Trees in My Backyard Officially Giving Up on Winter

The National Park Service won't even issue its first cherry blossom forecast until March 1, but it's February 23 and the trees in Falls Church are already starting to bloom. Who's ready for an earlier allergy season fueled by global warming? Tree pollen is already considered high.

Is "Here's a Picture of a Cute Chipmunk" an OK Blog Post Title?

This chipmunk was like a little vacuum cleaner, scrambling across my patio and barely slowing down to pick up sunflower seeds as it went:

I've seen tons of bunnies around East Falls Church, but hadn't seen one on my patio until this weekend. Or more accurately, saw my cat seeing the rabbit:

My friend Brian was over recently & noticed Wilma watching a chipmunk, a squirrel & a few birds on the patio. "I wonder what Wilma would do if she could get out?" he asked. Having previously observed this vicious predator in action, I said, "Let's find out!" and opened the door. Wilma lunged out onto the patio and ... watched the chipmunk & squirrel run away, watched the birds fly away, and moseyed over to the grass and started munching. Cats may be America's top threat to birds, but mine is apparently a pacifist.

So here's the updated list of species I've spotted in just the 7 months since I put a bird-feeder on my patio:

• Tufted Titmouse
• Carolina Chickadee
• Sharp-Shinned Hawk
• Carolina Wren
• Northern Cardinal
• Mourning Dove
• English Sparrow
• European Starling
• White-breasted Nuthatch
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Eastern Cottontail
• Eastern Gray Squirrel
• Eastern Chipmunk

I hadn't realized that as much as I complain about invasive European sparrows & starlings, American squirrels have been introduced to & invaded other parts of the world.

My Apartment Building Says Bikes Hurt Property Values

From my August newsletter here at Roosevelt Towers in Falls Church:

In walking in the community, we have seen a number of bicycles locked up on the railing of the lower lobby entrance. This is NOT the place for them, not the look we want to portray for potential and/or current residents and more importantly, it is an extreme safety hazard. Because we are unaware of who they belong to, we ask that the owners of these bicycles please remove them immediately. We do have storage space allotted for bicycles. We ask all residents to please help us in keeping the community beautiful and safe!

Given that my building is less than a mile from East Falls Church Metro & the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, I can imagine bike commuting is a popular option. I can also understand why people might not want to drag their bikes into the building, up some stairs, and down a long hallway to a storage area, then repeat the process before work the next day.

What's less understandable is the "extreme safety hazard" reference. The areas in question are wide paths, so they're not blocking the way. And there are railings on either side, so it's not like they're costing elderly residents their only handhold. If you were trying to move in or out through that entrance, it might be annoying, but dangerous? What are they really getting at here?

Then we come to the real meat of the argument: Thinly-veiled references that only poor people use bikes to get around frequently. The rest of us can lock up our bikes in storage and only pull them out on weekends.

It's strange that building management would respond to apparent resident need for more convenient bike storage not by gauging interest in a bike rack but by threatening to confiscate bikes. And it's not like the complex is hurting for outdoor space - even on the most-full nights, there are always at least 5 empty spots in the parking lot and usually a lot more.

They were responsive on my request for more recycling, so I emailed them:

I don't have a bike myself, but if there's such great demand for bike storage closer to the street, why not install a bike rack in one of the surplus parking spaces on the north side of the building?

I haven't heard back.

Weiner Pic of the Climate Crisis? Weiner Pic of the Climate Crisis.

Yesterday, Grist's David Roberts tweeted, "I wish climate change would tweet a picture of its dick to someone. Then maybe it could get some attention."

Lucky for him, the weather in northern Virginia today is just right for a little Anthony Weiner tribute:

It was 90 in the shade. Only took a couple of minutes in the sun for the thermometer to max out at 125. And it's only June 8th.

Metro Bus Saves Me From Myself

The Green Miles is always late. Always. You could give me two hours' notice to get to a place that's a 10 minute walk away, and I'd still leave home late & come stumbling in a few minutes past due. When I ran for House of Delegates, I'd make sure to plan on being at events at least 15 minutes in advance (the community centers usually appreciated the help setting up the folding chairs anyway).

So with all that being said, I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that I went stumbling out the door to Wednesday's Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting 20 minutes late. I'd originally planned on walking from my apartment building in East Falls Church at Roosevelt & Wilson down to the meeting in Ballston, but that would take about 45 minutes. I thought about walking down to EFC Metro, but that wouldn't be much faster.

Then I realized there are Metrobuses that run down Wilson to Ballston that I'd never taken before. I walked to a stop to get its ID number, then used my Blackberry's internet browser to get to Metro's Next Bus service. Sure enough, there was a bus coming in less than 10 minutes. The ride was smooth and I didn't just make it to the meeting on time - I was a couple of minutes early. Really weird feeling for someone who's chronically tardy.

Growing up in Boston, I always had to deal with buses that were loud and smelled like exhaust and had no shocks and you never knew when they were coming. Plus, my first experience with Metrobus didn't exactly endear me to it.

