banner
mainebogboy.bsky.social
@mainebogboy.bsky.social
Retired University Science Librarian, former director Orono Bog Boardwalk (2008-2024), birdwatcher,community volunteer, Democrat, lover of craft beer, proud UC Riverside graduate.
Yaroslava has just posted a letter that all who follow her should read. It is a lovely letter of gratitude.
I want to thank you –
for being here,
for reading and learning about Ukraine,
for supporting my work.

I wrote a short letter of gratitude today
www.patreon.com/posts/letter...
November 27, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Yaroslava just posted this. It is so very true. Through her research and scholarship you will learn much about Ukrainian history and culture and through her eyes you will see the beauty of Ukraine. Please follow and support her. Such a wonderful follow.
I show you things from Ukraine you won’t find anywhere else.
I visit a lot,
read a lot,
learn a lot.

Culture, art, history –
from my eyes to yours.
Just a little reminder.
November 27, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Last night and early this morning there was a horrific attack on Ukraine. Yaroslava wants us to see the beauty of Ukraine. Please follow and support her. You will learn so much about Ukrainian history and culture and will see the wonder that is Ukraine.
Kyiv today.
The harder the attack,
the more determined I am to look for something good.

Christmas magic in the windows of a central department store –
installations inspired by the works of Grasya Oliyko,
a Ukrainian illustrator.
November 25, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Reposted
Kyiv is under missile attack.
It’s very loud.
Nothing new, really.
Just thought the world should know.
November 24, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Yaroslava posted her Sunday letter just now. I urge you to read it. About children and war and features the wonderful photographs by Youry Bilak. Please believe me. You won’t soon forget this poignant and so well written letter. Support and follow Yaroslava.
You can read. Or scroll past.
You can stay. Or unfollow.
You can look into the eyes of truth. Or turn away.

Sunday Letter from Ukraine:
www.patreon.com/posts/144205...
November 23, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Yaroslava posts many brief video tours of Kyiv. Here’s one she just posted about 1 hour ago. Please follow and support her. You will learn so much about Ukraine through her posts and letters each week.
Make a pause
and spend 40 seconds in Kyiv.
November 21, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Reposted
@flore14.bsky.social recently came back from Ukraine.

They brought 50 trucks to Ukrainian defenders.

Florence started a new campaign. Please support her mission. Thank you!
November 20, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Reposted
I untied the laces of the day.
Friday evening.
Kyiv.
Always like a phoenix after an attack.

How are you?
I’d appreciate something normal, without ‘stay strong, we pray, don’t give up.’
Tell me about ordinary life, please.
November 14, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Yaroslava has just posted her Sunday letter. It is wonderful. About a Ukrainian painter of great artistry and the stunning painting Portrait of the Girl in the Red Hat, among other things. Following and supporting Yaroslava will give you so much insight into Ukraine’s history and culture. Please do.
Late Sunday evening in Kyiv.
No electricity – no drama, just a fact.

In my latest Sunday Letter,
I share the story behind this 🇺🇦 painting The Girl in the Red Hat.

www.patreon.com/posts/143170...
November 9, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Yaroslava has just posted today’s letter for all to read. It is beautiful. It shows us the beauty that is Ukraine. How we should celebrate beauty in all of our lives and places we live. A masterful letter. Please read and support Yaroslava if you are able.
‘Despite the shelling, nature keeps living.
Flowers still bloom.
Despite the war, life goes on…’

Read my latest Sunday Letter – a glimpse of life on the frontline:
www.patreon.com/posts/142596...
November 2, 2025 at 9:46 PM
As Yaroslava says life does go on in Kyiv. This post shows us. A beautiful moment captured. If you follow her you will see many such moments. Please follow and support Yaroslava. Such a wise voice for Ukrainian history and culture and beauty.
Life goes on,
I often say.
And this child, playing cheerfully with bubbles in Kyiv, proves it.
November 2, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Yaroslava has just posted yesterday’s letter and it is a wonderful read, especially before Halloween. Her research and scholarship are outstanding. If you don’t follow and support Yaroslava, you really should. You will learn so much about Ukraine’s history and culture. I have.
What is Sunday Letter from Ukraine?

I tell key news briefly
and this week, about Halloween here.
Ukraine has never had a tradition of celebrating it,
but we have something interesting instead.

Free to read:
www.patreon.com/posts/142080...
October 27, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Yaroslava posts wonderful brief videos and letters about Ukraine. Through her research and scholarship she lets us know Ukraine’s history and culture. Please follow and support her. You will learn so much and your life will be enriched. I know mine has.
Kyiv.
Dnipro River.
Fishermen.
I stood there
and lived that peaceful moment.
October 26, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Last night in Kyiv. This is what the russian terrorists have done. Please follow and support Yaroslava so she can continue to tell us through her research and scholarship, about the immense beauty of Kyiv. Her words through her posts, letters, and videos, truly have meaning.
Greetings from Kyiv.
At night, russian drones attacked the capital,
hitting residential buildings.
As of now,
three people have been killed and 29 injured.

