And Then a Hard Rain Fell on DC

As noted yesterday my day in the Nations Capital was a washout. Oh, I got some things done it was, literally, a washout. While waiting out a harder shower I realized I was at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue. So off I went four more blocks to see and gets some wet pictures of The Washington Monument, the White House and the Albert Gallatin statue at the north entrance to the Treasury building. Then it was back up New York Avenue, moving overhang to overhang, back to the car.

Rita and the New Big Wong

Spent an very rainy afternoon in Washington, DC on Saturday. Found a Rita's Italian Ice while dodging raindrops through Chinatown. Isn't Little Italy and Chinatown right next to each other in Manhattan, too?

Out of Many, One

Monument to the Excelsior Brigade, 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd and 74th New York Volunteers Infantry Regiments. Sickles Avenue, Gettysburg National Battlefield.

Backstreets

One soft infested summer, me and Terry became friends,

Trying in vain to breathe the fire we were born in,

Catching rides to the outskirts, tying fate between our teeth,

Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house,

Getting wasted in the heat,

And hiding on the backstreets,

Hiding on the backstreets,

With a love so hard and filed with defeat,

Running for our lives at night on them, backstreets.

Backstreets, Bruce Springsteen, 1975

From OPACY to M&T

Walking to the parking lots after the Orioles / Red Sox game. From Oriole Park at Camden Yards to M&T Bank Stadium.

The Venue

I ran into this venue of Black Vultures out near the State Game Lands, close to the landfill. They were in no big hurry to clear the road.

Mountain Goat Sighting

I spotted these 9 Mountain Goat while cruising out of Glacier Bay, Alaska. They were way out there.

Columbine-A-Plenty

I was playing in the Tommy Knocker Tavern,

Jenny was the girl at the bar.

Well I sang every song for her and her alone,

And I kissed her 'neath the Colorado sky.

And we laughed at the moonlight,

Said goodbye in the grey light of dawn,

Yes the girl in my dreams each and every night it seems,

Is the one that I hold in my arms.

Kansas City Southern, Turnpike Troubadours, 2010

Birdwalk 6-7-2015

 Wood Duck, drake. They're super sensitive to anyone getting close.

 Muskrat momma and kit

 Goldfinch, male

 Red-winged Blackbird, male

 Red-winged Blackbird, female

Muskrat

Some of the critters I encountered on my Sunday morning walk along the Big Spring.

The Elk Horn Hotel (PG 204)

It's been a while since I've posted a Painted Gentleman, so here it goes, number 204. The Elk Horn Hotel, 101 South Main Street, Bendersville, Pa.  There has been a tavern here since 1790. It is currently operating as The Elkhorn Inn.

The Bachelor Herd

On a recent walkabout along the Big Spring I saw several groups of drake mallards. I don't know if it a bachelor group or if they're just getting out and away from the laying hens.

Pre-Thistle

She would never say where she came from,

Yesterday don't matter if it's gone,

While the sun is bright or in the darkest night,

No one knows,
She comes and goes,
Goodbye Ruby Tuesday.

Ruby Tuesday, Rolling Stones, 1966

Independent Junior Fire Company No. 3, old station

Independent Junior Fire Company No. 3, Hagerstown Fire Department, old station, 105 North Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland, Washington County. The Company was formed in 1842 by the younger members of the Franklin Union Fire Company. They were incorporated February 6, 1843. This firehouse was built in 1852 and remodeled in 1892. It served as a field hospial for the U.S. Army during the Civil War. The Independent Junior's moved out on November 21, 1993.  Station 3 is now located at 100 Eastern Boulevard. John Fridinger became the first Line of Duty Death in the Hagerstown Fire Department when, during a major fire downtown on December 5, 1871, the courthouse cupola fell crushing and trapping Fireman Fridinger beneath burning beams while he and others attempted to get water onto the fire.

Sweeping the Sox

 Starting Pitcher Wei-Yin Chen, the winning pitcher.

 Manny Macado. holding at third. Pablo Sandoval and Bobby Dickerson

 Adam Jones with a lead at first. Mike Napoli at 1st base.

Chris Davis at bat, catcher Blake Swihart.

 Reliever Darren O'Day for the save.

Made my first trip of the year down to see the Orioles beat the Red Sox on Wednesday evening. Good game, but no home runs. Thursday night the O's won again completing the sweep. And they did it with three home runs.

Honeysuckle

You'll be my soft and sweet, I'll be your strong and steady,

You'll be my glass of wine, I'll be your shot of whiskey,

You'll be my sunny day, I'll be your shade tree,

You'll be my honeysuckle, I'll be your honey bee.

Honey Bee, Blake Shelton (Akins/Hayslip) 2011

When It Rains...

I drove through a monsoon getting home from work last night. When I got home everything was dry. I joked about needing to water my garden. These pictures were taken one hour later. Nearly 3.5 inches of rain. I have seen it this bad twice before. Once it got to my mailbox (right side of first picture)