Monday, March 23, 2026

A Walk in the Park

“Muskrats are large, semi-aquatic rodents known for their dense brown fur, webbed hind feet, and long, vertically flattened tail, which they use for steering in water. They are excellent swimmers, can hold their breath for extended periods, and build lodges or burrows in the banks of freshwater marshes, ponds, and slow-moving streams across North America.”

Len’s photo

“The Great Blue Heron is North America's largest heron, a tall, blue-gray wading bird with long legs, a long neck, and a dagger-like bill.”

“The Sandhill crane is a large, gray wading bird known for its long legs, neck, and a distinctive red patch on its forehead, with a loud, rattling call and elaborate courtship dance. Found in North American grasslands and wetlands, they are omnivores that mate for life, and their impressive migration is a well-known natural spectacle.”

Len’s photo

Friday, March 20, 2026

What’s Up?

New in the Kitchen: A Mug Rack

Made by Len.

Currently Reading and Watching

Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine: The New Science of Achieving a Healthy Weight
Reading the semi-autobiographic work by David Kessler about food and anti-food, specifically weight-loss drugs.

Reading news accounts of a hero who betrayed his followers: another revelation of abuse of women by a powerful man. It’s so sad to read stories about so many predators. I wonder what will become of this mural. Shared with Sami’s Murals.

On TV: a remake of the old favorite. I’ve read it over and over, though not recently.
It was the first long book I read when I was around 12 years old.

At Alice’s Apartment

Alice is growing a few pots of herbs in her kitchen.

Dinner at Alice’s apartment.

Freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies from frozen dough made by a friend of Alice.

Dreaming of Hawaii: Old Photos

A turtle at Poipu Beach on Kauai in 2016. Shared with Eileen’s Saturday Critters.

Manta Ray, Kona, 2005

Great White Shark, Kona, 2005

Fish and coral, Kona, 2007

Io Valley on Maui, 2009

Blog post and photos © mae sander

Shared with Readerbuzz Sunday Salon.

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Fire

The LA Library Fire

How did I happen to be reading about two major tragic fires at the same time? I don’t know, but recently I’ve been rereading The Library Book by Susan Orlean, which documents the disastrous fire in 1986 that burned the downtown library in Los Angeles. Below is a photo of the burning building. Long after the fire, in around 2003, I visited the library, which had been restored — at that time I was unaware of the fire, but now I see how horrible it was.

Note that the reason I started to reread this book is that Susan Orlean has just published a new book, which made me think about going back to this one. My earlier review is here (link) and the NY Times review of the new book here (link)

News photo of the library on fire

Another Major Fire:

The Devastation of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

The New York Times magazine currently has a story (link) about the horrendous forest fire at the Grand Canyon that destroyed the forest, the historic lodge, and 100 other buildings last summer.
We visited there on one of our cross-country trips in 2011.

Looking through the burned-out building towards the Grand Canyon.
What fabulous views the tourists at the lodge once enjoyed.

The fury and speed of a major fire is staggering to contemplate.

We took this photo at the North Rim Lodge in 2011 when we visited the Grand Canyon.
Its destruction would have been unimaginable at that time.

Photos from the web.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Tradition

Our Saint Patrick’s Day dinner in 2026. Our red cabbage was a raw salad, and the corned beef came in a
package already sliced, which may be a little off the traditional meal. We ate it the evening before the holiday.

Here is the online summary of this tradition: “Corned beef and cabbage is considered an Irish-American dish, not traditionally Irish. While Irish immigrants brought the tradition of eating boiled meat and cabbage to the U.S., they substituted expensive Irish bacon with cheaper corned beef purchased from Jewish butchers in New York City during the 19th century.”