Still Life with Robin: Still Life with Robin: Migrate over to BlueSky to see the birds!

 by Peggy Robin

 

If you've been reading this column since that dark day in 2022 when Elon Musk took over Twitter, you know I've been fretting over the question of if and when I should extract myself from that increasingly toxic waste dump*.

 

Despite my desire to thumb my nose at the Musk-rat, I still haven't managed to tear myself away, mainly but (not entirely) due to my unbreakable addiction to New York Times word games.

 

I have to admit, the Site Formerly Known As Twitter (which I like to turn into the acronym SiFoKAT -- pronounced pretty much like "suffocate") is still the best place for fans of NYT games to gather to chat with one another, give hints, and argue (amicably) over what words should and should not have been included in the NYT Spelling Bee, and which groupings in today's Connections game were the most baffling, and whether the #2solve in Letterboxed was really two words or should more correctly have been counted as three.

 

It's also been the place where I still find useful news updates from DC agencies and local news outlets, up-to-the-minute weather info and marvelous local weather pix from Capital Weather Gang and contributors, and an almost unending supply of stunning wildlife photos. And then there are wonders I haven't reliably found anywhere else -- like the phenomenal aurora pictures from all over the world. 

 

While many frequent posters have left SiFoKAT for other chat sites, they haven't all gone to the same one, so there really no critical mass of NYT fans on any of the alternatives, e.g., Threads, Facebook, Mastodon, and BlueSky.

 

Even though I have established accounts at all of them, I seldom bother to visit, continuing to post my daily NYT games hints on the Musk-rat's increasingly poisonous pit of a site.

 

However, every now and then I will wander over to those other sites just to see what's cooking. The day after the election, when Musk's site was particularly rank with nasty gloating memes, was one such day. Amid the gloom of the day, I took refuge in BlueSky, where I was uplifted and delighted to find photos posted by a local nature photographer I'd once followed on Twitter: It's this site . There you will find some incredible shots of birds and other wildlife taken by Cleveland Park resident Tom Hentoff, winner of the 2023 Cleveland Park Listy for Photo of the Year. (Find his winning photo here: #197671   )

 

I just spent a good ten or fifteen minutes going over his work on BlueSky, madly hitting the "like" button on each one of them, going back as far as 60+ days. 

 

Now I'm his devoted follower on that site, and if you want a day-brightener, I recommend that you become one, too. I think I'll be hitting his BlueSky feed every day for at least the next four years.

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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

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* NOTE: Here are my previous musings on my reasons for sticking with Twitter, despite everything:

 

Why I Stay https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/05/still-life-with-robin-why-i-stay.html

Why Stay on Twitter? For the Recycling Tips! https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2023/05/still-life-with-robin.html

Did You See It? Aurora Photos on Twitter (From All Over) https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/05/still-life-with-robin-did-you-see-it.html

Best Show in Town (Local Aurora Photos on Twitter) https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/10/still-life-with-robin-best-show-in-town.html

Sunrise/Sunset Photos on Twitter: Still Life with Robin: Sunrise, Sunset

Squirrel Photos on Twitter https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/02/still-life-with-robin-well-always-have.html

Get Out! Medical Museum Veterans Day Tour - Sunday Nov 10 at 2pm - Free

 by Peggy Robin

What:

Medical Museum Veterans Day Tour 

Join us for a special Veterans Day Tour at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. This free, docent-led introductory tour highlights the remarkable changes in American medicine over the past 160 years, with a special focus on military medicine.

When:

In person at NMHM

Sunday, November 10, 2024, 2 p.m.

Medical Museum Veterans Day Tour

Where:

National Museum of Health and Medicine

2500 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910

Cost:

FREE! Open to the public. No RSVP required.

Contact:

For more information, email USArmy.Detrick.MEDCOM-USAMRMC.List.Medical-Museum@health.mil

Request ADA accommodations 10 business days in advance at (301) 319-3303 or by email to: USArmy.Detrick.MEDCOM-USAMRMC.List.Medical-Museum@health.mil.

**NMHM events are subject to change. Follow NMHM on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Still Life with Robin: Cleveland Park Does Halloween Right!

 by Peggy Robin

Hope you had fun on Halloween night! 🎃👻🦇🕸️🧛😈

Some scary scenes captured in digital images might get you in the right spirit for a thrills 'n' chills election night on Tuesday, November 5.

