Seen Downtown, Tuesday October 29

First about 8 am at 16th and K Sts. NW,, a man about 60, neatly dressed, with cane or walking stick, and a sign hung from his neck:

POETRY

FOR LOVE + ROMANCE

$5 A POEM

Probably I should have stopped and spent $5 to see what the goods were like, but I was in a hurry.

Second, at lunchtime, a hawk, probably a red-tailed hawk, in Lafayette Square. It flew low across the park from the southeast corner to perch in a tree overlooking 16th and H Sts. I walked back that way for a better look, but the hawk flew out southwest.

Third, a few minutes later, on fences along the north side of the Ellipse:

     THIS AREA CLOSED

     FOR PERMITTED ACTIVITIES

I'm guessing that this means that the National Park Service is not now issuing permits for activities here; the graders at work beyond the fence support this interpretation.