The rink also now has a Twitter account at @SkateCanalPark as well as its Facebook page.

The hours of operation as currently listed on the web site are noon to 7 pm Mondays and Tuesdays, noon to 9 pm Wednesday through Friday, 11 am to 10 pm on Saturdays, and 11 am to 7 pm on Sundays. There are also special "Cartoon Skates" from 11 am to 1 pm on Saturdays, "Rock n Skate" from 7 to 9 pm on Fridays, "2 for 1 Tuesdays" from 4 to 6 pm Tuesdays, and "College Nights" on Thursday from 6 to 9 pm.

If you have never laced up and gotten on the ice, there are Learn to Skate lessons, starting November 21. (Or you can be like me and hold onto the wall for 45 minutes.)

There's also birthday party packages as well as private rentals ($1,000 for two hours of private ice time).

There will then be an official Grand Opening on Nov. 21. No details on those festivities as yet, but I imagine those will be announced before long.

We'll start with 801 New Jersey/82 I (above/left), now a smidge more than halfway toward its eventual 13-story height. This is the Graystar/RCP 227-unit apartment building that is expected to open in 2016.

Just up the block is 800 New Jersey, aka the Whole Foods building, which looks just barely out of the ground from New Jersey (below left), but if you venture up 2nd Street (below right) you can see evidence of the ramp for the grocery store parking that will be on the second and third floor. (Resident parking will be below ground, shared with its sibling the Park Chelsea and the eventual third residential building along the east side of the block.) This building will have about 336 rental units:

Two projects have at least some hint of their first floors built: the 380-unit building at 909 Half Street will be a lot larger than this small section of construction at Half and I makes it look like at the moment (below left), while the Homewood Suites at Half and M really does also have a portion of its first floor built, though the nasty late fall shadows make it hard to see.

Next up are three projects that are technically out of the ground, although it's just rebar breaking the plane at the moment, but concrete shouldn't be far behind. Behold terribly unexciting pictures of the status of the F1rst residential project and the Residence Inn immediately to its north, plus the Gallery at Capitol Riverfront/1111 New Jersey.

But if you like photos of holes being dug, you're still in luck. There's now clear evidence of the excavation work at Skanska's 99 M office building project, and while nothing will ever really arise from the cut-and-cover work on the new portion of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel (seen here looking west from 5th Street) it's still digging.

In the midst of all of these updates over the past few days, I did some redevelopment of my own, and finally created individual pages for the Square 701/Not-Ballpark-Square trio of projects, so now you can check out the progress on the Hampton Inn, F1rst/Residence Inn, and 99 M in a less jumbled format.

It's expected to take about two years to complete, and when done it will be the first new building on the east side of South Capitol Street since Nats Park opened more than seven years ago. It will have 26,000 square feet of retail on two stories, giving the corner immediately north of Nats Parking Garage B the sort of "activation" that has been expected ever since it was announced the stadium was coming to South Capitol Street.

For those of you scoring at home, let's go through the lineup of projects currently under construction in the neighborhood east of South Capitol and south of the freeway. Not merely in the pipeline, actually under construction:

* Park Chelsea, 430 rental units, expected delivery early 2016;

* Arris, 326 rental units, expected delivery early 2016;

* Dock 79, 305 rental units, expected delivery summer 2016;

* Lofts at Capitol Quarter, 195 mixed-income rental units, expected delivery 2016;

* Gallery at Capitol Riverfront (1111 New Jersey), 324 rental units, expected delivery 2016;

* 801 New Jersey, 227 rental units, expected delivery late 2016;

* 800 New Jersey/Whole Foods, 336 rental units, expected delivery 2017;

* 909 Half Street, 380 rental units, expected delivery late 2016/early 2017;

* F1rst. 325 rental units, expected delivery 2017;

* Hampton Inn and Suites, 168 rooms, expected delivery Any Minute Now;

* Homewood Suites, 195 rooms, expected delivery late 2016/early 2017;

* Residence Inn, 170 rooms, expected delivery 2017;

* 99 M, 224,000-square-foot office building, expected delivery 2017;

* Capper Community Center, expected delivery early 2016.

If you don't feel like doing the math, that's more than 2,900 rental units being built right now, as well as about 530 hotel rooms.

