Now if you moved into the neighborhood less than a year ago you’ll probably think I’m nuts, but really this was a quiet July 4th, compared to previous years. Since I wasn’t invited to anyone’s rooftop this year, I stayed home and decide to watch a chick flick with a glass of wine. At a point the localized explosions brought me outside where B. was sitting on his porch. Then a neighbor across the street ventured out and we then made our way to the end of the block to catch a glimpse of the Mall’s fireworks beyond the trees (damned trees!).
Last year I mainly stayed in for the smoke because the empty space at the end of the block had served as a staging area for a local fireworks show. This year that space was filled with parked cars. Some guy walking by expressed his amazement that my block wasn’t getting blown up. He said that there had always been something in the last 40 years. I can believe it. But this year, nada. Now there was something going on in the direction of the Cook/Slater schools, maybe even the Armstrong (CAPCS) school lot.
Yes, there will be more fireworks going off for the next few days or weeks. Now either I’ve gotten so that I can mentally block them out or there are fewer non-July 4th fireworks going off. Normally, one can expect nighttime explosions until early August. Since this year seems comparatively quiet, the noise may cease earlier, like mid July.
Category: Living in Shaw
Lazy Gardener harvest
This year, for the front yard, all I did was move some pots around, and plant some tomato plants that had outgrown their seedling pots. What’s in the ground is pretty much the result of what I’ve done years before. I amended and took care of the soil, so the arugula grows like crazy. Which means I got to keep cutting it back and giving it away. Lucky me I have a few neighbors who love the peppery lettuce. I can take it in small doses and really wish something that I liked a bit better would grow as quickly and easily instead. I’ve probably gotten a dozen bags of arugula.
I’ve gotten a few tomatoes this month. The evil squirrels so far haven’t feigned any interest in my tomatoes. Not like last year when it was a battle between me and them. There are still a few more months to go though.
Because I had some work done on my front walkway, I moved my productive lavender plant, which is now a dying lavender plant. I would pick the flowers when they were just about ready, dry them in the window sill and store them for future use. I collected enough to throw a few tablespoons here and there into some dishes. I hope the plant comes back as I am really enjoying lavender-vanilla ice cream.
Mint is still going strong. It is a perennial so I don’t have to fuss with it, as is the sage and the thyme. Some of the Swiss Chard from last year didn’t seem to bolt like the rest of the chard and are happily crowding out the arugula.
Pondering asking to do some gardening in someone else’s yard I realize how lazy I can be now, because of hard work I put into my yard, back when I had the energy. Untended yards have hard, clayish soil. It takes a while and a fair investment in compost, dirt, mulch and serious weed pulling to get it so that arugula comes back without much help, or thought.
The backyard, since it is all container gardening does require some effort on my part. This year I tried my hand at potatoes and ate my reward. Three small fingerling-ish potatoes. This after digging my naked arm into a pot and embedding dirt deep into my nails. They were tasty. However there were too few of them. I would have turned the whole pot over looking for them but, I had some bean plants on top and didn’t want to lose them.
Believe me when I say there is trash
Shane on Q has been to BACA meetings before to plead for help or some relief from the trash that piles up on the 100-200 block of Q Street NW. The street gets cleaned up on the Co-op’s side, and I gather that is due to management of the property and its block proper. However the opposite side of the street gets to have McDonald’s bags, liquor bottles, and today, watermelon rind littered upon it. The only one cleaning it up (unless you witness someone else also doing it tell me) is Shane. And Shane is getting kinda frustrated.For Flower Power I did a walkby on Q, noticed the trash and decided to get a bag and clean up. I ran into Shane and he offered to join me. He wondered if he should leave the trash so that when the FP group walked through we’d see the trash and understand his predicament. Noted that his problem was he was out of the range of cleaning crews and trash pick up guys. 100-200 Q is too far west of the North Capitol and NOMA clean up crews. It is too far north for the lone guy from S.O.M.E. picking up trash. Too far east for Brian (big tall blond guy with the trash can). And not adjacent to a major church, which would have some caretaker.
I suggested residential parking. Now I’ve just had an unfortunate incident with residential parking as my new roommate got a ticket, with me thinking that parking enforcement wouldn’t be around. Wrong, so I am very aware of the downsides of resident parking. But I think it might help with the trash. The trash come from people visiting and being bad guests, tossing their trash on the street. Now my block got the residential parking to combat drug dealers. The presence of drug dealers is down, but that comes from a combination of things of which parking was a tool.