First up is the photo below, shown in a tweet by the DC Tourism site, Visit Washington, DC @washingtondc, because the decorated house they picked to represent this city was one of the Sears "kit" houses in Cleveland Park (3000 block of Macomb St, south side). It's got that classic "gingerbread house" look, and the Halloween decorations are creatively but tastefully displayed -- nothing over-the-top. No 12-ft skeleton, no blow-up Frankensteins....but  maybe a little more fun than you would expect in a neighborhood with a reputation for stodginess.

Here it is:

https://x.com/washingtondc/status/1851334473012441214

Ghouls just wanna have fun. Need Halloween plans this week? Check out our recs: http://washington.org/visit-dc/halloween-dia-de-los-muertos-events-in-around-washington-dc… : dccitygirl / Instagram #Only1DC

Visit Washington, DC @washingtondc

This particular Sears kit house style is called "The Barrington" -- and yes, you ordered it from the Sears & Roebuck catalog (it was the Amazon of its day). Read all about it here: https://accidentallywesanderson.com/places/the-barrington/

Here's the most mind-blowing statistic of the article:

When first listed by Sears, the home sold for $2,458. In 2016, the Leggett family listed the home for $1.19 million. [Skeletons not included]

All the other photos are available in an album I've put together in the PHOTOs section of the Listserv at: https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark/album?id=298464

Full disclosure: They're not all Cleveland Park houses. There's an amazing house on Utah Avenue and another on 49th Street. And the Kamala pumpkin was carved by my daughter Karen in Queens!

Anyone can add photos to the album - so if you took some Halloween-appropriate shots, feel free to upload them.

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p.s. You may need a Groups.io password to view the album, If you don't have one or if you once had one but no longer remember what it is, go to the "sign in/sign up" link in the upper right-hand corner of the home page at  https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark, enter your subscribed email address in the box, and if you need a password, click on "Forgot your password or need to create one?." Then check your inbox for an email from Groups.io with a link that allows you to create a new password. More about signing in and registering with Groups.io on our FAQ page at:  http://www.cleveland-park.com/faq.html

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Get Out! Cleveland Park's Annual Halloween Parade Is Hotter Than Ever!

 by Peggy Robin

Capital Weather Gang says we're in for a hot one!

D.C. to see warmest Halloween in 50 years, with possible Election Day record highs

Temperatures could hit 80 degrees on both days.

By Jason Samenow and Ian Livingston

Washingtonians may want to consider a lightweight costume for Halloween and shorts when headed to the polls on Election Day as two pulses of exceptional warmth sweep over the region.

Halloween will feel more like Labor Day... Highs are forecast to reach near 80 degrees four different times over the next eight days: on Wednesday and Thursday (Halloween) this week, and again on Tuesday (Election Day) and Nov. 6 next week.

The predicted high of 80 degrees on Halloween would mark the warmest Oct. 31 since 1974.

So you might want to lose those capes, whether for a superhero or Count Dracula. Mummies, leave those bandages loose! Ghosts, wear light, breathable cotton sheets; witches, you don't need to wear all black! Or consider a last-minute character switch and go as a beachcomber or surfer dude or dudette...

Whatever you're wearing, you will want to show it off at the Annual Cleveland Park Halloween Parade. It starts at 3:30 at Macomb Street Playground, today, October 31st.  

After the parade there's a pizza party and refreshments!

All are welcome!

Hosted by the Cleveland Park Community Association

https://www.cpcadc.org/

Still Life with Robin: Enough with the Spook-tacular Halloweens!

by Peggy Robin

Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays since I was a little kid (even though it scared me then!). I still decorate the house with pumpkin lights, flying bats, and spiders, and I rush to the door to greet each little trick-or-treater with candy and effusive praise of their costumes -- even those I can't make head or tails of. I love them all.

And you know what else I love? Complaining! And if there's anything to find fault with about this holiday, I'm on it. So here's my pet peeve for this coming Halloween: too many over-used monikers. If I see one more Halloween party called "Spook-tacular" I will scream! Well, screaming is what you are supposed to do for Halloween, isn't it? So on top of the scream, let me add a Bronx cheer.

Are pets involved in the party? I guess it must be called Howl-o-ween. But really, can't anyone come up with anything else?

Having the kids over to decorate pumpkins? So you must be having a Pumpkin-Palooza -- but wouldn't it seem more special if you could come up with a fun, new name?

I could go on, but you get the idea. Everyone in America by now has gotten the idea. I'm by no means the first to point out how overworked these terms are. In such an august publication as The Atlantic, a journalist took the matter seriously enough to seek out the earliest appearance in print of "spook-tacular"...and he came up with a venerable date: 1897. That's several decades before the term "trick-or-treating" came into common use (1927). Read it for yourself:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/10/spooktacular-etymology-halloween-linguistics/505385/

Want even more useless facts about Halloween words and customs? Here's an up-to-the-minute piece (10/1/2024) from the marketing blog, DriveResearch, about what's popular this Halloween and how it compares to Halloweens past: 15+ Fun-Sized Halloween Statistics [2024]

https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/2022-fun-sized-halloween-statistics/

Here are a few of the more intriguing factoids from the article:

• Up to 97% of Americans will be giving out Halloween candy. 
• Up to 94% of Americans are planning to celebrate Halloween in 2024
• 47% of people wear costumes to celebrate the day
• Spending for Halloween 2024 is expected to reach $11.6 billion dollars.
• Spirit Halloween will open 1,525 new locations this fall.  

About that last statistic... If you don't already know, Spirit Halloween is the largest of the seasonal stores that pop-up about six weeks before October 31st and vanish as if by magic in the first week of November. It's one of the fastest growing businesses in America, usually found in one of the otherwise vacant spaces that once was a big-box stores, bringing the location back to life, if only for a while. For a deep dive -- and an entertaining and seasonally appropriate one -- into the world of Spirit Halloween, I recommend the latest episode of the podcast 99 Percent Invisible, all about Spirit Halloween explosion:

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/600-spirit-halloween/

Definitely worth a listen. Added bonus: If there's ever a vote on who has the greatest voice in radio, the winner by rights should be the 99% Invisible host Roman Mars (and he should win some kind of award for the magnificent name, too!)

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Sat Oct 26: Dupont Circle for Halloween Fun by Day, Cleveland Park Halloween Bar Crawl by Night!

by Peggy Robin

Pre-Halloween fun by day (family friendly) and evening (21+) this Saturday, October 26th

Dupont Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree on Saturday, 1-5pm

Dupont Circle's Fall Festival is back for a third year! Live bluegrass, free pumpkin decorating, and a costume contest with prizes await!

After the resounding success of last year’s First Annual Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree, the Dupont Circle Business Improvement District is excited to announce that it will be bringing the festival back for a third year- this time with a festive Halloween spin!

The event will take place on Saturday, October 26th from 1:00-5:00 p.m. in Dupont Circle Park.

Fall, family-friendly activities will include pumpkin and gourd painting, bluegrass music, and for the first time, a costume contest! We will be hosting three costume contests: one for pets, one for kids, and one for adults. Complete with judges and prizes for first, second, and third place of each contest, make sure you arrive in your (or your pet's) best costume for a chance at winning big! While this is going on, pick up a pumpkin around the park (while supplies last) and decorate it how you like with our provided art supplies! Enjoy the sounds of regionally renowned bluegrass band, Shannon Leigh and the Good Bygones, whom will be performing live on the main stage.

Games like cornhole around the Circle, live bluegrass music, free pumpkin decorating, and the chance to win prizes for dressing up in your best costume are all part of why Dupont Circle's Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree will be the most family-friendly fall and Halloween fun you'll have all month! See you there in Dupont Circle Park, convenient to the Dupont Circle metro stop.

General Admission: Free!

