Sarah Rolph

"Agriculture and nature preservation are not at odds; they are different aspects of the same vital endeavor." Albert Straus: Dead set on ‘saving’ Point Reyes, environmentalists want to kill its best stewards sfstandard.com/opinion/2025/0… via @sfstandard

Mountain Bluebirds are back in the Alberta foothills! Hard to find a more beautiful blue...

As an Iranian watching this rescue mission unfold, I was praying the American pilot would make it out alive, not just for him, but so the Islamic Republic could not use him as a bargaining chip or claim some twisted “victory.” At the same time, I felt a deep envy. Your government sent elite special forces, million-dollar aircraft, and moved heaven and earth to bring one American home. No hesitation. No excuses. In Iran, the regime uses human shields and recruited child soldiers to clear minefields during the Iran-Iraq war. They treat their own people like disposable tools. They are now recruiting child soldiers as we speak. The Islamic Republic has zero regard for human life. That’s the brutal difference. One side risks everything to save their own. The other sacrifices their own to stay in power. This hits hard when you have lived under both realities.

Yes! Great movie

Hermit thrush behind the King of Poland statue #birdcp

Exactly. And if you don’t get that, you’ll never understand the power of the American fighting man: he knows he will never be abandoned by his buddies for the sake of cynical politicians. Exactly the same ethos behind the IDF, which is another nation you’ll never get.

A few ancient airframes: ±$100 million Reminding your troops and the entire world that “no man left behind” isn’t just a slogan, and that you can do things nobody else can even dream of: priceless.

For those in the American media—and in Iran—who struggle to read the president, here’s a translation into your language of his latest statement: “Dear IRGC leaders: The United States military just extracted a single American, alive, from inside your territory. Not one American life was lost in the process. Take that as a demonstration. We can concentrate overwhelming firepower anywhere in your country. We can go where we want and do what we want, and there is very little you can do to stop us. Your one remaining card is your ability to strike civilian infrastructure in the Gulf—countries that once tried to restrain me. That card no longer works. Your terror attacks have turned them from hesitant partners into supporters of your defeat. And I refuse to be deterred by this terror tactic. If we can pull a pilot off a mountaintop, we can send forces to seize uranium and destroy your underground missile complexes. I am prepared to do all that if I have no choice. But to do it without losing American lives, I must first take down dual-use infrastructure—bridges, power plants, energy grids. That will set your country back decades. So let’s be clear. Cut a deal on uranium, missiles, and proxies. Stop attacking Gulf states and Israel. Open the Strait to international shipping. If you don’t, we will act with overwhelming force to protect our interests. Thank you for your attention to this matter. —DJT”

The greatest Texas Easter photo of all time or the greatest photo ever taken in Texas? The pure, unabashed joy on San Antonio farmer Sam Smith's face as he celebrates rain on Easter Sunday after a prolonged drought in 1951 takes me to my happy place every Easter. Taken by Harvey Belgin and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

First time I tried dyeing eggs with onions skins 😊 Really pleased with the results!

@NaronChris @booksandbbq Yep. Not for me.

@RolphSarah @booksandbbq Don’t go near Cormac McCarthy then.

Reading Lonesome Dove and I might just read western novels and nothing but western novels for the next couple of months.

People need to stop complaining about the double space at the end of sentences. It is the eternal mark of the boomer. It is free information, useful metadata. We must never give it up.

Buy a Korean spice viburnum. Plant it near a window or a door. Enjoy the sweet smell of cloves, vanilla, and spiced honey every Spring. There’s nothing like it. You’re welcome.

This Easter Vigil marks twenty years since I came into the Church. I am grateful beyond words for every year in the life of grace.

Long Island City, Queens, New York City. I’ve never seen the entire City bloom all at once like this year 😀🌸

🚨: The Moon is getting bigger and bigger......... just 113,000 miles left! Image Credit: Artemis II crew

My idea of a good time is working with amazing engineers to create incredible technology 🤩 The Tesla chip research fab will have all the machines needed to do logic, memory, packing & masks in one building for a lightning fast development cycle. Heaven 💫

Kaoru Yamada

The bluebirds are back. Here is a photo @LadyHollowTree took two years ago.

Terri Ford (USA) Upper Falls in Shadow, Yosemite watercolor under wash

@ChampangeChuck @booksandbbq Makes sense.

@RolphSarah @booksandbbq McMurtry wrote Comanche Moon after having had open-heart surgery, which makes you physically and especially emotionally depressed. I always thought this is why that novel was so sad.