Flowers on the National Mall

Last week we took a drive in to town to get some inspiration for the 52Frames photo challenge. We always took the opportunity to walk through the Smithsonian Castle gardens. So we parked by the air and space museum rather than our old neighborhood. The walk in the heat is much too long from there. So we planned parking for 45 minutes. Every season has a lot to show for itself. Spring had suddenly turned to summer with almost an overgrowth and abundance of beautiful flowers. It felt like we lost time in between the seasons this past year between getting vaccinations and starting to reintegrate into a more normal life. I certainly don’t know the names of all the beauties, but the poppies, roses, hydrangea, and hibiscus did not disappoint. And of course there was a pair of ducks hanging around the pool of water. We often wonder where they keep their nests in all the various places along the mall. The Capitol building has special ramps for the ducklings to get in and out of the reflecting pool. This pair were very used to visitors because they hardly budged when we came close to them. Then we walked through the Hirshhorn sculpture garden to check out my favorite piece. It’s nice to live so close to our old haunt and I really liked not having to deal with the crowds. So as long as we can we will continue to visit - even for just a short time.