Around Ann Arbor

A Few Graffiti We Have Seen

Dexter, Michigan: a cute tiny mural by famous Ann Arbor artist David Zinn.
Unlike his usual chalk drawings, this one is durable and has been in place for over a year.

Near the railroad tracks on North Main, Ann Arbor. Various graffiti on RR boxes.
I know nothing whatsoever about what these mean, I hope they aren’t offensive!

The Wrecking Ball is Coming

Everyone recognizes the unique dome on this old house quite near the UofM campus.
Like many older houses that have long been student rentals, it will soon be demolished and replaced by a high-rise apartment building, also catering to students. Ironically, after years of neglect this house seems to have recently been very nicely repainted.

Another view of the construction site showing the beautiful old stone porch that will soon be rubble.
Does this mean our town is losing its character and its connections to its history? Maybe it means that.
In case you are wondering about the shoes: after graduating, students throw their shoes over the utility wires.

On Our Walks

A view of Argo Dam from the far side of the river. An expanded park is being constructed here.

Not far from the Huron River: a tree has begun to turn red and the vegetation is looking very much like autumn.

 All photos © mae sander 2024

Shared with Sami’s Monday Murals.

Recent Reading

Burma Sahib by Paul Theroux (published in February, 2024) is a novel based on the true experiences of a man named Eric Blair in Burma approximately 100 years ago. The story begins when Blair is 19 years old, recently graduated from the famed prep school Eton, where he was not at all happy. He has gone to Burma to become a policeman and an officer of the British Empire. This is in stark contrast to most of the other Eton graduates who would have enrolled at Oxford or gone on to something else very upper class, but Blair wasn’t upper class. His father had been a rather lowly civil servant in charge of a minor aspect of the British-state-run opium business in a nearby part of the empire. 

Theroux selects wonderful detail about life in colonial Burma. For example, I really enjoyed his descriptions of the occasional native meals that Blair tried, as well as very British food that the Indian cooks prepared: food that they wouldn’t eat themselves because they were vegetarians. For example, a lunch of “boiled fowl, mashed potatoes, and a slimy vegetable no one could name.” (p. 33).

Food often contrasts to the political environment in which Blair exists; consider this:

“And the other memory was of an occurrence at the end of the meal (veal chop, mash, brown gravy, bottled peas). The boat that had brought the arresting officers had also brought provisions: crates of wine, potted meat, packets of water biscuits, tins of salmon, and a chest of cheeses.   

 

“Wearing gloves, the khidmatgar placed a cheese board on the dining table next to Oliphant. Grasping a cheese knife, Oliphant tapped it on a large wedge of Stilton, lowering his head so that his slicked-down hair gleamed in the lamplight, scrutinizing the Stilton. All the cheeses on the board were sweating slightly, a moist double Gloucester, a damp cheddar, a softening brie…. 

 

“There were more shouts, a yelping from one person, a woman’s shrieks, and Oliphant paused. … And that was the moment Blair heard the ruckus—yells from the precincts of the pagoda, the frantic jangling of bells, hoarse shouted orders from the arresting officers. Oliphant did not look up but instead studied the cheese.” (p. 144) 

Basically, being a policeman does not suit Blair at all; he finds that he doesn’t fit in at all with the colonial society and its repressive racist greed. He also doesn’t fit in with any of the various Asian people he gets to know, though unlike most of his fellow policemen, he learns the local language and has a lot of sympathy for the people. In fact, he is stymied by the rampant prejudices, the cruelty, and the pettiness that he finds all around him. 

Blair wants to write poetry, but is never satisfied with his efforts, and begins to write stories about his experiences. I loved reading about this five-year period in Blair’s life. His growing awareness of people and relationships, as well as his many frustrations and humiliations, are portrayed in a very fascinating and effectively dramatic way — much of this due to the imagination and inventiveness of the novelist. As you may know, Eric Blair was a very real person who did in fact become a writer. His nom de plume was George Orwell.

The Soul of an Octopus (published 2016) is the third book by Sy Montgomery that I have read. The others were about turtles and dolphins. But in fact all of them are really about Sy Montgomery. In The Soul of an Octopus, of course, you can learn a lot about the lives of octopuses that the author encountered — especially a few of them that live in a large aquarium in Boston. You can learn a bit about natural history, about scuba diving to see more of these creatures, about the dedicated caretakers who work in the aquarium, and about scientists who study the sea. But most of all, you learn about the author. I wasn’t as conscious of this in the earlier books of hers that I read but in retrospect I think it was the same. Not that it’s bad, that’s just the way it is.

