*MINE*

dogemperor, primaldog, wasurejimo, rialian, helen99 and, well, anybody else that likes natury things that either lives in this area or may visit me in this area in the future: I have found a park that I WILL be dragging people to. :)

Yes, I know that in just my last post I was disparaging the parks around here. Most of them are manicured pieces of crap just big enough to hold some playground equipment. They remind me of Underhill park back in Mays Landing... pretty much just good for getting some fresh air and sunlight, period. I hated Underhill park, still do. Always went to Estell Manor Park, instead. Big park, nature center, lots of trails to hike on, etc. Loved that place. A lot of the photos of deer I posted to deviantart were taken there. That was MY park. :)

For the first time since moving to Virginia, I can honestly say, I've found a park to replace Estelle Manor. Potomac Overlook Park. :) Some of the highlights: Real nature trails. Birds of Prey (three PCs onsite). Organic Gardening (including a demonstration area). Native Plant exhibits. Native American circle garden. Solar Power exhibits. Free concerts every other saturday ($5 donation requested, picnic dinners welcome, no alcohol.) Seriously, there is a LOT to recommend about this place, and I think most of my nature-loving friends would love it. Photos will be forthcoming sometime later this evening, once I have time to delete the crappy ones, process the decent ones, and upload them somewhere.

This is my park now. :)

Edit: The park is apparently affiliated with Growing Native, a year-round volunteer project that collects hardwood seeds and plants trees to help restore and protect rivers and streams in the Potomac River watershed. They are also affiliated with Building Logics, a company apparently pioneering "green roofs". Looks like good stuff. The demonstration garden they have there is apparently run by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, and includes a compost area.

Edit again: Photos have been uploaded here. Trying it out as an alternative to possibly paying for flickr. Seem to be some flaws, though, I initially made a mistake with my uploading program and uploaded reduced size copies of the images. It's not letting me delete them at the moment... keeps giving me an error message. I'm hoping that will resolve itself. Put the corrected photos in a new album to keep them separate from the errorific ones. Enjoy. :)