. We stopped in a couple of different places and then came back to Georgetown to see some more old homes. It wasn’t as long as our normal Tuesday outings, but it was still nice to be out and about. Afterwards I introduced my folks to Frito-pie-in-a-bag (also known as a “walking taco” or “Frito boat”), where you open a personal size bag of Fritos and load in chili, cheese and all the fixin’s and then eat it straight from the bag. I know many of you know what I’m talking about - good fun and delicious. My folks are good sports, and it cut down on dishes.
This coming week will be much the same as this week. With August coming to an end, I feel like there is cooler weather right over the horizon which will be more than welcome here. I know with it will come shorter days, but I’m ready for that too. Soon the leaves will be changing and I’ll at least be getting out for some long weekends in the woods which I’m really looking forward to. It’s been a long summer where I’ve wanted to be anywhere else other than here, but I’ve actually had a really good time and we’ve tried to make the most of it. As they say, life is what happens when you’re making other plans. I hope you are all having a good week wherever you are. Stay safe, try and have some fun, and I’ll see you right back here next week.
Thanks for reading,
-Mike