I expected to enjoy The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (published August, 2024). I was very disappointed. It’s a soppy story about Hollywood. Unlike Moreno-Garcia’s other novels that I’ve read and liked, this one didn’t have any magical realism at all. Not recommended!

I’m also rereading Moby-Dick, in the aftermath of my trip to the Galapagos.

Reviews © 2024 mae sander

Shared with Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz.

 

The Unique History of the Galapagos Islands

The Recent Origin of the Islands

Cone-shaped mountain peaks are evidence of the recent volcanic origin of the islands. A geological hot-spot in the Pacific Ocean produced the chain of islands. The oldest islands are around 5 million years old; eruptions continue to the present.

Signs of recent volcanic activity appear on many islands. Here, you can see a lava tube with both of the major types of lava: a’a and pahoehoe.

A crevasse in the ground: another sign of recent volcanic activity.

We enjoyed all these beautiful volcanic landscapes during our voyage from August 17-24.

Life Begins on the Isolated Island

Five million years is very brief in geological time! The new islands, being very far from the South American continent, had no life forms at first. Slowly, birds landed on the island, some blown by storms, many by flying there on their own. Plants and small creatures arrived from the mainland on large floating tangles of branches and roots; birds also can carry seeds or insects on their feet or feathers. In time, these new residents adapted in ways that haven’t really been observed in other places. 

During the last 300 years, humans have been frequent visitors, and a small number of people eventually settled in the Galapagos. The current population is around 32,000. With human activity, some native species have become extinct, and other species have been introduced such as goats and rats. Recently, the fascinating variety of birds, iguanas, giant tortoises, plants, and so on have become a major attraction for tourists. 

From our own photos, here are a few images of the very numerous endemic species in the Galapagos taken during  our two trips to the islands in 2010 and 2024.

Flightless cormorants, unique to the Galapagos (2010)

Endemic Lava Gulls, rarest gulls in the world.

Around 18 species of finches are found only on the Galapagos Islands. Here’s one example.

The Galapagos Penguin is also unique to the islands. (2010)

A giant tortoise at the Darwin Research Station

At the Darwin Research Station many of the endangered tortoises are being bred to avoid the extinction of yet more species. Before human disruption of the island’s fauna, at least one unique tortoise species lived on every major island. Unfortunately tortoises made perfect food for the whalers and other sailors who stopped at the islands in the 18th and 19th centuries, and populations were wiped out.

Galapagos Sea Lions, another endemic species that we have seen on many islands.

Marine Iguanas — perhaps the strangest of the endemics in the Galapagos. Darwin called them “Imps of Darkness.”

Sallylightfoot Crabs are everywhere on the rocky shore; they are also found in many other locations.

I don’t know anything about plants, but this is one of the evolved plants that is unique to the Galapagos.

Charles Darwin and the Study of Natural Selection

Len and Darwin at the Darwin Research Station.

In 1835, Charles Darwin spent several weeks visiting some of the islands in the Galapagos, which were at that time uninhabited by humans. He was traveling as a naturalist and companion to the captain of the ship H.M.S. Beagle, whose purpose was to make nautical charts and collect native species of plants and animals. His work was eventually published under the long title:

On the Origin of Species

BY MEANS OF NATURAL SELECTION, OR THE

PRESERVATION OF FAVOURED RACES IN THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.

You are probably aware of the history of Darwin’s careful observations and life-long effort to understand how the emergence of the unique plants and animals of the Galapagos as well as the species found in many other places he visited. You probably also know of the controversies about his theories and their eventual acceptance by scientists and natural historians. Many ensuing research projects in the scientific fields that Darwin invented have and vindicated Darwin’s accomplishments.

One evening we cruised past the island of Daphne Major while hearing a talk about an important project done there.

Daphne Major was the site of some very important research to understand natural selection in action. From 1973 until 1989 two evolutionary biologists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, lived there and intensively studied the various species of finches on the island. They and their students discovered many new details about natural selection and speciation in the birds they observed. Their work was the subject of an award-winning book titled The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner. 

I read Weiner’s book some time ago, and I was very interested in seeing the actual island that was involved, though from the deck of the ship one can’t actually see the flat volcanic mountain top where the birds and researchers lived. While we were traveling on the ship I borrowed the somewhat dog-eared copy of the book from the ship’s library and began reading it again. (Having a carefully selected library of natural history, geography, and biology books is a key amenity of Natural Geographic voyages!)

