Photos and comments from Arizona and around the world
Walking Arizona We might think that we were the first to make castles in the air and surround them with protective moats or walls. Well, it looks like to me that this is a pretty well protected castle. I suppose you might have to worry about the thorns...
Family History Expos This article is contributed by Arlene H. Eakle, PhD. Let me introduce you to a relatively new book about the Dutch settlers in New York: Dutch New York: The Roots of the Hudson Valley Culture. Edited by Roger Panetta. 2009. Prepared...
Walking Arizona This is some of most ancient rock art (as opposed to petroglyphs) that I have encountered. The paintings are supposed to date back thousands of years. You can imagine that rock art, where the figures are painted on the rock using vegetable...
Genealogy's Star This short video explains how to prepare and upload photos to the FamilySearch Photos program for use with FamilySearch.org's Family Tree program. It shows how to use Google's free program, Picasa, to edit and adjust the photos for...
Genealogy's Star In my last post I raised some of the issues that could arise surround the death of a genealogist who had contracted for online data storage. There are some more fundamental issues concerning the ownership of all digital data and the process...
Walking Arizona All of these birds were standing on the same mud bar basking in the evening sun. They certainly looked like they were having a good time talking to each other.
Genealogy's Star I guess my main concern with all of the records being found on my family tree by MyHeritage.com's Record Match program is how to find enough time to look at and add all those records? I have still got almost 500 FindAGrave.com records...
Genealogy's Star According to the last update of the BillionGraves.com connection on FamilySearch.org's Historical Record Collection, the BillionGraves.com website has nearly 3.5 million images. This is far behind the over 98 million grave records on...
Genealogy's Star For many years, two dedicated genealogists, Bidgett and Doc Schneider, created a website called Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness. This site allowed volunteers to help find, digitize, locate or otherwise assist in the local research...
Walking Arizona This prickly pear has put forth a gallant effort to have a whole set of blossoms. You can see that the earlier blooming ones are quite a bit larger than the newly opened ones. Maybe the poor little plant got tired of making all those...
Genealogy's Star Online storage is touted as the solution to your backup problems. As genealogists, we have a huge amount of time and effort invested in our data files. Backing up those files is a crucial issue and frequently overlooked until after the...
Walking Arizona As I walked under this bell at the entrance to the stone building, my wife stopped me and pointed up. I guess I was focusing more on the doorway than the portico. The next time I am visiting the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, I will ask about...
Walking Arizona I don't think most people would associate the Lower Arizona Sonoran Desert with this type of vegetation, except for the ubiquitous saguaro cactus. In my younger days, I would have been trying to figure out how to climb the rock, now...
Genealogy's Star The webinar I presented on Wednesday, 1 May 2013 is now online with a full schedule of other webcasts from previous presentations by the Mesa FamilySearch Library volunteers. New webinars will be presented each Wednesday evening at...
Genealogy's Star I got a comment recently that said, "I need to save hundreds of photos from my computer. What is the best way to do this? I want to be able to access them in years to come." This comment brings up the hot topic of digital preservation....
Family History Expos Ask-the-Pros is a feature of the Family History Expos website. The feature is available from a link appearing on many of the pages of the website. If you ask a question, it will be reviewed and may be answered in this blog. It may...
Walking Arizona The desert is full of contrasting forms. I was intrigued with the similarities and contrasts between the saguaro and the rock formations on Picket Post Mountain in the background.
Walking Arizona Most of the photos I take of flowers show the flowers but not the whole plant. I thought it would be a good idea to show the entire prickly pear plant for a change. In some places these plants are grown for food, the pads and fruit are...
Genealogy's Star In a recent blog post, The Ancestry Insider pointed out that in genealogy, there is a chasm. He said, On one side of the chasm are the ancestors and relatives we know personally. We know them as people. We grew up with them or with...
Walking Arizona Who would believe that this is a growing plant. Lichen is composed of a fungus and photosynthetic partner, either a green ala or cyanobacterium. These plants that grow on exposed rock faces receive only the moisture from occasional desert...
Walking Arizona This little pincushion cactus can go unnoticed but its display of flowers is wonderful to those who bend down to see them. Some people talk about taking time to smell the roses. I can't smell much of anything, but I can take time to...
Walking Arizona This ground squirrel is really looking around to see if there is anything he might eat. But it is interesting how they can stand up so straight on their short hind-legs and survey their surroundings.
Walking Arizona This tree has been pruned many times and yet it still refuses to conform to the preconceived pattern of the pruners. Do we really believe that our concept of how this tree should grow is more desirable than the way it would have grown...
Walking Arizona It is the contrast between the profusion of spines and the flowers that make the cactus plants attractive. Normally, you would want to pick or smell one of the lovely flowers, but the nature of the plant makes both these activities highly...
Walking Arizona These aloe plants are not cactus but are considered to be a succulent. They grow very well in the dry desert and will survive with very little water. But if you want them to spread and grow in huge clumps, all you have to do is give...
