Photos and comments from Arizona and around the world
Walking Arizona All these little holes are made by ant lions, lying in wait for some ant to slide down into the hole and get eaten up by the bug at the bottom. We used to dig up the holes with a scoop of our hand and look at the tiny ant lions scurry...
Walking Arizona The people who make trails put these beams to block water from running down the trail and eroding it away. Depending on how tired you are, on the use and how much of the bottom dirt has been worn away, they can be a formidable obstacle....
Genealogy's Star I guess your first thought is that citations and sources are not the same thing and cannot be in opposition. But, in fact, they are in opposition when someone fails to provide a source merely because they are afraid to "mess up" the citation....
Walking Arizona When you are in Grand Canyon Village, you get the impression that the Rim of the Canyon is pretty well developed. But when you get a larger view, you realize what little impact the whole development has on the huge Grand Canyon. That...
Walking Arizona This isn't a sunset exactly, it is more a study in the light on a distant mountain. This is taken looking at Pine Mountain from Washington, Utah.
Walking Arizona The altitude changes in the Grand Canyon are so great, you can have different weather depending on the altitude. You can see this clearly with cloud layers and fog in the Canyon. It can be an interesting experience to find that your...
Walking Arizona The Koyemsi, or Mudhead Kachina, is a clown who may be seen in most Hopi ceremonies. This is an early depiction of one painted on the wall of the Desert View Watchtower in the Grand Canyon National Park.
Walking Arizona It is interesting to speculate how these two rock formations could have evolved. It is clear that the lighter colored rock under the balanced one eroded fasted than the balanced rock itself, but right next to it is a small needle that...
Genealogy's Star I have noticed a rough correlation between the number of photographs and sources of an individual in online family trees and their "standing" in the family. Well, duh, you say. What did you expect. More prominent family members will automatically...
Walking Arizona This turkey vulture seems to be waiting for breakfast. We wondered if we sat very still, if this vulture would come to investigate us looking for food. But it was too hot and getting hotter and we decided that the experiment would have...
Genealogy's Star The comments made on blog posts are interesting. Fortunately, the genealogical community is mostly civil and well reasoned. Reading online comments can be an adventure in irrationality and bad language. But I seldom get such comments...
Genealogy's Star Several blog posts have noted the change today to FamilySearch.org's Family Tree allowing Family Group Records and Pedigree Charts to be printed. I suppose I should add, if you want to do so. The first Family Group Record I looked...
Genealogy's Star I got the following comment concerning the now imminent separation of New.FamilySearch.org (NFS) and FamilySearch.org's Family Tree (FSFT). Here is the comment from my dear friend, Anonymous: The problem I would like to see addressed...
Genealogy's Star According to the GEDCOM X website the first stable milestone release of the core GEDCOM X specification set has been released. If you know what I am talking about, this is an important announcement. If you don't know what I am talking...
Walking Arizona Some people like the disorderly way that opuntias (prickly pear) grow. But some don't care for the idea that they are almost weeds and spread across huge areas. They make interesting yard plants but have to be contained and cut back...
Genealogy's Star I have been distracted lately and haven't been commenting on new additions to genealogical databases. I think it is time to start noticing that huge blocks of data are going into the online sites and some, like this present addition,...
Genealogy's Star I had a short blog post on the introduction of FamilySearch.org's Family Tree printing function but didn't have time to write more. I decided to add a little bit more information and also mention some other newly added features to both...
Family History Expos Question: I am trying to find an account of a local train accident that killed a relative in 1883 outside of Buchanan Ky. I have contacted the C&O railroad but records such as these were destroyed. I have contacted the library genealogy...
Genealogy's Star This segment of Quick Views of Genealogy focuses on changes to the FamilySearch Photos program. There have been several recent changes including adding titles and descriptions to photos and printing a PDF file sheet of the photos on...
Genealogy's Star OK, the FamilySearch Photos program keeps evolving (if that is the word) from day-to-day. I have noticed several changes this past week and my YouTube video on the subject is still sort-of accurate as far as I went at the time it was...
Genealogy's Star The movement of information from analog to digital format is more than just a convenience or passing fad, it is a fundamental change in the way information is integrated into our society. I heard a comment recently that noted the change...
Genealogy's Star We all die. This is neither a very original or insightful observation. But it does impose some absolute time contraints on our genealogical research. Here is an interesting comment received from my dear friend Anonymous (one of my most...
Walking Arizona Geodes are pockets of crystals in rocks. Sometimes, you can find them lying on the ground, weathered out of the rocks, but usually we have to dig them out of the ground or cut them out of the rocks. Sometimes, like this rock, they are...
Walking Arizona This window was interesting because you couldn't see anything outside because of the fog. So the main interest was the interior of the room and the light from the window shining on an old handcrafted chair.
Walking Arizona This is one of those photos that cannot be seen well in the thumbnail view. You will have to click on the photo to see the detail. What can I say about this lovely tree more than the photo itself expresses?