But the pleasant ride and Next Bus feature made the trip a lot smoother. Maybe I'll give the bus another shot as the evenings get nicer and I'm looking for a way to get from Upton Hill Regional Park to Clarendon without a car.

Why Do Bird Types Show Up at My Feeders in Twos?

Interesting that I haven't been getting new species at my bird feeder one at a time - they've shown up in twos.

The tufted titmouse & Carolina chickadee made sense - similar habitats, similar feeding strategy, safety in numbers (especially given the toughs that hang out around here).

But this week two very different birds showed up on the same day. A White-breasted Nuthatch flew up to the suet feeder:

Then a Dark-eyed Junco came hopping along looking for stray seeds from from my sunflower seed feeder:

While I've seen rabbits, hawks, and even a bald eagle in this area, I hear I haven't met some of the most interesting neighbors. A National Wildlife Federation coworker who lives in Arlington's Madison Manor tells me he regularly sees foxes ... and on trash night, has heard a coyote yipping in the darkness.

Read all my backyard birding posts under my birdwatching tag.

Rainbow Six: Bird Feeder Edition

One of the biggest myths of wildlife-watching is that you have to be at a zoo, a state or national park, or a wildlife refuge to see anything.

But here in East Falls Church, my simple bird-feeder stocked black oil sunflower seed continues to attract a wide range of birds. In fact, a bird showed up last week that I don't think I've ever seen before. When I first saw it, my brain thought "blue jay lite" - blue back, white chest, crested head - but it was way too small and not nearly as shrill. My National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds told me it was a tufted titmouse. (Yes, I keep a bird guide under the window. If the interns at work are going to call me a dorky old man, why not own it?)

The titmouse crept up on the feeder in a precision assault, picking off one seed at a time, always in the same fashion - from a tree across the parking lot, to my fence post, to the feeder, to the balcony upstairs to eat - pausing for only a moment at each stop to reassess the situation.

Another first-time visitor showed up the same day: A Carolina chickadee. The bird guide indicated that likely wasn't a coincidence, as the titmouse is known to hang out with other birds, maybe for protection in numbers.

So far, the species I've spotted in just the few months since I started putting out birdseed:

• Tufted Titmouse
• Carolina Chickadee
• Sharp-Shinned Hawk
• Carolina Wren
• Northern Cardinal
• Mourning Dove
• English Sparrow
• European Starling

And of course, plenty of squirrels. The National Wildlife Federation can teach you more about making your own yard (or even a porch, patio or balcony) a friendlier place for wildlife. I wouldn't be disappointed if all you get is sparrows the first few weeks, especially if you're right in the city. But spotting even one cardinal or blue jay in the morning can make the commute to work seem a little less dreary.

UPDATE 3/15/2011: The original post referred to the second bird as a black-capped chickadee. However, I told the story to my NWF colleague Doug Inkley, who says it was much more likely a Carolina chickadee. Doug says the two birds look nearly identical, but in this region the black-capped hangs out at higher elevations (like the Appalachian Mountains) while the Carolina is at lower elevations (like Falls Church).

Diners in Danger of Becoming Breakfast

A birdfeeder doesn't just bring birds - as I learned a few years ago in Arlington, it brings the birds that feed on the birds.

As I was getting ready for work the other morning, I noticed a hawk sitting on my patio fence and was able to take a quick Flipcam clip before it flew off. Nice to work at the National Wildlife Federation where I can ask a certified wildlife biologist for help identifying it. Here's what Doug Inkley had to say:

This is definitely either a sharp-shinned or Cooper’s hawk. They look very similar and hard to tell apart. The Cooper’s hawk is larger and much less common.

Banded tail, gray back, reddish eye and probably looking for songbirds around a bird feeder. My money is on a sharpy.

And Now Your Moment of Wren

As soon as the weather got really cold, a bird that seems to be a Carolina wren started showing up on my back patio. I'm not exactly an expert on backyard birding, but clearly the birdseed I was throwing out wasn't cutting it. The wren just stomped around angrily:

I mean, if it's possible for a bird to look mad ... that wren is pissed.

So I did some Googling, found out what wrens like to eat, ordered some truly gross suet studded with insects & hung it above the patio. Sure enough, the very first morning the new feeder was up, the wren found it:

Best Way To Make Positive Change: Ask.

Having grown up in Boston, one of my favorite shows is NPR's Car Talk. Nothing gets Tom & Ray madder than when people call with a critical problem that they've been driving around with for six months. "You've waited six months - and even then you don't take it to a mechanic, you call us? You're lucky you're not lying in a ditch somewhere after your wheel flew off!"

I have a similar issue when people relate their green problems to me. The first thing I say when people tell me about their problems is, "Have you asked your landlord/boss/whoever to address it?" Invariably, they haven't. (Also, I keep trying to get people to write their problems on the back of a $20 bill and send them to The Green Miles Plaza with no luck.)