On Monday night, ANC 6D supported 5-0-1 the project's application for two zoning variances (side yard and loading berth) and a special exception (roof structure). In its motion, the ANC did mention that the loss of Nats Parking Lot K and the addition of more residents "will place further demands on an already difficult parking situation," and asks for the developer's commitment to "place information in all leases stating that tenants are not eligible for [residential parking permits.]" The ANC also mentioned concerns with potential use of the curb lane on South Capitol for loading, deliveries, and drop-offs, and suggested a small signed zone on K Street for such uses.

And, while the building does not have an affordable housing requirement, Lerner has committed to having two such units in the building, one with a household income of 50-80% area median income (AMI) and one of 80-120% AMI. Commissioner Rhonda Hamilton made a strong plea for the AMI to go as low as 30% AMI, noting that "it's not fair" that people who work at the stadium or nearby restaurants for low pay are being priced out of the ability to live near where they work.

Note the angled windows along South Capitol, alternating between south-facing and north-facing on each floor, to give residents views toward the Capitol and toward the ballpark.

I am not seeing any evidence in the filings of any ground-floor retail--this block is not covered by the Capitol Gateway Overlay District, so it does not have the same requirements for retail space that buildings along and south of M are bound by.

To the east, the not-minor project to do the masonry work and the siding at the 195-unit mixed-income Lofts at Capitol Quarter at 7th Street continues--apologies for only showing the rear of the building when I take a wide shot, but with the trees and the narrowness of L Street it's basically impossible for me to get a good photograph of the front. (Plus the low sun angle from late October through early March makes southern-facing photos a pretty miserable experience with a pretty miserable outcome, anyway.)

At 5th and K, the Capper Community Center's exterior isn't changing too much at this stage, but I'd get the shakes if I tried to not photograph it.

At New Jersey and Tingey, the new trapeze school building's blue-and-white exterior is mostly finished, though I'm such a bad blogger that it didn't occur to me to walk up to the big opening and peek in--but TSNYDC has posted a photo of the inside.

As for the Brig, the beer garden-to-be at 8th and L, the building itself looks pretty well finished now, though the "garden" portion of the venture does not appear to have gotten underway yet. And with two pit bulls on guard (!), I wasn't about to poke my camera through the fence for a better view.

And while I had designs on pressing my camera up against the glass at Buffalo Wild Wings on Half Street, they were having a staff training session when I arrived, and so I chickened out (Bad Blogger Data Point #2). But the gentleman I spoke with there confirmed again the Nov. 16 opening date, saying that the doors will open that day at 10 am--and that they generally have people camping out over Sunday nights to be among the first 100 customers through the door, who are then winners of the free-wings-once-a-week-for-a-year prize. Hope y'all have warm sleeping bags!

Still to come, the skeletons-and-holes report.

There's not much detail at this point, but a public meeting has been scheduled on Oct. 27 at 6:30 pm at 200 I Street to discuss the DC Housing Authority's plans for the block known as Square 767, bounded by 2nd Place and 3rd, I, and K Streets SE.

This block, part of the Capper/Carrollsburg Hope VI redevelopment footprint, is the location where DCHA is looking to sell a portion of the land so that an as-yet unnamed developer can build a market-rate condo building. Such a plan would seem to mean that the necessary affordable rental units on that block would be confined to whatever non-condo project is also built on that block, a notion has had neighbors expressing much concern since it was first revealed nearly two years ago.

There's no agenda or materials yet released, so look for a more detailed post once DCHA makes those items available.

One other item of note at the site--as seen below, beams have been placed connecting a portion of the main concrete walkway at Diamond Teague Park to what will be Dock 79's plaza and Anacostia Riverwalk footprint, and without realizing it I did a pretty good job of matching my photo of the beams to the rendering of the same location:

There will be over 15,000 square feet of retail in the building, and in a press release from developer MRP Realty last week, John Begert is quoted as saying the retail space is being "programmed" with "a dynamic mix of local authentic restaurant operators," though no retail tenants have been announced as yet.

Most of this retail space will be facing the "esplanade" and this plaza, which MRP's press release says is "inspired by the concept of the “ecotone,” an ecological term referring to the transitional zone between two ecosystems."

The plaza also is directly south of the "grand staircase" of Nationals Park, ensuring that (some) views of the river from those steps and the viewing platform on the upper concourse are not completely lost.

