Photos and comments from Arizona and around the world
I received a note from Google+ that started me thinking again about cursive and that led to thoughts about old scripts and preservation. Michael Helmantoler post the above image and the following question: This is an image from the FamilySearch Wiki...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
I am presently working at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and in my spare time from helping attendees at the Family History Expos’ Retreat, I am focusing on the ancestry of my Fourth-Great-Grandmother, Thankful Tefft Tanner, the wife...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
I am not sure that the world goes much past the iconic saguaro in its perception of cactus plants, but this photo shows how far other cactus can go to reach into the sky. I also like the fuzzy sort-of spines that cover this type of cactus.
Most of the cactus have some kind of fruit and most are edible. I haven't tried these, but I have eaten prickly pear fruit a lot. Cactus fruit was a mainstay of the ancient inhabitants of the desert Southwest.
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...
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...
Through movies and countless photographs, this type of view of Northern Arizona/Southern Utah has become a recognizable standard. But it is interesting how really rare this type of sandstone formations really are. Don't think of just Arizona and Utah,...
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...
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...
Sometimes the cactus flowers are so unusual that I think they look like something created in Photoshop. But I can assure you that this little cactus produced that strangely colored blossom. Finding these cactus is a real treasure. They are extremely rare...
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.
Agathla Peak is a landmark in Northern Arizona. This eroded volcanic core is visible for many miles in all directions. It is located right off Highway 191 about seven miles from Kayenta. In Southern Arizona, this type of formation would be called a n...
I am fascinated by the way erosion can leave large rocks seemingly impossibly balanced on slender points. You would think that the slightest breeze would blow them over, but they are relatively common in the rocks of the Southwestern United States.
