ART IN THE PALISADES

Ron Haynie, whose drawings are on view this month at the Palisades post office, teaches painting and drawing at American University. He serves as Director of AU’s Watkins Collection and Gallery.
The drawings on display were created in the summer of 1998 during a visiting artist stint at Chautauqua. They are studies in spontaneity. Random marks, made by the artist with water-soluble crayons, merge to form the hint of a face. Taking its lead, the artist reinforces the configuration with graphite markings, and water is brushed on to create areas of washes.
A face emerges which moves with the already created rhythms of the drawing.
Ron Haynie has been a resident of the Palisades area since 1970.
—Sheila Rotner

MY PALISADES:
In Praise of Battery Kemble Trail

When I moved to the Palisades in spring 1997, I knew it was a good place for dogs. But little did I know just how good.
The urge to get a puppy— specifically, a yellow Lab puppy— was a major reason I decided to leave Adams Morgan after 13 years. And I found just the house I needed, on Sherier Place. It has a fenced-in back yard, and just enough garden for a novice like me to take care of.
By August 1998 my puppy J.J. had arrived. She’s quite a handful—and they aren’t kidding when they say Labs need a lot of exercise.
One winter day, as I was expanding my search for places to walk with J.J., I decided to try a path that starts on the east side of MacArthur Boulevard near Chain Bridge Road. Battery Kemble Trail, according to the National Park Service sign. What a treasure I found!
This is absolutely the perfect trail for me and J.J. because it is not too steep (if you stick to the low road at the beginning), which is good for my aging knees that took a beating during my early years of running. And a small stream runs beside the trail the whole way, which J.J. dashes in and out of to pursue sticks and to cool off in the summer. (I need to point out that since this is National Park Service land, according to the law, dogs should be leased at all times.)
We like to take our walk mid-afternoon on most days. On the trail, we have plenty of one-on-one interactions with other dogs, so playtime is easy to keep under control.
In the height of the summer heat, however, we hit the trail in the early evening, and sometimes we don’t see anyone else for the entire walk. So I like the fact that the trail is within shouting distance of houses on 49th Street.
Although I haven’t seen anyone threatening on the trail yet, unfortunately in this day and age safety is a concern for a woman walking on her own. I’m not sure how much protection an overly friendly Lab can provide.
When you reach the top of the trail, after a leisurely 20 minutes or so, you are in Doggy Heaven: Battery Kemble Park.
Many people drive to this park and let their dogs run around there. But I prefer to walk up and back so that the dog isn’t the only creature getting some exercise. After all, one of the reasons I got a dog was to stay in shape in my fifties. That’s why I was so excited to find a trail that is a perfect length and level of difficulty.
Many other people—those with younger knees, I guess—choose instead to walk a circuit, taking the bottom path one direction and the steeper path on their return.
It’s nice to see the park in such good condition. In one of the ice storms in the winter of 1999, two huge trees fell across the path. Within about 10 days, someone, from the Park Service, I assume, had come with a chain saw and cut a path through the fallen trunks. Aside from occasional interventions such as this, however, the park is left in its natural state.
J.J. and I go to the trail nearly every day, rain or shine. It’s about 10 degrees cooler in the woods in the summer, and the tree cover provides wonderful protection during a light spring rain. We’ve seen big pileated woodpeckers, lots of cardinals and more common birds, squirrels playing chase, and even a deer. Luckily, I spotted the deer first, and made sure J.J. didn’t bolt after her.
We run across many of the same dogs (and owners) in our walks, and it certainly feels like a little community—people who aren’t in a rush to give their animals a specific amount of exercise every day, but who instead enjoy taking the time to wander down a dirt path and watch the seasons come and go.
At the risk of causing a traffic jam on my favorite trail, I urge anyone who hasn’t been there to give it a try. Dogs are optional!
—Linda Starke

Ed.’s Note: Since everyone experiences the Palisades in their own way, your newsletter would like to hear about yours. As an artist? A gardener? Runner? Downtown denizen? Church-centered? Community activist? Call Penny McGinn at 244-5282 about submitting your piece for “My Palisades.” It can be oral, hand-written, typed, faxed, floppied, e-mailed, whatever you want.