DC

tree planting with Casey Trees, originally uploaded by zannect.

Back when I was researching DC, I heard about an organization called Casey Trees. Their mission is to restore the tree canopy of Washington. Apparently DC used to be called the City of Trees, but during the 1960s and 70s, the city lost 65% of the tree cover due to neglect. In 1999, a philanthropist named Betty Brown Casey gave a generous donation to start the organization. Since 2001 they have planted over 7,000 trees. The organization leads tree walks, teaches classes, gives high school kids summer jobs, and helps DC residents plant trees. It's really cool. They will help homeowners pick the right trees for their land, and help them plant the trees; they'll help community groups green their neighborhood; and they assist the city with planting and care of city trees. Last week I took a two-evening class about trees, and then Saturday morning I went with a group to plant 30 trees in Oxon Run park in SE DC. The training means that I can assist and help organize new volunteers at tree plantings that are held every weekend in the spring and the fall.

I planted two trees with a small group of other people. It was quite a lot of fun! We planted white swamp oak (above), sweet gum trees, and a few others. It was a gorgeous spring day and spending the morning outside with a visible end result was really satisfying. The other volunteers and the staff were an eclectic group of really nice folks, a mix of long-time DC residents, other newcomers, and an intern from Finland. I'll be volunteering with Casey Trees throughout the spring planting season, and then I hope to again in the fall.

Growing up as I did in a much more rural area, and in a house with a yard full of amazing trees, I've always felt like there was something missing in the cities I've lived in. One of my major complaints about NYC was how much I missed being around trees. It's really neat to be helping plant trees in my new city, and it makes me so much more aware of the trees that are already here.

ps--I took that photo with my camera! The quality is much better than I expected.

Fallen branch, originally uploaded by zannect.

You might have heard it snowed here in DC. It doesn't snow very much around here, so 25 inches is a BIG DEAL, aka "crippling", "historic", "obliterating", and "paralyzing" (all direct quotes from various major news sources). It started around 10am on Friday and didn't stop till after 5pm on Saturday. I went to the grocery store on Friday afternoon and it was like the end of the world: bare shelves, especially in the produce and meat sections (no garlic!!!), people stockpiling milk and wine like there wouldn't be any more produced ever again, and lines to rival the Park Slope Food Coop the day before Thanksgiving. I was able to get plenty of food and even had some nice conversations with other people waiting in line. I got pretty stir-crazy by Saturday afternoon and went out for a walk (lots of pictures here) and saw some pretty crazy stuff: a snow plow that was stuck; a tow truck that was stuck with a driver attempting to pull himself out by hooking onto a fire hydrant; dozens of people sledding and having snow ball fights; people skiing down the middle of U Street; and some very, very happy dogs. I was fortunate not to lose power, so I spent my weekend cooking, putting together furniture, and relaxing. So much for my last batch of errands to finish off my apartment! Those will have to wait till next week, assuming we ever dig out. I got out of work early on Friday, and I'm hoping I'll make it to work tomorrow, but there's a decent chance we'll have a snow day, if the city can't dig out enough to make it possible to commute.

Here's a video of a tow truck attempting to rescue the plow:

I'm sure they got out eventually, but by then I was cold so I didn't stick around to see. Today it's gloriously sunny so I'm heading out for another walk to see how things look today.

Welcome to DC indeed!

Updated at 4pm: I just took another walk and came back with more photos! Lots of buried cars, and sadly, many broken and completely downed trees.

Huge fallen tree:

It's really pretty:

I can't tell what's happening here: