The Park

One of the best things about our neighborhood is its proximity to Druid Hill Park. From our front door I can go around the Reservoir and back for a nice 2.5 mile walk. There are interesting statues (like William Wallace, pictured) and pagodas and even several graveyards I've yet to explore.

Yesterday the tennis courts were full because of the fantastic weather. I saw some geese fly in by the cherry tree grove. Should be blossoms there soon.

As soon as I returned from my walk, the doorbell rang and Yo! Adrienne was there. She invited me to accompany her through the neighborhood as she walked the dog and we toured around Linden and Eutaw streets, looking at the grand old houses, some in sad disrepair, some remarkably well-preserved. It's fun to imagine how ritzy these old avenues must have been at one time, with the arched entry to the Park from Madison Avenue and the fantastic architectural details. We saw many pitbulls.

What was Reservoir Hill like when Gertrude Stein lived here, I wonder? The home belonged to her uncle, photographer David Bachrach.*

We went back to Yo! Adrienne's place a block up from ours, just as Julio returned for dinner break from his teaching gig at MICA. He asked if I'd like to go to his life drawing class and take off my clothes for a while, but the pay wasn't sufficient. The two of them are hiring a contractor to finish the third floor and dining room of their house. They've been doing the restoration work themselves since moving in nearly three years ago, but the task is enormous. Their house is also enormous, and gets lovelier by the day.

*I wonder if Yo! Adrienne knows this? She's a photo conservator at the Library of Congress, and recently was looking at a portrait of Geronimo about which little is known. She noticed under a microscope that reflected in Geronimo's eye was a female photographer and her equipment and several tall trees. The curator was excited by this find, to say the least.