The Lowly Pigeon

They are all over the place. So much so that most people hardly pay any attention to them. Usually they travel in bunches, but once in a while, a single pigeon can be found on the sidewalk most often searching for food.  If you take the time to look at them individually, each one has it's own unique markings and color. Once in awhile they hang out with the squirrels. Every Monday morning since March when I started working part time, I join my husband on his daily morning walks on the Mall. I try to come up with a theme or topic for the daily blog and this one hit me in the face today. I've always liked birds and animals, and had a few parakeets for pets growing up. I find them all very entertaining, and like to observe their human characteristics. What makes these birds unique is the backgrounds they are pictured in. On the way back towards home at the Capitol reflecting pond was a mother duck and her offspring, quacking at them to get closer when a dog approached. We stopped and sat on a bench to cool down at the Library of Congress and another little black bird was feeding a screaming chick breakfast. It reminded us that we needed to resume our walk to Pete's Diner for our breakfast - another Monday morning routine. All I noticed was that the pigeons disappeared once we left the Mall and the green space. Even they know to stay away from the busy streets on a Monday morning. 

Don's Johns and United Toilets

It's that time of year again and they start to appear. With the Fourth of July weekend coming up, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival featuring Kenya and China set up on the Mall, the big blue plastic porta potty takes it's place on the national landscape. With the throngs of visitors and out of towners already here and still expected, they become a necessity, but also a definite eyesore. They were already in place around the Washington Monument and the Capitol over the weekend. During our walk this morning they were being placed in front of the Smithsonian Castle, and along the sidewalks in front of the Natural History Museum, and the art museums. Because the museums are not open all day long, the required space for this sort of thing is quite limited. It looks like Don's Johns and United Toilets have the market share. The cute thing about it is that the doors are "locked" with plastic tabs so as to keep them all off limits until the actual day of the events. But you know it will never stay that way, and it never does. There is something tacky about seeing these out houses sitting next to our national landmarks, but what's the alternative? I can't remember the last time we needed to use one, and I'd like to keep it that way.