Roosevelt Towers, my new apartment building in East Falls Church, had a trash bin but not a recycling bin in the mail room. Every day the trash bin would be overflowing with junk mail. So I emailed the leasing office to see if they'd consider adding a recycling bin, a small step that would keep hundreds of pounds of paper out of the landfill every month.

Roosevelt Towers wrote back right away:

Great suggestion. One has been placed in mailroom as of today.

And here it is:

From the apartment building's point of view, if a $2 plastic bin makes me that much more likely to keep paying five figures annually to live here, it's a slam dunk. I suspect that little blue basket won't be able to handle the days those big, annoying Washington Post advertising circulars hit our mailboxes. But partial solutions tend to lead to full solutions - if the recycling bin is overflowing, they'll replace it with a bigger one.

The best, most effective way to address environmental issues is through personal action. In the big picture, government intervention often becomes necessary, but it should be the last resort. Your landlord wants you to be happy with where you live. Your boss wants you to be happy with where you work. Your hotel wants you to come back & stay there again. If you don't think they're operating as sustainably as they could, ask nicely if they've considered changing. You might be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Will the New Safeway Steal My Business from Harris Teeter?

The Green Miles just returned from Virginia's 5th Congressional district, where Rep. Tom Perriello wasn't able to swim against the GOP tide. But our efforts did help make it closer than anyone expected, with Tom losing by just 3 points. In the words of Tom's consolation email to supporters, "I can see last night as a victory for conviction and hard work for the idea that when you fight for the people, the people win."

Upon returning home, the first thing I had to do was ... buy the new NBA Jam for Wii since I spent hundreds of quarters on that game as a kid & needed something to take my mind off politics. But the SECOND thing I had to do was go grocery shopping since I hadn't done that in about a month.

Since I could acquire the coveted Jam at the Target on Route 50 in Falls Church & there's a newly-remodeled Safeway next door, I decided consolidate trips & skip the drive into Ballston to my usual Harris Teeter. My quick green review:

• Many of the Safeway store-brand organic line seem a bit cheaper than their HT counterparts
• Overall organic selection is more limited in scope & in quality than HT (Safeway seemed to have far fewer name-brand organics) 
• Very disappointing that Safeway's small checkout lanes made reusable bags awkward to use. What's the point of remodeling if you're not accommodating modern needs?
• Several items listed as on sale in the aisle didn't ring up at the correct price. Not an environmental thing, I know. But I treat saving money at the grocery store as a competition.

The bottom line: I'll hit Safeway for quick needs, but will stick with Harris Teeter for my main grocery shopping trips.

Oh, and the third thing I did? Sleep for 11 hours.

UPDATE 3/12/2011: Over at GreaterGreaterWashington.org, Steve Offutt points out the Safeway sidewalk's shortcomings.

The Green Miles Leaves Arlington

OK, so I'm only going two blocks outside Arlington into Falls Church. And I hope to put the savings that come from the move towards a condo in Arlington someday soon. But I couldn't pass up the vastly better deal that comes from moving literally 500 feet away from Arlington:

• In Arlington, I could've had a good quality apartment with a balcony in a high-rise with a pool & gym that was a 10 minute walk from Metro but not right next to anything for about $1600.
  
• In East Falls Church, I'm getting a good quality apartment with a patio area in a high-rise with a pool & gym that's a 15 minute walk from Metro but not right next to anything for about $1100.

I priced apartments in different areas, but to get to my target price range in Arlington, I'd have had to leave the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, give up proximity to Metro, or lose quality of apartment. Basically, an older apartment off the Pike with a longer commute would've been the same price as the nice place a short walk from Metro in EFC. And my new places is walking distance from some places I love in Arlington, like Upton Hill Regional Park & Westover.

And, much as I hate to admit it as a shameless Arlington homer ... my time in East Falls Church so far has been pretty nice. My apartment features this view of big old trees & I'm becoming reacquainted with how loud blue jays can be when they put their minds to it. My walk to Metro crosses Four Mile Run & I've now seen rabbits hopping past twice, making the 15 minute walk seem almost shorter than my previous 10 minute walk through the generic concrete office canyons of Ballston. And my building is much more pleasantly diverse than the filing cabinet for young professionals I'd been living in.

My friends have been reacting with mock horror when I tell them I'm leaving Arlington, especially after having run for Virginia House of Delegates here. To which I say, I don't know how to break this to you, but ... I lost. About the only fringe benefit of that is that I get to be a normal person & not be constrained by political boundaries. But it's also a statement about the guy who won -- Patrick Hope has been a great delegate in the 47th & I hope he continues to be for years to come.

So yes, I'd like to have stayed in Arlington, but I wasn't willing to spend an extra $6,000 annually just to keep "Arlington" in my mailing address for the next couple of years. I'll still be active in Arlington issues & politics (I'll be volunteering with Arlington Young Democrats this weekend), and am eager to learn where a mouthy treehugger might be able to help out on progressive issues in Falls Church. And maybe by the time I'm ready to move again, the bright line dividing affordable apartments in Falls Church from single-family homes on the Arlington side of the line will have been softened by the long-overdue EFC redevelopment plan.