Virtually the entire territory of the Galapagos Islands belongs to the Ecuadorian Galapagos National Park. On Santa Cruz Island we visited the park headquarters and the center for preserving threatened species, especially the giant tortoises. The park has a very well-organized and seriously enforced program to protect these unique resources. The naturalists and staff of the ship take these rules very seriously.

More about the Island’s History

For a brief history of the islands and of Darwin’s visit see this summary from the Galapagos Conservancy. 

The human history of the islands is very brief: in the 1960s there were only 2000 residents, and today there are only 32,000. A few settlements date from the early 20th century, and the airport on Baltra Island was built as an American base during World War II.

The inhabitants today mainly work in the tourist industry, with a very small amount of agriculture and fishing. Needless to say, many volumes of history, scientific research, and accounts of natural history chronicle the fascinating story of the islands.

Where we were.

Blog post and photos © 2010, 2024 mae sander

Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal in Quito

On the last day of our visit to Ecuador, we had plenty of time because our plane didn’t leave until 11:30 PM.
We spent the day mostly at our hotel, but we did take a taxi to the Artisan Market around a mile from the hotel.

Market stalls sell hats, trinkets, sweaters, wood carvings, embroidered dresses, and much more

In the courtyard of the market. Food vendors sell ice cream, hot dogs, and everything
else you would expect.

Almost the first shop we saw was selling very attractive carved wood masks. 

After walking around for a wile, we realized that we liked them the best. We returned and bought one!

Our newest mask. 

The finest hand-woven Panama hats are made by artisans in Ecuador. 
They were incorrectly named Panama hats because they were shipped through Panama in the 19th century.

On the Market Buildings: A Series of Murals

And then we went home…

After our visit to the market, we returned to the hotel, where we had arranged for a very late check-out.
We had a pleasant lunch in the hotel cafe called the Quito Deli. They also sell sweets, coffee beans, and bottles of wine.

A lovely ending to a delightful trip.

Blog post and photos © 2024 mae sander

Shared with Sami’s Monday Murals

and Elizabeth’s Blog Tea Party.

Kitchens of August 2024

Dining from the Ship’s Kitchen for One Week

The ship’s kitchen.

From August 17-25, our meals came from the excellent kitchen of the Lindblad-National Geographic Endeavor II as we were touring the Galapagos Islands. Beginning with a wonderful and varied breakfast buffet, we enjoyed each day’s food. Except for one barbecue buffet (originally planned to be on the deck, but the wind was too high) we sat down and had excellent table service for lunches and dinners. Despite the sometimes-frantic pace of multiple excursions to shore, the meals were always very relaxed, and we were happy with the companionship of other passengers onboard.

The kitchen viewed through a window (with reflections).

Every morning I ate the fruit from the breakfast buffet — especially the papaya.
Several counters were loaded with amazing choices of cereals, eggs, Ecuadorian pastry, and much more.

Desserts from the kitchen

As we entered the dining room we would see the beautifully plated desserts waiting to be served at the end of our meal.

Flan and chocolate lava cakes. MMMM! Dessert buffet after the barbecue meal.

Chocolate mousse cup served with an edible spoon made from white chocolate.
Ecuadorian chocolate is the best in the world, and the taste is unbelievable.

Tropical flavors: coconut, lemon, pineapple.

Len’s birthday cake — another beautiful creation from the ship’s kitchen.

And more…

The food was very flavorful but never hot-spicy. However, hot sauce was always on the table.

Salads were part of most meals. This one with flowers was especially pretty.

Another salad with an interesting crisp garnish.

Carrots, broccoli, and palm hearts.

Somehow by the time I received my main course I was always so engaged in conversation with my fellow diners that I never took photos of the plates, but believe me, there was always a wonderful local fish option and a meat or chicken option with many different vegetable and starchy side dishes. Potatoes, which are native to Ecuador and the Andes mountains were often on the menu. Yucca or casava was also used, as was a wide variety of sweet corn. Interesting fact: popcorn is used as a garnish for ceviche. 

We had a beautiful week on the Endeavor II.

In My Kitchen At Home in Ann Arbor

Now for my normal report on what’s happening in my kitchen — shared with the other bloggers at Sherry’s blog. And with the bloggers at Deb’s Sunday Salon.

Magnets from Ecuador on my refrigerator.

New napkin holder from the Quito Artisan Market.

Using Michigan’s great local produce in August…

Figs aren’t local but they are in season in August.

Plus one barbecue in our back yard: served with the lingonberry jam we bought at Ikea.

Since we came back:

Blog post and photos © 2024 mae sander