Stella Visits the Capital
Well, we're going to start today's blog post with a lesson on spelling. Readers might think that I have misspelled capital in the title of this blog post, but indeed, I have not. CapitAl, with an "A" is used to refer to the official seat of government for a state or country. CapitOl, with an "O" is used to refer to the building occupied by a state legislature. I had to remind myself of this when I moved to Washington. You can look it up here.
Okay, back to Stella. Stella, the blizzard, that is. She visited the capital. In truth, she also visited the capitol itself, but more generally speaking, she visited the capital of the United States. It was my first adventure with snow in the city and probably the only one that I will have given that it's the middle of March and the cherry blossoms are (or were?) in bloom.
Yesterday there was quite a bit of hoopla about what would happen in the event of snow. Would it be all snow? Would there be rain? Would there be sleet? Would Washington shut down? Would the Metro run? Would the Senate be in session? I read that some offices shut down when there are storms. I read that the offices which represent storm-affected states like to be open in case there are problems. I heard from the staffers in my office that we planned to be open, unless the situation was disastrous. Indeed, we were open. But, not without suffering through some dramatic speculation the day before.
Here I am on Monday evening, all ready for the storm. In fact, when I took this photo, it was already snowing. Neil said it is an awful photo of me. I agree, but I still like it, even if I am sporting the Elmer Fudd look again. I was ready for the excitement...and for a night's worth of academic work give that my rehearsal at Catholic University had been cancelled. Notice that I'm wearing the Mainer-inspired mandatory turtleneck?
I saw people really going to town in their preparations before the storm. Yes, below is a picture the night before the storm - this is salt. In truth it was spitting snow at this point. These folks were not taking any chances. They were going to make sure that no ice formed on their steps. I'll bet they were successful, too!
I decided this morning that it was a good day to make my peanut butter cookies. Or, should I call them the "senator's cookies" now that the senator has weighed in on this recipe... I mean, what day isn't a day for these cookies, right? I'm so glad that I'm not a cookie person or I'd be doomed. (Now, about those M&Ms that someone brought into the office today...in two jumbo bags. I'm going to need to have a talk with that person...) So, I made cookies and brought them with me into the office for the storm survivors.
Things were delayed this morning. I was delayed. I had stayed up too late working. After I got in my morning workout, I set out, about an hour later than usual for the office. This is what my street looked like. Not too bad, right? Indeed, not too bad. But, it was like walking in deep sand. I should have skipped the workout this morning. I was soaking wet by the time I arrived at the office, having sweated through my clothing from the effort of walking through all that shifting wet snow.
Here's the "bike share" near my apartment. I actually saw a man cleaning off a bicycle in preparation for using it. I desperately wanted to snap his photo, but decided that would be creepy. By-the-way, what was he thinking? This was not a morning for bicycling riding!
Oh, the cherry blossoms! They were caked in ice. I heard this morning that the National Park Service is estimating that 90% of the blossoms will be lost due to this storm.
Here you have more ice on the cherry blossoms. This is in Stanton Park, which is at the intersections of Massachusetts Ave and Maryland Ave.
Just like at home in New England, there were some power outages. The traffic signals were not working at this intersection this morning. I was extra careful stepping out into the street, knowing that drivers were not sporting snow tires.
I took this picture from Stanton Park as well. One can look down Maryland Ave toward the Capitol (notice the spelling? ☺) I love this view and this morning it was just as interesting.
This was taken from inside the the Dirksen Senate Office Building looking down onto the street. That's the Russell Senate Office Building across the street. This street, 1st Street NE, is sporting a row of trees in bloom. Frozen, but still in bloom.
I took a quick break from my desk today to go over to visit the Capitol and see what everything looked like with snow around. Beautiful and lovely, but freezing cold with wind. I made a "Facebook Live" video, but I'm lacking the patience to link to it right now.
The vegetation is really taking a hit. Look at the tulips sticking up through the snow. They will likely be just fine. This snow will quickly disappear, I'm sure of it.
Here's a beautiful blooming tree, standing over the snow.
I found this rose bush on my way home. About one-half of the roses have died and withered.
I visit Stanton Park twice a day on my walks to and fro the office. What I enjoy most about this park is a wonderful playground that caters to younger children. There's so much laughter and joy. Children playing, parents picking up their kids at the end of the day... This little snowman that I found in Stanton Park is a good symbol of what I love about this one city park. I hope that everyone made it through the storm alright. I'm planning to hit the sidewalks tomorrow with my morning run.
