After almost 2 weeks, I returned to the park on a hot and humid Wednesday.  The stella d’oro lilies, bloomed out, had green, thumb-sized pods clustered on the stems; the roses were now mostly hips.  Along the more sheltered path, small displays of pink roses and orange day lilies flashed some color.  Jewelweed, neglected by the volunteer gardeners, popped up through the flower beds and shrubs, 2-3 feet high.  At the bottom of the path, where you cross the road to Daniel Webster, under the pin oak there is a healthy wood anemone, sturdy and tall, bursting with buds.

I heard the amplified guitar from 50 yards away.  Bethesda Fountain were better named Bedlam Fountain today.  A tv production company had erected a wedding venue, with white flower festooned arches, lighting and camera equipment everywhere, attended by a gaggle of gaffers.  The show was “Say Yes to the Dress,” a combination fashion/reality show set in the Kleinfeld Bridal shop, now in its 17th season.  At the water, under a boom, the amplified jazz violinist belted out his tunes.

I headed toward the maple, and the shade and quiet it offered.  Sometime during my first 30 minutes, a group of 5 teens came by.  It was Kaylie’s birthday, so of course she and 2 of her friends wanted to hula.  “A tip for you,” Kaylie said when they were done.  It was my first dollar of the day, long in coming and long to be repeated, by a 30-something dad just walking by.

Singing my way through the third third of my session, I didn’t see the large, bearded man approach with his personal entourage until he was gesticulating at me to play.  Before I’d barely begun, he spoke Spanish to his fellows, from which I fished out the word, cuatro, a Latin American string instrument resembling a ukulele.  (Cuatro means four.)  I said, “Si,” and offered him my uke.  He played for a while, then handed the uke to one of his buddies, who showed even more proficiency.  There was much joking and gesticulating, which the cameraman captured while swooping in and circling the rotund ring leader.

At the end, one of the men came forward and gave a dollar to the second cuatro player, who thought it quite the joke.  Eventually, he gave the dollar to me.  Each of the men threw money into my case and fist-bumped me.  Their 6 dollars tripled my take to $8 for the day.