The building is expected to deliver in the summer of 2016, and will have a ground-floor club/game room, a health club, a rooftop swimming pool, WiFi, air-conditioned storage, bike storage, a business lounge, and a 24-hour front desk.

The subsequent phases of the six-acre project are currently envisioned as a second residential building with 282 units and 5,600 square feet of retail, followed by a 313,000-square-foot office building with 11,500 square feet of retail, and then a fourth building that could be a hotel or another residential or office building, with 260,000 square feet of space and 12,600 square feet of ground-floor retail. (The footprint of the final two phases is, however, right up against the western end of the existing Douglass Bridge, so it might be awhile before those come to pass.)

See my Dock 79/Florida Rock page for lots more photos and renderings.

* SIDE YARDS: A reminder that the sideshow event comes back to the Yards Park on Saturday, Nov. 7.

* ANC 6D: The monthly Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting is on Monday, Nov. 9, and this month the party ventures thisaway across South Capitol Street to the meeting room at 200 I St., SE. Agenda items include a slew of items from Near Southeast, including construction updates for 909 Half and 82 I/801 New Jersey, pedestrian issues on I Street, the Virginia Ave. streetscape restoration plan, a DC Housing Authority presentation, and more. The meeting starts early, with presentations at 6:30 pm before the meeting "officially" gets underway at 7 pm.

* CSX OPEN HOUSE: The quarterly open house for the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project is on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 5 to 7 pm at the Courtyard Marriott hotel at 140 L St., SE. There will be no formal presentations, but there will be representatives from the project team to answer questions and provide updates. (If you can't make this, the next Coffee with Chuck is on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 8 am at the same location.)

* CULINARY CRAWL: The Barracks Row Main Street folks have organized a three-day Culinary Crawl Nov. 14-16, with cooking classes at various restaurants not only on 8th Street but also near Eastern Market and down south of the freeway in this neck of the woods, with Ice Cream Jubilee, Bluejacket, and Agua 301 all participation. Here's the schedule, where you can also sign up/buy tickets.

* ICE RINK: There were originally plans for a soft opening this weekend followed by a grand opening on Nov. 14, but the weather has played a bit of havoc with that schedule. I've just heard that the grand opening will now be on Saturday, Nov. 21, but on the 14th they are hosting a Cinderella-themed event from 11 am to 1 pm--dress as your favorite princess or prince for a chance to win tickets to the National Theater's production of Cinderella.

* WILD WINGS DATE CONFIRMED: A mailing and also a source In the Know have confirmed that Buffalo Wild Wings will be opening at 1220 Half St. SE on November 16, with a ribbon cutting as well as free wings for a year* for the first 100** guests. (*Meaning 52 coupons to use once a week on a snack-sized wings offering.) (**Probably only 99 of you have a shot, because one JDLand reader is already staking a claim.)

* VIRGINIA AVE. STREETSCAPE: The final concept plan for sprucing up Virginia Avenue after CSX is done with tunnel construction has been posted by ANC commissioner Meredit Fascett. One big change: the new planned cul-de-sac on I Street east of 4th that sounded like it was going to disappear is in fact going to be part of the final plan. Public comments are being accepted by DDOT through tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 6), and the DDOT Public Space Committee will evaluate the plans at a Nov. 12 meeting.

* PRESERVATION GRANTS: Speaking of the tunnel, there is a Preservation Initiatives Fund that will be distributing funds near the tunnel project to "preserve, restore, research, identify, evaluate, interpret, or otherwise benefit historic resources within the project area." The money is coming from CSX and is being administered by the DC Preservation League as part of the project's mitigation offerings. The deadline to apply for a grant is Dec. 4. More in this flyer, including which blocks are part of the "area of potential effects" (including quite a few north of the freeway).

Both Urban Turf and Capitol Hill Corner have reported on the plans by Northfield Development, which include 16 one-bedroom units, three studios, and three two-bedroom units, along with 11 ground-floor parking spaces tucked in behind the ground floor. Both the parking entrance and the resident entrance will be on L Street.

Developers apparently told a supportive ANC 6B that they anticipate breaking ground in March 2016, making it a busy time for that stretch of Virginia, which is currently closed for the Virginia Avenue Tunnel reconstruction.

In late October the Historic Preservation Review Board found the plans to be "generally compatible" with the Capitol Hill Historic District, though the developers are being asked to "refine the design so that it has more of the character of Capitol Hill, including a weightier base, an attention to details and materials, [...] and more substantial corners."