Okay, back to Stella. Stella, the blizzard, that is. She visited the capital. In truth, she also visited the capitol itself, but more generally speaking, she visited the capital of the United States. It was my first adventure with snow in the city and probably the only one that I will have given that it's the middle of March and the cherry blossoms are (or were?) in bloom.
Yesterday there was quite a bit of hoopla about what would happen in the event of snow. Would it be all snow? Would there be rain? Would there be sleet? Would Washington shut down? Would the Metro run? Would the Senate be in session? I read that some offices shut down when there are storms. I read that the offices which represent storm-affected states like to be open in case there are problems. I heard from the staffers in my office that we planned to be open, unless the situation was disastrous. Indeed, we were open. But, not without suffering through some dramatic speculation the day before.
This prediction below turned out to be pretty much on the spot. Washington got a couple inches of snow, topped with a thick layer of ice and at 7:00am it was pouring rain and 32°.
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Here I am on Monday evening, all ready for the storm. In fact, when I took this photo, it was already snowing. Neil said it is an awful photo of me. I agree, but I still like it, even if I am sporting the Elmer Fudd look again. I was ready for the excitement...and for a night's worth of academic work give that my rehearsal at Catholic University had been cancelled. Notice that I'm wearing the Mainer-inspired mandatory turtleneck?
I saw people really going to town in their preparations before the storm. Yes, below is a picture the night before the storm - this is salt. In truth it was spitting snow at this point. These folks were not taking any chances. They were going to make sure that no ice formed on their steps. I'll bet they were successful, too!
I decided this morning that it was a good day to make my peanut butter cookies. Or, should I call them the "senator's cookies" now that the senator has weighed in on this recipe... I mean, what day isn't a day for these cookies, right? I'm so glad that I'm not a cookie person or I'd be doomed. (Now, about those M&Ms that someone brought into the office today...in two jumbo bags. I'm going to need to have a talk with that person...) So, I made cookies and brought them with me into the office for the storm survivors.
Things were delayed this morning. I was delayed. I had stayed up too late working. After I got in my morning workout, I set out, about an hour later than usual for the office. This is what my street looked like. Not too bad, right? Indeed, not too bad. But, it was like walking in deep sand. I should have skipped the workout this morning. I was soaking wet by the time I arrived at the office, having sweated through my clothing from the effort of walking through all that shifting wet snow.
Here's the "bike share" near my apartment. I actually saw a man cleaning off a bicycle in preparation for using it. I desperately wanted to snap his photo, but decided that would be creepy. By-the-way, what was he thinking? This was not a morning for bicycling riding!
Oh, the cherry blossoms! They were caked in ice. I heard this morning that the National Park Service is estimating that 90% of the blossoms will be lost due to this storm.
Here you have more ice on the cherry blossoms. This is in Stanton Park, which is at the intersections of Massachusetts Ave and Maryland Ave.
Just like at home in New England, there were some power outages. The traffic signals were not working at this intersection this morning. I was extra careful stepping out into the street, knowing that drivers were not sporting snow tires.
I took this picture from Stanton Park as well. One can look down Maryland Ave toward the Capitol (notice the spelling? ☺) I love this view and this morning it was just as interesting.
This was taken from inside the the Dirksen Senate Office Building looking down onto the street. That's the Russell Senate Office Building across the street. This street, 1st Street NE, is sporting a row of trees in bloom. Frozen, but still in bloom.
I took a quick break from my desk today to go over to visit the Capitol and see what everything looked like with snow around. Beautiful and lovely, but freezing cold with wind. I made a "Facebook Live" video, but I'm lacking the patience to link to it right now.
The vegetation is really taking a hit. Look at the tulips sticking up through the snow. They will likely be just fine. This snow will quickly disappear, I'm sure of it.
Here's a beautiful blooming tree, standing over the snow.
I found this rose bush on my way home. About one-half of the roses have died and withered.
I visit Stanton Park twice a day on my walks to and fro the office. What I enjoy most about this park is a wonderful playground that caters to younger children. There's so much laughter and joy. Children playing, parents picking up their kids at the end of the day... This little snowman that I found in Stanton Park is a good symbol of what I love about this one city park. I hope that everyone made it through the storm alright. I'm planning to hit the sidewalks tomorrow with my morning run.
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