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🎃 Cleveland Park Halloween Bar Crawl Specials - Sat, Oct 26th Starting at 6:30pm - Costumes Encouraged 

Get your tickets today for the Cleveland Park Main Street Halloween Bar Crawl on Saturday, October 26th. Costumes are highly encouraged!  To purchase tickets ($20), please visit: https://districtbridges.org/events/halloween-bar-crawl-cleveland-park-main-street/ Schedule 6:30pm Nanny O’Briens - $1.00 off all Seasonal Beers and Specials 7:30pm Fat Pete’s - Halloween Blood Themed Cocktail or Mocktalk 8:30 Cleveland Park Bar & Grill - TBD 9:30pm Thai Love Dance Party -  Maithai Isaan Classic ------------------- The "Get Out" event of the week is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Still Life with Robin: Read this story on some "inside baseball" news of DC Little League + Tip of the day: Create a Throwaway Email Address

by Peggy Robin

I want to pass along a highly readable though kind of tabloid-y article on the on-and-off-the-field conflict among some of the adults involved in Little League play in DC.

The article is in a blog called The Defector, which describes itself in these words: "Defector is an employee-owned sports and culture website. We write about sports, politics, TV, movies, science, weird shit that happens on the internet, and anything else that catches our attention," 

Someone sent me a link to read the article because of its juicy bits about the DC Little League dust-ups, and not having a dog in this fight --that is, a player age 12 or under in the house-- I found it amusing (otherwise, I would have found it maddening). It's basically a gossipy/snarky account of the over-the-top actions of some of DC's more litigious and entitled parents. If this is your kind of thing, here's the link: https://defector.com/a-very-ugly-year-in-the-life-of-a-d-c-little-league

Here's how the article starts:

A Very Ugly Year In The Life Of A D.C. Little League

By Dave McKenna

9:02 AM EDT on October 4, 2024

On July 8, an all-star team from the Northwest Washington Little League (NWLL) faced off against Mamie Johnson Little League to open the D.C. city championship tournament, the first round in the global annual tournament for ballplayers 12 years old and under that ends with the Little League World Series. The game came to a halt in the middle of the sixth and final inning, when the NWLL first baseman picked up the game ball on his way to his position, prompting the home plate umpire to loudly declare that the first baseman now had to pitch. With NWLL up 6-0 and three outs away from advancing, manager Mike Klisch walked onto the field and spent several minutes conferring with the umpire. The first baseman had already pitched the first four innings before being relieved, so he was likely ineligible to return to the mound. It took a phone call from the ump to Little League headquarters to untangle the rules. 

“Is there a 24-hour line to answer questions about rules?” an NWLL mother in the crowd asked as the game resumed.

“Yeah,” responded an NWLL dad, “for rules … and lawsuits.” 

"A communal groan came from the NWLL side of the grandstand. It was a reaction brought on by the events of the previous year, the worst in NWLL history. As is usually the case in Little League debacles, the season from hell had nothing to do with the kids or anything that happened on the field. The grownups and a seemingly bottomless supply of spite—allegations of cheating and fraud, cries of racism and classism, secret recordings, plus so many lawyers making threats of lawsuits followed by actual lawsuits—are to blame....."

It's a long article, so all you get is that teaser of the first four paragraphs. While it's not behind a paywall, to read the rest, you do need to create a log-in. You must register your email address with The Defector and create a password. 

Don't want to give them your email address? I can well understand that. I don't like to do that, either. So I have a number of throwaway email addresses to use when I find myself wanting to see something or subscribe temporarily to a blog or learn more about a product without being spammed to death by whatever site has piqued my curiosity. (OK, technically, if you sign up to view an article or a product, and they start emailing you, it's not spam exactly, because you've contacted them first and theoretically, at least, agreed to let them email you. So the stuff that they send you is called "BACN" (pronounced "bacon"), not SPAM.

And sure, you can un-subscribe, but it usually takes a little time and effort on your part to do so. It's never as easy to get them to stop as it is to get them to start. And plenty of times unsubscribing doesn't work.

So here's what I recommend: Create an email address at any free email service (I prefer Gmail) and give it a name that lets you remember what it's for -- like bacnmailoct2024. Then you can check that inbox on the web as much or as little as you like-- or not at all.

If you don't want to bother checking a separate inbox, you can set it up to forward to your main email address, and then set up a filtering rule so that it's collected in a separate folder. That way, you can skim that folder's subject lines from time to time, and delete them all at once when you're done.

It's very handy, helps you manage email overload, and if that throwaway address starts getting filled up with junk, just delete the whole thing -- it's no big deal. You can always start another one, whenever you need it.

