This was taken near the Lincoln Memorial, but a few weeks ago a woman – a client of our dog walker, Andrew -- walking her dog at a park on Capitol Hill was killed by a falling branch. Luckily her dog survived unscathed. The arborist who took down the 100-year-old oak tree, which had been declared to be in good health by the city in 2022, mentioned that healthy trees, usually older, mature trees and in particular oaks, can drop limbs in stretches of extreme heat due to something called “Sudden Branch Drop Syndrome.” They don’t know if that was the cause of the tragic incident at Garfield Park, but given the brutal temperatures we were having every day for weeks, it is certainly a possibility.

Interesting visitor, posted earlier: