
... set loose on a wild, untamed continent
When we use this vantage point, it unsettles the ducks from the place I've named after them, Duck Beach. They insist on swimming off every time, all of them. I try to explain that we're only here for the sun, but they have no free choice. They must swim off into the sunrise. But the sun is, day by day, moving to the right, southward, and before long Duck Beach will not work as a sunrise vantage point and we can end our futile effort not to set off the ducks.The decision to remove the water-treatment systems, which has not previously been reported, was one of several missteps that have plagued Mr. Trump’s $16.4 million renovation of the Reflecting Pool. There have been no-bid contracts, peeling strips of waterproof coating in Mr. Trump’s handpicked shade of “American flag blue,” and even a dead duck floating in the water (though it is not clear if the renovation had anything to do with the duck’s demise). In recent days, the water has become clear again, reflecting the sky and the surrounding monuments. The temporary nanobubblers have been replaced with more discreet, permanent purification systems. Still, the Park Service plans to drain the pool again soon to fix the peeling coating....
Write about whatever you like in the comments.
The summer solstice arrives here at 3:24 a.m. There's nothing really to go out and look at. One can only find the solstice in your mind. Perhaps there is a ritual to externalize whatever spiritual feeling you have about the solstice. There is the idea of arriving at one's sunrise vantage point early — sunrise isn't until 5:18 — but the sign says the place is closed after 10 at night and before 4 in the morning.
I would have put up with the cold and the wind, but the extra slippery — and bumpy — surface made me opt out of the full sunrise walk. I drove home and Meade walked out to the distant vantage point and then all the way home. Here's my favorite photo of his:
Write about whatever you want in the comments.
Write about whatever you want in the comments.
Write about anything you want in the comments.