If one takes a long stroll through the JDLand archives, one can read about how the land was bought in the summer of 2005 (not a typo) for $2.5 million with plans for a mixed residential/office/retail building advertised in 2007 as "The Admiral." The former gas station seen here that stood on the site was demolished in early 2006 (#34 in the Demolished Buildings gallery), but the lot remained unbuilt. Then in the fall of 2008 it reappeared as a planned office building, which actually got BZA approval before also not moving forward. Then the land was purchased by Northfield in July, for what property records say is $1.825 million.

While for a few years the tunnel construction will be yet another hurdle (literally) to getting visitors at the main section of Barracks Row to cross under the freeway, the opening of Ziaafat Grill as well as the arrivals Any Minute Now of Las Placitas and the Brig at 8th and L plus potential plans by the National Community Church for the Blue Castle could perhaps be the first tugs southward that Lower Barracks Row has been looking for. We Shall See.

As for the condo lineup in the neighborhood, the list of potential projects is finally starting to grow, with PN Hoffman's 140-unit building at 4th and Tingey (Yards "Parcel O") looking to be the first out of the gate with construction expected to start next year. The Jair Lynch Companies have said that a portion of his project to fill in the Half Street Hole will be condos, and of course there's the possibility of a condo building on Square 767 in the Capper redevelopment footprint. And 10 Van Street is being "contemplated" as condos, as is the MRP building slated for the Navy Yard Metro station Chiller Plant site at Half and L. It will be interesting to see what comes to fruition.... (If you are keeping track at home, the last [well, only] condo building to be built in the neighborhood was Velocity, which opened in 2009. The co-ops at Capitol Hill Tower opened in 2006.)

* SIDE YARDS: Back for a second year is "Side Yards," an "evening of quirky amusement and wonder" showcasing top sideshow performers at the Yards Park on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 6 to 10 pm. Contortionists, magicians, juggling, escape artists and snake handling will all be showcased (sounds like a typical day in Congress!). There will also be burlesque acts, live music, and a beer garden. Tickets are free, but available in advance.

* DC BEER FESTIVAL: Also on Saturday, Nov. 7 is the DC Beer Festival at Nats Park. Admission is $40 and includes unlimited tastings (wheeeee!).

* PERCEPTION SURVEY: It's time for the Capitol Riverfront BID's annual Perception Survey, so take a few moments to tell them your feelings about the neighborhood, whether you are a resident, office worker, or visitor.

* OKAY, HOW ABOUT DECEMBER: Back in September I posted about reservations being accepted for the new Hampton Inn at 1st and N starting November 19. It's now December 9.

* THE NEW VIRGINIA AVE. PARK: ANC 6B commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg looks at the ideas that came out of last month's public meeting to come up with a post-tunnel-construction design for Virginia Avenue Park.

* THE OLD VIRGINIA AVE. (NOT) PARK: And speaking of Virginia Avenue between 9th and 10th streets, SE, this week's Lost Capitol Hill series on The Hill is Home looks at the owner of a lumber yard in that spot during the mid-1800s.

* INSTAGRAM: I'll just mention again that JDLand is now on Instagram, if that's your social media landscape of choice.

* MOBILE: I've been tweaking the mobile version of the JDLand home page to add some of the items that have only been on the desktop page--a random Look Back photo, the Highlighted Projects development map, and even the Latest Tweets box. Visit on your phone to see what I mean.

It turns out that sometimes the best way to do something you've wanted to do for 12 years is to actually ask.

Last week I was given a tour of the 215,000-square-foot building, often by flashlight since there is no power currently on inside, and here is a gallery of photos for your perusal. There were some areas I was not allowed to depict here: I guess when I finally write a book about all of this in 2030 or so I will get to unveil that particular mystery.

However, you are still able to see a pretty astonishing space, even given its current run-down state, and it's easy to see why developers would be eyeing it as a potential high-risk high-reward rehabilitation of a historic building. The inner atrium runs the complete length of the building and up to the roof, while the sides of the building (where the four narrow strips of windows are in the above photo) offer the sort of industrial/exposed-brick goodness that plenty of architects spend a lot of time trying to emulate.