It's perfect for subscribing to blogs you're not sure you'll want to keep reading -- like The Defector.

I haven't yet decided whether I want to keep my access to The Defector but it's nice to know there's no pressing reason for me to think about it now.

Is this a lot more than you'd like to do to read this one article? In that case, I've posted some of the "Whoa, Nellie" bits for you below:

"The NWLL’s uncivil war ... made the league a national laughingstock and [made it] look like another safe haven for adults who can’t help but ruin youth sports. The mood around Turtle Park, the home field of NWLL located in D.C’s tony AU Park neighborhood, has been dark ever since."

The reporter of the article, Dave McKenna, finds himself personally involved in the story he's covering:

"After reaching out to Sweeney and Klisch [LL parents who are also the attorneys behind the lawsuits] one last time on Sept. 16, I received an email from Megan L. Meier, a D.C. attorney. Meier said she was representing Klisch and Sweeney in a defamation lawsuit they filed on Sept. 4 against other NWLL parents, and that she intended to subpoena me in that suit. The letter, in which Meier pointed out that she’d successfully sued Fox News on behalf of Dominion Voting Systems (and got a $787.5 million settlement), also threatened litigation against me and Defector."

"About a week before Klisch was to be officially named all-star manager, another league parent informed Coniglio that he wanted to apply for that job. According to emails obtained by Defector, Klisch had reported that same parent to the board last year for what Klisch described at the time as that parent’s “racial coding” while heckling a black 9-year-old NWLL player during a game."

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The Defector is available at https://defector.com/

https://defector.com/a-very-ugly-year-in-the-life-of-a-d-c-little-league

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Get Out! Pick Out Your Pumpkins at the Halloween Pumpkin Patch This Sat at Rosedale / Links to DPR Halloween Events

by Peggy Robin

The Fall Pumpkin Patch is this Saturday, October 19th, 11am - 3pm

Come to Rosedale and spend the day celebrating Fall - pick out your perfect pumpkin (or bring your own) at John Eaton Elementary’s pumpkin patch school fundraiser. Join us in transforming the pumpkins into spooktacular Halloween decorations. 

Rosedale will provide carving utensils, stencils, and disposal of pumpkin waste. 

• Rosedale will provide apple cider, water, and light snacks.
  
• We will also have a face painter and glitter tattoo artist on-site.
  
• Please leave furry friends at home.
  
• Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 20th, same time.
  

The Rosedale Conservancy

Newark & 36th St NW

Washington, DC 20008

 info@rosedaleconservancy.org [info @ rosedaleconservancy dot org]

https://www.rosedaleconservancy.org/

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At this time of year, everywhere you look there's a Halloween party! The full list of parties at DC Rec Centers is here: https://dprhalloween.splashthat.com/

No such thing as too many Halloween parties -- that's the Listserv's motto of the month!

We want more, more, we're still not satisfied!!! 😈 So send us the news of any and all Halloween parties taking place between now and October 31 (must be free and open to all). Happy to help you round up more little goblins and ghoulies.

List members, post your announcements directly to clevelandpark@groups.io. Non-list-members, send them to me at clevelandpark+owner@groups.io and if I get a bunch of them, I'll post a compilation.

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The Get Out! event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Still Life with Robin: Best Show in Town!

by Peggy Robin

Today's print edition of the Washington Post had the best quote from a DC resident who saw nature's awesome light show in the skies over our area on Thursday night: 

Laurel Whitman said, "“Bucket list item, checked! This is so wonderful. I went to Iceland twice to try and see them, and should’ve looked in my own backyard”

Laurel echoes just what I've heard from everyone I know who's ever booked a budget-busting trip to Norway, or Yellowknife or some lonely outpost at the arctic circle in Alaska. Clouds and more clouds, all night long. 

But last Thursday night, you just had to heed the command of Lindsay @TheLindsayM on the SiFKATwit (that's my acronym for the "Site Formerly Known As Twitter)":

"DC GO OUTSIDE NOW"

https://x.com/TheLindsayM/status/1844519425099132970

Here's the auroral glow over the National Cathedral right here in the neighborhood!

