Lighten Up

Where the Wild Things Are

So when's the last time you went to the zoo? There it is, very nearly on your doorstep, and yet, like so many of the District's attractions to which tourists flock in droves, it's so easy to forget to visit yourself. If you haven't dropped by the National Zoo (3001 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-633-4800; http://www.nationalzoo.si.edu/) in a while to hang with the bison and beavers and pythons and newts, why not make the later daylight your opportunity? "Late afternoon in the spring and summer, you miss the crowds," says Matt Olear, media relations manager for Friends of the National Zoo. The cooler weather this time of year suits those perennial favorites, the giant pandas, just fine. Also, Olear says, "the cheetahs and the maned wolves tend to be more active in those later afternoon hours."

The zoo's longer warm-season hours, when the grounds stay open until 8, won't begin until April 1. Currently the grounds close at 6. For now, a good place to check in on a lively scene toward the end of the day is the lush tropical forest of the Indoor Flight Room in the Bird House. "This time of year, the sun is still setting relatively early, and in that pre-dusk hour, the birds are more active," Olear says. They are, he says, crepuscular, which sounds like something a plastic surgeon would do steady business fixing but means, in fact, that, "as dusk starts to come, they do some last-minute foraging, and they tend to vocalize more as they are staking out their roosts for the night." There, you see? You've already learned something, and you haven't even gone yet.

Here a Bird, There a Bird

Speaking of birds, it's not quite time for the spring bird migration, but that could be a good thing if you've always wanted to be the kind of person who can hear a distant trill and aver knowledgeably, "That, of course, would be your Blackburnian warbler."

"This is a good time for people to get started on bird-watching," says Cliff Fairweather, sanctuary manager and naturalist at the Audubon Naturalist Society's Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg. "There are fewer birds to deal with, and it's easier to learn some of the voices. You can start to learn the local birds and some of the winter migrants, without all the variety of the summer birds, which can be overwhelming for a beginner."

This time of year, Fairweather says, birds are active, too. At any one of the society's three sanctuaries, listen, he says, for the tufted titmouse's "peter, peter, peter" or the northern cardinal's "what-cheer." Or, on a cloudy day, you might hear the barred owl's solicitous query, "who, who, who cooks for you-all?"

Not birds, but apparently sounding like them, are the wood frogs you may hear as well, "like a flock of quietly quacking ducks," Fairweather says.

The Audubon Naturalist Society's three sanctuaries, Woodend (8940 Jones Mill Rd., Chevy Chase; 301-652-9188), Rust (802 Children's Center Rd., Leesburg; 703-669-0000) and Webb (12829 Chestnut St., Clifton; call Fairweather at 703-737-0021), are open dawn to dusk, and admission to the grounds is free ( http://www.audubonnaturalist.org/).

How Does Your Garden Grow?

About this time of year, I begin succumbing to grandiose dreams of what I'll plan to accomplish in my garden, other than beating back the English ivy yet again and growing my annual bumper crops of wild ginger and violet.

Cindy Brown, assistant director of Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria (4603 Green Spring Rd.; 703-642-5173; http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/gsgp) reminds us, however, that now, before everything starts going green on you, is "a perfect time to get out there and do the cleanup you didn't get to do -- mulching, edging, spreading compost -- to get ready for spring."

If you're in need of pointers, or inspiration, you can sign up for Green Spring's "Spring Start-Up" workshop (March 16 from 1:30 to 3; $11). Afterward, wander through the gardens; the 28 acres are open dawn to dusk (if the gates are closed, you can park outside and walk in, Brown says). Among other attractions, Green Spring features the national witch hazel collection, with 86 varieties scattered throughout the gardens. "Some are in the shade, some in the sun, some dwarf, some giant," Brown says. "We are trying to show homeowners what you can do for a garden."

You can take in blooming witch hazel as well at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton (1800 Glenallan Ave.; 301-962-1400; http://www.brooksidegardens.org/), where grounds are open until sunset daily. March is also likely to bring crocus, anemones, quince, Japanese andromeda, daffodils and other early-blooming bulbs, Brookside spokeswoman Leslie McDermott says. If you don't know your anemones from your invasive weeds, you can bring your questions to the master gardener plant clinics Saturdays from 10 to 2 and Sundays from 1 to 4 in the Brookside Gardens Library.

Welcome Bacchus

Quibblers may choose to point out that the early Roman calendar did not strictly correspond to our contemporary one, but why quibble while the sun shines? March was once the time when Romans celebrated a festival in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine, and isn't that reason enough to raise your glass in a toast to the ever-longer days ahead?

But a glass of what, exactly? You want to strike just the right oenophilic note for the season as you bask in the light. Daven DeMeyer, a regional manager with the Wine Group who was visiting Georgetown Square Wine Shop in Bethesda (10400 Old Georgetown Rd.; 301-530-4555) recently, had this to suggest: "Pinot noir is a lighter, ruby-colored wine with aromas of cranberry and cherry. Pinot noirs are very popular right now. As it gets warmer, a pinot grigio is a good choice. It's a dry white wine and has a light, distinct bouquet. It's light and fresh and invigorating."

Need more inspiration? On Saturday and Sunday, the Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival comes to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (full disclosure: The Washington Post is a major sponsor), with all-day "grand tastings" courtesy of more than 280 wineries (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; 800-343-1174; http://www.wine-expos.com/; $80 one-day ticket, $100 two-day ticket).

Tech Help

Perhaps not the most exciting way to pass an hour, and in fact probably best done before DST actually arrives, but it seems that this latest repositioning of DST has generated some consternation in the tech industry (a faint echo of the Y2K kerfuffle) because of all the gazillion electronic gizmos we could not do without that are operating on internal clocks blissfully unaware of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Without falling prey to the doomsday scenarios that were so much the topic of lively discussion on the eve of the millennium, you might want to make sure that whatever gadget your very being depends upon (your laptop, your PDA, your programmable coffee maker) gets wised up.

Caroline Kettlewell is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Weekend who can be found online at http://www.carolinekettlewell.com/.