As mentioned above, Forest City does not have plans for the building anytime soon, and decided to market it to see whether another company might potentially have a vision for it that meshes well with the general direction of the Yards--and one that of course would be willing to pay more than a few pennies to buy the building.

Here are some of the photos, but look at the gallery to see the complete set.

With construction underway on the Canal Park ice rink, scheduled to officially open for the season on Nov. 14, this would seem to be a good time frame for a retooling.

In the meantime, over on Half Street just south of the Metro entrance at M Street, Buffalo Wild Wings is looking close to opening. A worker told me that staff training is expected to start this week, with November 17 being the *targeted* opening date. Though, of course (all together now), We Shall See.

UPDATE: It actually looks like Nov. 16 will be the grand opening (the date I heard many moons ago), with this mailing providing the big hint but also according to sources In the Know.

(PS: There are tentative thoughts about a JDLand happy hour in the coming weeks, probably at BWW. More as the schedule becomes clear.)

(I was waiting for the H&C space to be built out more fully, which is still in the pipeline--or at least that's the story I'm sticking to. #lazy)

While I am not one to be shopping for either running equipment or slim-fit men's dress shirts, I appreciated that staffs at both stores did not run screaming when I came in with a camera and used those words that so often strike fear, "neighborhood blogger." I did, alas, miss the bourbon cart that was set up outside H&C earlier in the day.

Pacers:

Hugh & Crye:

Also noticed during this visit--Bluejacket has repainted its sign, the result of which is that you can now actually see it (and photograph it). Yay! (No signage yet at Pacers or H&C, though.)

PS: If you want a steady social media stream of JDLand photos (current and archival), note that I have finally/belatedly joined Instagram, at jdland_dc.

(RCP doesn't actually own the land, but is listed with Crescent Communities LLC as "Contract Purchaser/Development Team," and there is a letter from McDonald's authorizing RCP and Crescent to "represent the Property owner" in all BZA proceedings. McDonald's has owned the land since 1985.)

The first phase would run along South Capitol Street and turn toward the east in an L-shape, paralleling the Southeast Freeway. Tthe second phase would be a tower built to the east, with a glass walkway structure connecting it to the first tower along I Street, and with an open courtyard and driveway (as seen below).

The filings show only about 3,200 square feet of retail at the building's southwest corner. (No word as to whether McDonald's would return, though I note that the rendering above shows a "bank" in that space.) The architect is SK&I.

(As for that Southeast Freeway ramp shown just to the west of the proposed building in the top rendering, it is slated to eventually go away as part of a not-yet-funded not-yet-scheduled later phase of the South Capitol Street reconstruction, with cars instead turning left onto a ramp at a location under the freeway about where Nats Lot HH currently is.)

More as I get it, clearly.

UPDATE: One or two additional tidbits: the first-phase building would be about 380 apartments--the second phase could be more apartments, or condos, or a hotel, at this point undetermined. Also, it's worth keeping in mind that the design in the renderings is a pretty early one.

In response to the recent crimes around Ward 6--including three armed robberies* in recent days in Near Southeast--council member Charles Allen has scheduled a community meeting on public safety on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 pm at the Friendship Public Charter School at 1345 Potomac Ave., SE.

Allen has invited police chief Cathy Lanier and 1D Commander Jeff Brown to "outline their plans and response" to handling the increased crime as well as to answer questions from residents.

According to his web site, Allen has been working with Lanier and Brown "to add more resources, manpower, and overtime to the neighborhoods," and has also been "looking at the long-term problem and solutions, working with Council colleagues on how we move forward to make needed legislative changes for our communities and our city."

While crime has been spiking around Ward 6 in recent months, the two armed robberies south of the freeway Wednesday evening (part of a string of five armed robberies within 30 or so minutes) brought an increase in concern from Near Southeast residents, even with the news that possible suspects were arrested the following evening after a chase by DC police into Maryland.

In addition, a third armed* robbery happened on Friday night at around 9:20 pm in the 900 block of New Jersey Ave., SE. According to the police report (and also described by the Post), a citizen was approached and robbed at gunpoint, but an off-duty MPD officer saw it happen and called for assistance--and as police saw the suspect leaving the area, the "victim of the robbery then suddenly reappeared and tackled the suspect." (Was it one of you guys?)

*However, in this case it was found out that the weapon used in the robbery was an "imitation pistol." The suspect was still arrested, and the victim's property was recovered.

