Loosestrife-Torn

Check out today's All Things Considered on NPR and you can listen to (or read about) how reporter Michelle Norris made peace with the fact that the pretty perennial she had bought and planted in her yard in Washington D.C. was the invasive purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). With advice from a local gardener, she determined that she had to, for the good of the environment, get rid of it. Sounds like it was a beast to pull out too!

House Sparrow Invades Senate!

birdCNNSenate Originally uploaded by urtica

Saw this silly piece on CNN Video last night - a bird got into the Senate press room in Washington D.C., causing a bit of havoc and providing numerous opportunities for the press to report on something a little less serious than the standard political coverage (that silly thought bubble is CNN's - not mine). Turns out that was a female house sparrow (Passer domesticus), intentionally introduced from the UK over 150 years ago. Perhaps she was bravely attempting some kind of accord between the House and Senate on the FISA debacle, or maybe she was just intending to do some "target practice."

(Thanks to buckeye for the bird ID)