Baigneuses oiseaux à Asnières

This evening the skies are dark as thunder rolls in and tree limbs blown by the wind - there is a strange pink color to the dusk. The weather the past few days has been getting closer to being oppressive - the 90's and humid. As the rain begins, individual leaves look like piano keys being depressed by individual drops one at a time - but making no sound. It was pretty close to being unbearable riding the Metro to downtown at

Une Baignade, Asnières

mid-day and the later return to Landover Station. The air conditioning seemed unnoticeable until I stood close to the door underneath the ventilation register. My office and car, our house, are all great reliefs - the cooling systems in the three are working just fine. Perhaps if this were 1884 and if the Metro were to stop on the tracks before the bridge at the Anacostia River after exiting the tunnel near RFK Stadium, the passengers would disembark and walk down to the banks and cool themselves for a short while before continuing their ride out to Minnesota Avenue, Deanwood, Chevery, Landover, and New Carrollton. Such rest breaks would be necessary on longer commuter train rides, because in 1884 there would be no air conditioning in Metro cars.

American Robin Bathing

The weather must be rough on the birds as well. Many kinds are frequenting the bath in our backyard - either using it to get a quick drink, or to take very public bath. It has been interesting how the smaller bird like the Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow, and House Finch swoop in for a quick drink - dainty in their approaches as well as their exits - off the trees and other parts unknown. As for the larger birds - they move in like the own the place and do some serious cooling down - these are bathers with attitude, brutes with nothing delicate about them. A kind of free range menagerie that reminded me of Georges Pierre Seurat's Une Baignade, Asnières, but rather a pretend Baigneuses oiseaux à Voie Murmure du vent.

De grands oiseaux qui se baignent

Gray Catbirds - Dumetella carolinensis

Northern Cardinals - Cardinalis cardinalis

American Robins - Turdus migratorius

Common Grackles - Quiscalus quiscula

Mourning Doves - Zenaida macroura

Blue Jays - Cyanocitta cristata

The American Robin is the most immodest of our backyard bathers - it is bold enough to use the small water fountain just beyond our small deck landing out the backyard sliding glass door, as well as the bird bath 20 feet away in the bed next to the patio. The rest have greater situational awareness - not appreciating large, upright mammals with binoculars and holding a camera fitted with a 200 mm zoom lens.
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Ce soir, le ciel est sombre comme le tonnerre gronde et dans des branches d'arbre soufflé par le vent. Le temps des derniers jours a été se rapproche d'être oppressive - les années 90 et humide. Comme la pluie commence, de feuilles individuelles, ressembler à des touches de piano d'être déprimé par les gouttes individu à l'époque -, mais ne faisant aucun bruit. Il était assez proche d'être insupportable dans le Métro au centre-ville à la mi-journée et le retour plus tard, à Landover Station. La climatisation semblait imperceptible jusqu'à ce je me tenais près de la porte sous le registre de ventilation. Mon bureau et en voiture, notre maison, tous les reliefs sont grands - les systèmes de refroidissement dans les trois travaillent très bien. Peut-être que si c'était 1884 et si le Métro était de s'arrêter sur les voies avant le pont de la rivière Anacostia après la sortie du tunnel près de RFK Stadium, les passagers devaient débarquer et de marcher vers le bas pour les banques et se rafraîchir pendant une courte période avant de poursuivre leur sortir au Minnesota, avenue Deanwood, Chevery, Landover, et New Carrollton. Ces pauses serait nécessaire, parce que 1884, il y aurait pas de climatisation dans les voitures de Métro.