Photos and comments from Arizona and around the world
I hear the term "brick wall" used frequently in my contacts with other genealogical researchers. But I am certain that, in most cases, the term is used inappropriately and has lost any real meaning. I find that what is called a brick wall is often no...
The color spectrum of the prickly pear cactus flowers is truly amazing. The flowers bloom for a just two or three days, closing every evening as the sun goes down and then re-opening in the morning sun. Once they are pollenated, they dry up and drop off...
When was the last time you took a class on the history of the country you live in? When was the last time you took a class on the history of the country your ancestors came from? Have you ever read a book on either subject? If you live in the United States...
Why do I love doors and windows? I guess there is always something inviting and at times, even mysterious about a door. Most doors lack character, so I make a point of photographing those that depart from the normal experience. Windows are an entirely...
The color of the sandstone cliffs here in Zion National Park are more than just wet, they shine with saturated color. When dry, the walls appear to be unbroken slabs, but the rain and the wet walls show all the detail of their cracks and crevices. Weather...
If you look closely, you will see that the ground is covered with pieces of obsidian, or volcanic glass. This is out in what is called the Western Utah Black Rock Desert. We like to drive the back roads and find rocks and minerals. Technically, obsidian...
As anyone who has traveled with me for any length of time well knows, I love to drive the backroads of Arizona and Utah. These roads are mostly unpaved, dirt roads. This one may as well have been paved, it was a dirt road superhighway. But I mostly crop...
Many researchers seem to assume that all the records they need are already online. This is extremely far from the truth. There are whole classes of records that are not only unavailable online, but the original copies are difficult to locate and research....
Arizona is filled with strange and wonderful sights. This is one of the strange ones. I can't imagine the series of decisions that would end up in building a small room to live in under a free standing rock in the middle of a clay desert. It was probably...
Time rests heavily on the Canyon Country. You can see so much of it at once. Every layer in this rock represents hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years of deposits and then additional millions of years of erosion. Time, indeed, rests heavil...
Idem sonans (Latin: sounding the same) is a legal rule that provides that absolute accuracy in the spelling of names is not required to enforce a legal document. People cannot avoid contracts merely because their name is spelled incorrectly. Quoting from...
During the past years I have participated in several activities to record gravemarkers at the City of Mesa Cemetery in Mesa, Arizona. In a recent effort, I helped my daughter and son-in-law with a very modest effort on my part, while they and their children...
In all our online blogging, tweeting, Facebooking and reveling in our huge online databases, I believe we acquire an exaggerated belief in our own influence. I have spent three full days now at the Family History Library and have seen only two or three...
The standard view of the sandstone cliffs of the Colorado Plateau shows bare cliffs with little or no vegetation. In reality, there are places where the sandstone is almost obscured by trees and plant growth. Sometimes we need to take a new perspective...
Of course the flower was standing still, but the bug flying by happened to get into the picture right at the moment it was taken. I do get photos of bugs from time to time, but usually be design rather than by accident. I don't think the bug detracts...
The way I do my genealogical research has certainly evolved from the days of microfilm and photocopies. But it is a fact of life that the current technological changes will dramatically affect the way I do my research and record my findings in the near...
I found this little fellow creeping along the gravel looking for food. They are sometimes so tame that you can almost walk up to them, depending on whether or not dogs and coyotes have access to the area where they live.
Introduction Setting realistic research goals or objectives for a trip to a repository such as the FamilySearch Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, involves more than just looking at your data file and picking a person to research. The preparation...
This mule deer does not appear particularly happy. The poor thing is standing in the cold and wet rain and just starting to get some food after a long winter. It took the time to stare at me in my coat and carrying my umbrella to keep the rain off of...
Well, the long awaited facelift of FamilySearch.org finally appeared. Unfortunately, I was traveling today and did not get a look at it until late in the evening. It is different. Here are some first observations; 1. The FamilySearch logo introduced...
Whenever I teach a class, especially to older people (which is all the time), I constantly get feedback about identity theft issues. Many people seem to think that by registering their software or purchasing items online they are opening themselves up...
Many of the cactus plants with the most spectacular flowers are not native to Arizona. Even though they are cactus, they can't survive the intense heat and sun of the Sonora Desert and so are planted in the shade. If you try to grow them in full sun,...
It seems like there is a constant stream of comments about this or that huge collection of records going "online" in digitized indexes or even copies of the original documents. Then why is it that nearly every time I look for a county or town record,...
One of the benefits of living in the desert is the beautiful arrays of Spring cactus flowers. You have to be aware of the time of the year and keep your eyes open to the subtile changes in the weather, otherwise you might miss Spring altogether. But when...
I am starting to feel like a genealogical Frodo on my way to Mordor. I am mired down in duplication and errors. Every time I focus on one part of my pedigree, I find error upon error and a haze of duplication. For example, while doing the Mayflower investigation...
