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Washington DC (2012) Page 4

Washington DC visit, page 4:

Saturday morning we went to the famous Farmers Market. It is rightfully famous. The produce was spectacular - very high quality and varied. We wish we had something like that near us! (Although I will say our local corn stand has fantastic corn on the cob.) Jim, the owner, is originally from Massachusetts, many years ago.

The plan was to head to the National Arboretum after breakfast. And, in fact, we did that. However, it was a bit delayed because while making breakfast, a fuse blew in the kitchen. The entire kitchen, it turns out, is on one (formerly very old) fuse. It is now on one new fuse, after we waited for the man on call to replace it. Luckily, Jenn has a gas stove and matches, so we were able to have breakfast while waiting.

We loved the Arboretum. Our first stop was the Koi Pond. This is a large Koi Pond, with many fish - all of whom expect you to feed them! There is a food dispenser near by.

Paul in front of a Crapemyrtle tree:

Adjacent to the Koi Pond are the Bonsai. The one we are in front of (below) is almost 400 years old! This display showed a nice variety of Bonsai, including ones both from Japan and the United States. Check out the virtual tour at the Arboretum website for more examples of the bonsai.

We were pleased to see some hummingbird moths. In the first picture, it is up to it's eyes in the flower.

The National Herb Garden doesn't necessarily sound like much, but it was probably our favorite section of the Arboretum. It is very pretty, as well as being educational. (Again, check out the on-line virtual tour.) They have sections with different themes, such as beverages, or dyeing, or seasoning. The pillars in the picture with Paul and Jenn are originally from the Capital Building.

From there we went to Fern Valley, which is a pleasant wooded section. The Passiflora incarnata, commonly called Maypop, was in bloom during our visit. This is an impressive flower. A busy bee was dutifully covered in pollen.

The last section of the arboretum that we had time to visit was the Asian Collections. This area goes down to the Anacostia River, and has various sections with different Asian (and related) plants. Here are Anne and Jenn on the pretty bench, Paul next to a really large leafed plant, some butterflies / moths, and then Anne and Jenn standing in the pagoda-style structure.

Saturday evening we had an excellent meal featuring the vegetables from the farmer's market. Jenn made us roasted beets, mushrooms, and French goat cheese. Neither Paul nor I have had beets, so this was fun to try. I will have to experiment making that at home.

That was the last full day of our vacation. We took a nice walk on Sunday before leaving.

 

Updated July 2020