Apropos of nothing at all, this appeared last night on the MPD 5D listserv:

While pulling out of RiteAid at 14th and Rhode Island this evening, I saw a long-haired orange adult cat wearing what looked like a green and white striped collar. I stopped and tried to coax the cat to me, and it got close until I was propositioned by a prostitute.

Hopefully this is someone’s kitty who just got out for a bit.

And if that’s not enough, this scary gem appeared on the MPD 4D list today:

A short time ago, I was informed by some of a neighbor’s children, that an eagle swooped down and tried to grab their younger brother, about 16-17 mos. I was also told this was witnessed by an adult. This area is within PSA 405. One of the children pointed to my waistline as to the height of the eagle, which made it about 4 feet tall. Further, the eagle then sat on a nearby tree limb, then suddenly flew over the area of the Brookland Ridge Apts wooded area in the 200 blk Varnum St NE , grabbed a squirrel and flew away.

Was also told 2 times earlier this week, this same eagle swooped down out of nowhere, caught a rat, and flew away.

I am aware that eagles are a protected species, and that the DC area was re-populated with eagles during early 2000 by a local conservation program. I called Animal Control to find out if there have been other recent reportings of similar nature.

Also wanted to if this is an aberration in behavior for some reason, and if this is the case, public education information if there are any precautions residents may need to take during this time.