Despite yesterday’s clouds, there were still a few folks looking to take to the skies. With kites, I mean. Luckily for them, yesterday was the 43rd annual Smithsonian Kite Festival, and despite the kite-averse weather, plenty of folks found themselves on the grounds of the Washington Monument engaging in a little whimsy. If anything, those dark clouds which populated the sky combined nicely with the white and gray of the major landmarks on the Mall to establish a fine neutral canvas for photographs of the numerous colorful paper birds on display. Plenty of our trusty DCist flickr pool contributors took advantage and were on the scene.