I had a warcoffee.
A power outage is coming soon.
October 26, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Wise words from Yaroslava! Please follow and support her if you can.
On Saturdays, I sometimes visit a history club,
where they hold good lessons on history.
I was there today.
The night attack didn’t stop it from happening.

Knowledge is power.
Please study history, read books, discover your land’s culture.
October 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Yaroslava’s Sunday letter just came out a couple of hours ago. Excellent summary of this week’s Ukraine news, beautiful illustrations, and information on an extraordinary Ukrainian who described China’s flora. Excellent writing, research & scholarship. Please follow & support her.
New Sunday Letter is out –
key news from Ukraine
and the story of a Ukrainian from Lviv,
the first European to describe China’s flora
in the 17th century.

Free to read:
www.patreon.com/posts/141556...
October 19, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Yaroslava’s letter today was so well done. The video was beautiful. Notice how the paintings are hung. The Liszt love story! Please, read, watch, and enjoy. Please support Yaroslava if you are able.
This week’s Sunday Letter:

Key updates from Ukraine,
and the forgotten Ukrainian chapter of Franz Liszt’s life –
a love story between the composer and a woman from Podillia.

www.patreon.com/posts/sunday...
October 12, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Yaroslava just posted her newest letter on Ukraine. It is so well done. Her writing is beautiful and her research and scholarship are outstanding. I urge you to read it and watch her video that is included. She shows us all so much about wonderful Ukraine.
I’m deeply grateful to everyone who supports my mission
to show Ukraine to the world.

This week’s gratitude for you –
my travel diary from the palaces of Vinnytsia region,
little-known, non-touristic places
in the heart of Ukraine:
www.patreon.com/posts/travel...
October 8, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Yaroslava just posted something beautiful I thought you all should read.
Sometimes I think
that maybe my posts and letters about Ukraine
could make you not only fall in love
with this wounded land,
but also look closer at
the country you live in,
the treasures you have,
the beauty your eyes can reach.

Oh, silly thoughts.
But good to have them anyway.
October 6, 2025 at 8:20 PM
This is a letter from Yaroslava that she posted today. It is simply wonderful. Yaroslava posts about Ukrainian history and culture. Her writing and scholarship are excellent. Please follow and support her.
It seems Bluesky doesn’t let me post again.

Maybe someday you’ll read this.

I wrote a letter about a fantastic Ukrainian woman,
who worked with Salvador Dalí,
invented the Powder Puff Tutu…

Here (when you see this):
www.patreon.com/posts/from-k...
October 3, 2025 at 12:08 AM
When you’re scrolling through posts this day, don’t let this one from Yaroslava this morning pass by without an acknowledgement.
I want to post this here too –
as a reminder that
Crimea is still under russian occupation.

Rustem Skybin, The Way Home:
plates with Crimean Tatar floral ornaments form a path,
blocked by a net –
a metaphor for the home from which people were expelled.
September 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
A wonderful letter from Yaroslava today. Her research and scholarship are evident throughout. Please consider supporting her. I have for several months and I’ve learned so much about Ukrainian history and culture.
I scream (in vain?).

Look, here is Ukraine.
I brought you the key news
if your media doesn’t care anymore.
I brought you a story
of what russians did after occupying Crimea.

Just read.
I brought you the truth
www.patreon.com/posts/sunday...
September 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Last night in Ukraine! Please read and think about this.
I want the world to read
these numbers about the night attack

Ukrainian Air Force downed or jammed 611 russian drones and missiles out of 643:
• 566 drones out of 593
• 2 jet-propelled drones
• 35 Kh-101 missiles out of 38
• 8 Kalibr missiles
• 0 Kinzhal missiles out of 2

The main target was Kyiv
September 28, 2025 at 9:16 AM
This a beautiful and powerful essay by Yaroslava that she wrote this week. It is well worth reading. Please do!
This week
I wrote an essay
to my supporters
about the power of seeing beauty
during the war and in simple things.

If you missed it,
or if you are not my supporter yet
but feel ready to join,
it’s here: www.patreon.com/posts/139542...
September 26, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Just take a look at this wonderful art exhibit that Yaroslava went to this afternoon in Kyiv! So beautiful!
Just take a look!

At the exhibition Ukraine WOW
the paintings of Kateryna Bilokur have blossomed.

Kateryna Bilokur (1900–1961) –
a Ukrainian self-taught artist,
celebrated for her detailed paintings of flowers.
September 25, 2025 at 9:05 PM