This page contains a single entry by Mari published on June 26, 2010 11:38 AM.
Kids and the Florida Avenue Park
Yesterday I went to the Bloomingdale Farmers Market and decided to buy stuff till I ran out of money, which was about $45. Painted Hand was selling a chicken for less than $4 a pound so I had to hop on that. And I bought carrots, celery that doesn’t look like the celery at the store, onions, cherries, blueberries, baked goods and string beans. I had two bags full of stuff. While I was at the market I ran into some of the neighborhood munchkins and their parents. When I was done shopping I noticed a bunch of kids and parents had wandered over the the playground at the Florida Avenue Park on the other side of Florida Ave. There was a whole gaggle of kids on the kiddie swings running around, doing the things that make the Pre-K crowd happy.
I remember when this would not have happened. When parents would not have taken their precious charges to the park where odd old dudes hung out. I remember back when a parent told me she found human poop on the play equipment and swore off ever returning there. Well in the meantime the park has improved a bit, but there are still complaints. Apparently, shards of glass can be found in the mulch that covers the play area. I didn’t see any, but then again I don’t have a kid running around in the stuff. Also it is said the trash cans are overrun with sharp things.
Anyway, according to a post on the BACA blog, the park is slated to get a $1.2 million dollar makeover. Hopefully that may include something addressing the suitability of the play area.
This page contains a single entry by Mari published on June 21, 2010 8:15 AM.
Clean-up Treeboxing success
It seemed to be a great turn out for the treebox improvement effort that BACA’s Caryn did with money obtained by the ANC.
This page contains a single entry by Mari published on June 7, 2010 6:33 AM.
A coupla house & garden things
I’m a little late mentioning this but have you heard of the partial house collapse on Morgan St? A street that is both in Mt. Vernon Square and the TC.
As a reminder, these houses aren’t as strong as you think they are, unless someone in the 100 or so years they’ve been standing did more than slap band-aids on them. A neighbor is gutting his house and the stories he’s told about what dangerous defects they found once they’ve peeled away the plaster is frigging frightening. Walls with nothing but sandy mortar keeping them up. Walls that were leaning and bowing and not really locked in place that possibly could have taken the neighboring house with it. Well that’s just our block. I’m sure your house was built by guys who wanted the place to stand for a hundred years. Oh wait, your hundred years is up.
Well now that I’ve depressed and unnecessarily scared some of you (really, unless you’re renovating don’t worry. If you are renovating factor structural fix-ups into the costs), here’s something nice. I was in the 5th St Hardware store to get some zip ties. Spent $75 in gardening stuff and forgot the zip ties. Anyway I saw a non-motorized lawn mower for sale. If I still had a tiny lawn I would really consider one of these. It is one of those really old fashioned push reel mowers and since the only power it uses is people power, it is green. I have heard it is greener not to have a lawn at all. But I didn’t ditch my tiny lawn to be green. It was ditched it because I wanted to grow food and I can’t eat grass.
Not so nice. They are almost out of tomato plants. There were 1 or 2 left. I bought 2. Hit the farmers markets. Thursday in Penn Quarter, there is a vendor who sells patio tomato plants, great for small spaces. Patio tomatoes don’t vine all over the place. They are kinda bushy.
Ok this post is rambling.
Alley Goings On
The worst recently of alley going ons was the attempted armed robbery that happened last weekend. From what I’ve heard, a young guy with a gun tried to rob a Latino contruction dude. I sort of heard something around about the time of the robbery, but when I looked out all I saw was one middle aged Latino guy yelling to some unseen guys. I didn’t think too much about it at the time because there are a few construction projects going on. But when I chatted with a couple of neighbors they told me about the attempt. Not sure what foiled the robbery, I guess the alley is a little bit more active (in a good way) than the robber figured on.
The alley now has a few more eyes and a few more people are using the back deck or patio now that the weather is getting nicer. I regularly hear the family across the way entertaining on their deck. The cat ladies several doors down hang out on their deck and I am hearing and seeing them on occasion. There is a house closer to the end that has a roof deck and noticeable it has an excellent view of the corner where the friendly neighborhood dealers have taken a liking to hanging. Decks and gates that give greater visibility to the alley have placed more eyes in the back.
One neighbor (as we were recounting the robbery attempt to each other) told me how the changing dynamics of the suprised one old bum. It seems the old guy was looking for a place to hide or smoke crack and his old haunt was closed off to him. The neighbor said the guy had this look of annoyance and then surprise when the neighbor (on the other side of the alley with his garage gate up) gave him an “hello.”