Photo by Andrew Leyden @PenguinSix - 10:30pm ⁦

https://x.com/PenguinSix/status/1844571141299417217

https://x.com/PenguinSix/status/1844563409599103425/photo/1

You'd see even brighter colors if you were able to get away from the city's lights - like Dave Lyons, 

@insiteimage, who posted the photo below:

Last night's Aurora Borealis / Northern Lights at Shenandoah. 10:02pm. So many dancing light pillars

https://x.com/insiteimage/status/1844764050405609650 

One of my favorite Capital Weather Gang photographers is Kevin Ambrose (best known for his photos of our favorite cherry tree, Stumpy), who had the good fortune to be in West Virginia, where he took these four shots:

My favorite of all the pics is by Heather Goss @heathermg

https://x.com/heathermg/status/1844531243238519004/photo/1

Aurora in DC!  8:11 PM · Oct 10, 2024

I wish I had the bandwidth to post a few dozen more pix of of the aurora in our region -- but fortunately, the Capital Weather Gang at the Washington Post has compiled an album of 36 photos & videos:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024/10/11/dc-maryland-virginia-northern-lights-aurora/

If you missed it in real life, you may get more chances. Scientists predict that there will be more such episodes coming in 2024 and continuing through 2025 due to frequently and intense geomagnetic solar storms -- see https://escales.ponant.com/us/2024-and-2025-exceptional-years-for-the-northern-lights/

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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Get Out! And Talk DC Transportation with the head of WMATA, Randy Clarke

 by Peggy Robin

This one's not your usual "Get Out!" event. Not a fun fair, a concert, an art exhibition, or a garden show. At this event you will get to talk to one of the region's most powerful people -- and maybe offer up an idea that could make a real change in the way you get to work!

It's the Metro Brew: Meet and Greet with Randy Clarke, WMATA’s GM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11 from 5 - 7:30pm

At metrobar

640 Rhode Island Avenue NE Washington, DC 20002

Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/p41HaKnBCGRoF4Lg8

WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke will be hosting a meet and greet at metrobar where he’ll answer some questions and get some feedback.

You must register to attend -- limited space available! 

FREE! (but your drinks are on you....)

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The "Get Out" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Still Life with Robin: Commander Salamander

 by Peggy Robin

Just to let you know that our esteemed DC Council cares about our City --from the grand halls of power to the slippery undersides of rocks in Rock Creek -- I am here to tell you of an action recently taken that fits squarely on the latter side of the political spectrum.

DC Council has passed a bill called the Red-Backed Salamander Official State Amphibian Designation Act (Bill-25-811), which designates the Red-Backed Salamander the Official State Amphibian of the District of Columbia. The students at Powell Elementary school – who studied the Red-backed Salamander in class – were the proponents of this legislation. 

Here's how our Council Member Matt Frumin put it in his most recent constituent e-newsletter (October 3, 2024):

"Thanks to students at Powell Elementary School, the Council moved legislation to designate the Red-Backed Salamander as the official state amphibian of the District of Columbia. As one Powell student testified, if we are going to be a state, we are going to need a state amphibian. I was pleased to join my colleagues in voting for the legislation. The deciding factor for me, and several other Councilmembers, was that the salamanders help to control our mosquito population by eating mosquito larvae."

(Somehow, I suspect if the kids had selected a salamander that has no particular utility in the war against mosquitoes, CM Frumin still would have supported their choice. But it does help to have a practical rationale.)

Take a look at our little amphibian friend, up close and in action [you can skip the commercial]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMLJkqWtjeY

DC now enjoys a nearly full panoply of state symbols: DC's state symbols:

Amphibian: Red-Backed Salamander

Bird: Wood Thrush

Crustacean: Hay's Spring Amphipod

Dinosaur: Capitalsaurus 

Fish: American Shad

Flower: American Beauty Rose

Fruit: Cherry 

Mammal: Little Brown Bat

Rock: Potomac Bluestone

Tree: Scarlet Oak

Nearly full? Do you know what's missing? A State Insect! official insect 

Are you connected with a DC elementary school that needs a good project? Selecting and presenting a State Insect to the Council could be it! If you undertake this momentous task, please get in touch and I'll give your campaign a boost in some future "Still Life with Robin" column!

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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.