Patricia Kennedy

To get from my house to almost anywhere in town, I have to hop in my car and drive through the winding roads through Rock Creek Park to reach my destination.

The park has a beautiful roadway for cars, and miles of trails for hikers, bikers and horses. Now the hikers and horses are pretty happy with this arrangement. But the bikers are riding, not on the gorgeous bike trails, but on the roadway, sometimes two or three abreast (so the cars can't pass them).

Today, I was driving from my house to an appointment in Georgetown. Then there was this backup on Beach Drive - two freakin' cyclists riding side by side on the roadway. And they were holding up a bunch of high priced men and women.

Little Miss Type-A here felt some blood pressure action and was a little ticked off. But some of the other drivers were going truly nuts. Blasting horns, fists shaking out car windows, and expletives flying.

Now there's room in the park for everyone. And even when cyclists use the roadway, simple courtesy is required of both bikers and drivers. Like bikes do single file to the right, so cars can pass without risking near death experiences.

When I'm on a bicycle, I'm pretty intimidated by cars, and I stick to the bike path as much as possible, and I really wish other Washington, DC cyclists were as cowardly as I am.

Yesterday, I got an email with a link to a site called NewGeography, and an interesting post by a guy named Peter Smirniotopoulos. And wow! Talk about being optimistic about the immediate future for business in my town - he's predicting that the election will generate 40,000 real estate transactions.

I wish.

But I think Peter is overly optimistic, even by my standards!

Here's how it really works.

Yes, there will be some people leaving federal jobs and returning to wherever they moved here from. And there will be a bunch of jobs to fill. And oh my! If that's all it took to create a real estate transaction!

But here's how it really works.

• Of the people leaving government, many will stay put and take jobs in local law firms and consulting outfits - in or out of government, these people have expertise that is more marketable here than almost anywhere else in the country. These folks will not move, at least not because of the election.
• Many of the people taking political jobs with the new administration are here already. They've spent the last eight years working at law and consulting firms waiting for the Democrats to take back the White House, and they are in stong demand because they understand how things get done. They are not going to be buying houses because they already live here.
• Of the people moving here, a lot of them are going to be young and are likely to prefer renting a room in a group house in Adams Morgan to paying a mortgage on a condo or house.
• The people moving here with families are often in no position to buy. Prices are high, and government salaries are not. So they often rent, at least initially.
• There are even stories of members of congress who team up to share basement apartments on Capitol Hill because they can't afford a decent house or apartment. Even Barak Obama rented a dingy junior 1-bedroom while he was a Senator. Last night on 60-Minutes, his wife, Michelle, said she couldn't stand to sleep there, so they stayed in a hotel when she was in town.

Yes, there will be a few sales, probably in the District or the very close-in suburbs. But my experience with most administrations is that they are populated by a bunch of young workaholics who do not exactly aspire to gracious living. They live in their offices and eat most of their meals from take-out bags or at receptions thrown by trade associations.

So I'm hoping that the truth lies somewhere in between Peter's optimistic forecast and my rather jaded one.

When I first moved to Washington from New York, a new neighbor invited me to accompany her on a Saturday morning outing to the Bethesda Farm Women's Market. And what an adventure! There were, and still are, stalls selling all sorts of things, from Brussels Sprouts to sweaters to freshly baked bread and cookies.

This morning, I popped by for some flowers, a bit of ham, some sag paneer, and some really amazing oatmeal raisin cookies.

In the old days, you had to make or grow whatever you sold. And many of the merchants do exactly that.

If they're selling beef, they'll regale you with stories of the cow that was romping around the barnyard until very recently. I almost bought a free range chicken until the stall owner said they got it from a chicken farm up near Frederick, but couldn't give me any information on the food she ate or her name.

There are stands with beautiful flowers, both fresh and dried.

The meat is amazingly fresh, and even the Brussels sprouts (which I've always totally hated) look edible.

And if you'd like a home made bags, these are stunning. Hope I get one for Christmas!

The Bethesda Farm Women's Market is on Wisconsin Avenue just above Leland Street. It is open on Saturday and Wednesday mornings from dawn until they sell out of food and fun.

Over half the time I get behind the wheel, it means a drive through Rock Creek Park to reach my destination. Whether it's a trip to the office or to Whole Foods, on my way, I am surrounded by nature at its most awesome.

Today, there was little traffic and I had my camera handy, so it gave me a chance to snap a few.

Most, but not all, of the leaves have fallen to the ground, and there are still patches of color.

Of course, I was looking for Bambi and her buck, but they were probaly making out like lusty teenagers and found a more private place.

If you live and drive in Washington, DC, especially if you use the roads that thread through Rock Creek Park, you might have noticed that our deer are acting strange. They are coming into residential neighborhoods, and it's not unusual to see a group of them far from the Park on a neighbor's front yard. And they are running around, flirting, cavorting and acting downright silly. Loopy even!

Well, the Park Service reminds us that it's mating season, usually the first two weeks in November. The little guys are loopy, not on Grey Goose, but horny loopy - on hormones. They are all looking for action and not looking where they are going!

Last night I was driving along Broad Branch Road, and there was a buck lookin' for love in very wrong places. He was standing in the middle of the road, assuming I'd stop my car without hitting him. As I got closer, I saw he was in the lane with oncoming traffic, and I saw a line of headlights heading right toward him - and he wasn't moving! I started to flash my brights on and off to alert the cars that were coming around the corner. I didn't hear any screeching of brakes or other mayhem, so I'm assuming that deer and drivers worked it out and that Bambi's boyfriend didn't wind up as venison stew! Maybe he even got lucky.

Every year, there are many accidents involving driver vs. deer, causing lots of damage to both cars and their drivers. It doesn't do a lot for the deer either!