During the day, when I was home sick with a cold, I noticed the traffic in my alley. Because of the construction, there are construction guys walking and driving up and down the alley. There is also an employee from the day care talking a smoke/cell phone break pacing up and down. And as usual, school boys, dog walkers, and cyclists cutting through.
S*H*A*W* M*A*S*H* (the In Shaw version)
(HT CCCA )
Life goes on though.
The day care co-op plays in the rear of the Kennedy Rec Center.
Young men sit at the corner of 7th & O, yards away from the checkpoint.
People with medical/ mental/ ??? issues walk down 7th.
And I explored the maze of pedestrian options in alleys, parking lots and walkways between 6th & 7th. It might also be an option with a Smart Car.
Monday walkabout
Greetings from the free and liberating part of Shaw, Truxton Circle. Pretty much a block or two away from the Convention Center nothing looks different. Well except for police loitering over at Dunbar or in the park across from the Safeway.
I walked around. Ran some errands. The register was down at the 5th St Hardware and I think I saw Michelle Rhee walking out the Safeway with her assistant/ aide/ some random guy pushing her cart. 5th Street is normal. 6th Street appears to have the 70 bus running down it. Military vehicles block 7th and 9th and a tiny portion of 8th for one level of security. The G2 seems to be running normal on P, and taxis were running up and down O. I was able to walk by the Humvees and military personnel towards the checkpoints without showing any ID. The sidewalk is blocked off at 7th and O on both sides and I didn’t test whether ID required to walk to the front door of 1330 7th St. Little matter as you can get to their parking lot from the rear.
I spoke with one resident living in the militarized zone and he pretty much had a good spirit about it all. Of course he complained about the set up noise and the helicopters flying overhead kept him up at night. Also he’s happy he’s parked in just the right space where it is close enough, but doesn’t require the military to unblock his way.
Also I noticed on my walk, some hangerouters moved to sitting in cars and throwing chicken bones out of open windows. I nearly got hit by a bone. The grocery stores were busy. Azi’s didn’t look busy. But it was 11 something and one guy in there. I don’t know how busy they are normally.
Some others have reported on the security around the area. Such as Economic Policy Journal looking more at the south end. The BAANC blog editor worries about fire safety. CCCA has a clever SHAW MASH post but I’m guessing the military medical vehicle wasn’t sitting in front of Kennedy when the Prez was out there. Cause that would have been a good picture. Maybe I should walk out again (I forgot something at the store) and take a picture of it.
More follow-up
Well I never thought DCRA could actually work this quickly. If DCRA wants to take a look at the vacant store at P and North Cap with the big dent in the side, that would be nice, thanks! I’m guessing this removal of the roof and part of the 2nd floor is the work of DCRA or one of it’s contractors because there were cones and yellow tape blocking the alley. If the 1st floor of the house crumbles, I gather there’s less of a danger. But the thing I wonder is if the estate of the owner has been informed of this?
Regarding the big Nuclear to-do over at the Convention Center, it appears that fewer people will have their Constitutional rights violated and Jack Evans is trying to help with parking woes. According to the press release ““This Summit , while good for the District, will be an inconvenience for many in the neighborhood,” said Evans. “Suspending street sweeping will at least allow cars to remain parked and help ease this burden on those who live and work around the Convention Center.”
DPW will post signs in the following areas stating that residents do not have to relocate their vehicles for street sweeping: Florida Avenue, NW (northern boundary), H Street, NW (southern boundary), 5th Street, NW (eastern boundary), and 15th Street, NW (western boundary).”
From reading the Post and other media it appears the ID checking will be on the sidewalk side of the Convention Center, so possibly persons going to Subway Sandwiches, that dance studio, the cigar place, church for noontime mass might not have to show ID. Just the unfortunate saps who live on the same block as the Convention Center. Do I think that all this trouble will be worth it? The Convention Center has been open for how many years now? And hosting how many large conferences and events and has any of that really helped the northern end? I don’t know about you but on days when I walk home I notice the conference badged hordes heading south to Chinatown and crowding the eateries there.
Lastly, I’d been meaning to clean up and address some emails I got about schools, particularly the Center City School, formerly the Immaculate Conception Catholic School. But at a certain point I gotta admit I’m never going to get to or follow up on certain things and just clean out my mailbox.