As soon as my Spring 2024 semester ended, I’ve been looking at a very full schedule for the rest of May. But I’m also trying to balance out the work with some fun. Let’s see… I already presented in my campus’ Youth STEAM and StartUp Day, went to see The Black Crowes in concert, then headed off to Washington DC for a Strategic Planning Retreat with the Council of The Oceanography Society (TOS).

I serve as the geological oceanography councilor for TOS. I thoroughly enjoy working with this group “to advance oceanographic research, technology, and education, and to disseminate knowledge of oceanography and its application through research and education.” We worked on updating the organization mission statement and brainstormed so many ideas for new programming that will benefit the membership and our discipline. I look forward to the fall semester (I know, the spring semester just ended!) to share with my students the numerous resources on the TOS website, from free access to the articles in Oceanography magazine to the career profiles of those that entered marine science careers outside of academia.

But before the TOS meeting, I took an early train down from Philadelphia to Washington DC to see if I could find a celebrity. This celebrity has been on the national news and wasn’t going to be in DC much longer. So I dropped off my bags at my hotel and headed off to the Tidal Basin to see if I could find… Stumpy!

Stumpy is a sad-looking cherry tree that surprisingly has persisted through constant flooding and having a mostly hollowed-out trunk. This video gives a quick overview of Stumpy, and this web page from the National Park Service discusses the seawall construction project, which is why Stumpy and many of the other cherry trees must come down.

Fortunately, I had seen many news stories about Stumpy, so I knew what I was looking for. That being said, the Tidal Basin in DC is quite a feature to walk all the way around to find it! There was no signage, and I was hoping there might be a group of people gathered around taking photos of Stumpy in its last days. Some internet searching told me it was between the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the George Mason Memorial – and sure enough, I found it! The tree was under much more water than shown in the PBS NewsHour video I included above. Alas, it probably is best to say goodby to this tree nicknamed the Charlie Brown Tree (think of the Peanuts Christmas Special). The seawall is under water, the tree is flooded, and the cherry blossoms are done for the season.

These are some images I took of Stumpy. The good news is that Stumpy will live on, from new genetic matches grown from cuttings the staff at the National Arboretum are collecting.

This image is my favorite, showing the Washington Monument in the background, along with one of the Presidential helicopters. Thank you for all the joy you have brought so many visitors, Stumpy – and so many more visitors to come!