Also, on Saturday night, there was a robbery at 4th and K SE.

PS: It's a shame that the public safety meeting is on the same evening as the Capper Square 767 public meeting, but These Things Happen. NOTE: This Capper meeting is going to be rescheduled.

UPDATE II: Per ANC commissioner Meredith Fascett, here is the full lineup of community meetings this week, some of which are specifically in regards to public safety, and others which can easily accommodate the subject. Note also that the Capper/Square 767 meeting that was also scheduled for Tuesday Oct. 27 is being postponed, with a new date to be announced.

* OCT. 26, MAYOR BOWSER: Mayor Bowser will speak and take questions tonight (Monday, Oct. 26) at 7 pm at the monthly Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA) meeting at Arena Stage, 101 6th St. SW.

* OCT. 27, ANC 6D07 OFFICE HOURS: Meet with Meredith Fascett at 10 am at Lot 38 Espresso.

* OCT. 27, MAYOR'S OFFICE: The Mayor's Office of Community Relations (MOCRS) is having office hours from 3 to 6:30 pm at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, 1636 E. Capitol St., NE.

* OCT. 27, CM ALLEN MEETING: As announced at the top of this post.

* OCT. 31 PSA MEETING: The monthly meeting of the neighborhood's Police Service Area, PSA 106, will be on Saturday at 10 am at 900 5th St. SE (the Capper Senior Building). MPD representatives will have information on the recent incidents in the neighborhood.

This is Bardo's second attempt at the ABC process for this site (the first placard having been rescinded just a few weeks after a filing in August), and is now technically the fourth time that the notion of a large outdoor activity/party/drinking/whatever space has been attempted at this spot across from Nats Park.

This application is for a Retailer's Class D Tavern license (as opposed to a Class C Tavern license last time), and is described thusly: "Outdoor Beer Garden. Beer made on premise. Food Trucks to supply food. Total number of Summer Garden seats: 700. Total Occupancy Load: 750. Brew Pub Endorsement."

As to why Bardo's application earlier in 2015 never made it all the way through after being announced back in March, one might want to read this transcript from the April hearing at the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to see the many (many) concerns raised by the board and by MPD, which clearly is not supportive of any venture of this type in this location. (And I can't not highlight the comments from Commander Jeff Brown of MPD about how the "applicant here says it's going to be cornhole bean-bag toss, which I'm not even going to pretend to know what that is, but I think I'll be safe to say that it's not very popular.")

* DOCK 79 FLOOR PLANS: While the potential Bardo Riverfront footprint is on the western, later-phase portion of the Florida Rock site, construction is progressing on Dock 79, the 320ish-unit residential building at the east end of the property (seen above from across the Anacostia River at Poplar Point). The project's web site and Facebook/Twitter accounts having been active for a while, and there are now virtual tours available of studio, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom units, as well as the roof.

* JUST BECAUSE: Like that photo up top? Here's the same spot, more than 10 years ago.

A few items on the calendar this week, in addition to the previously mentioned Halloween festivities on Oct. 24-25:

* ANC 6D: The monthly meeting of ANC 6D is Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 pm at 1100 4th St., SW.

* COFFEE WITH CHUCK: The next installment of CSX's update sessions on the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project is on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 8 am to 9 am at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, 140 L St. SE. RSVP here.

* WARD 6 DEMOCRATS KICK-OFF: Ward 6 council member Charles Allen and the Ward 6 Democrats are hosting a reception at Agua 301 on Thursday, Oct. 22 from 5:30 to 8 pm to meet District Democratic Party representatives and officials. RSVP required for attendance.

* INVASIVE PLANT REMOVAL: In the mood to rip some plants out of the ground? Join the Earth Conservation Corps on Saturday Oct. 24 from 10 am to noon at the pump house at Diamond Teague Park (1520 1st St. SE) to clear unwelcome interloping plants from the wetlands along the Anacostia. Wear old, comfortable work clothes, and "be prepared to get dirty." RSVP to mhobson@ecc1.org. (I'd link to a web page with additional details, but alas, I can't find one.)

(Though, to be fair, it did not occur to me--because I never, you know, asked--that there would be a far more substantial structure than the tent that the school has been operating out of since early 2010.)

And, if you are having trouble picturing the location, perhaps a comparison with the previous view might help: