From the Vault: Anabat

By Eilene Lyon At the end of my freshman year at Fort Lewis College, in 2005, I did a 10-week internship in the Natural Resources department at Mesa Verde National Park. One of the full-time employees, Marilyn Colyer, invited me to join a bat survey in the La Plata Mountains. Though wandering the forest at... Continue Reading →

Hummer Update

By Eilene Lyon My last post, about the black-chinned hummingbird nest under our deck, proved quite popular! Therefore I must offer an update and a few more photos. Last week, they were covered in pinfeathers and had barely begun opening their eyes. Through the week, I spied on the nestlings as they stretched and exercised... Continue Reading →

Where Wolves?

By Eilene Lyon Introduction I have seen only one wolf in the wild. It was in Denali National Park. Not deep in the wilderness, but at the park entrance, crossing a road into the campground. It was big, it was black, it was unquestionably a wolf. It was one of those whiplash moments where you... Continue Reading →

A Doggie (DNA) Christmas

Week 51: #52 Ancestors - Holidays By Eilene Lyon Santa’s Surprises Sometimes a pet story is too cute not to share. While The Putterer was in town, I got out all the gifts I needed to wrap. When I took them upstairs to put under the tree, I discovered that Sterling had snuck into my... Continue Reading →

From the Vault: Mount St. Helens

By Eilene Lyon     May 18, 2021 The “From the Vault” series features an artifact or family photo from my collection to illustrate a tale from my distant past. On this day 41 years ago, I was just a few weeks from the pinnacle of many a teen’s life – high school graduation. It also happened... Continue Reading →

One Way Or Another

By Eilene Lyon My partner and I sat in the Bass Tracker on the calm waters of Saguaro Lake – actually an impoundment of the Salt River near Scottsdale, Arizona – scanning the skies. In this narrow section, a sheer cliff rose ahead of us, and hills on both sides. Suddenly, a bald eagle bolted... Continue Reading →

Death By Diphtheria

Week 44: #52 Ancestors – Scary Stuff By Eilene Lyon Confronting our own mortality is one of the scariest things we ever do. My research into the 19th-century lives of my ancestors and kin has revealed many awful ways to die. I’ve previously discussed milk sickness and tuberculosis. A few recent coincidences led me to... Continue Reading →

The Slide Years: Seismic

By Eilene Lyon The Slide Years is a series in which I select an image my dad took from 1957-1982 with Kodachrome slide film, then I write a stream-of-consciousness essay – a sort of mini-memoir. The freight-train rumble woke me out of a sound sleep at 3:04 a.m. on February 4, 1976. Wait a minute,... Continue Reading →

The Drought Diaries: Innovation

By Eilene Lyon The Drought Diaries has been on hiatus, but the issue is at the forefront of my mind once again as we head into another season of extreme drought here in the southwestern U.S. Runoff from the area snowpack is expected to occur quickly and at a lower volume than average. There has... Continue Reading →

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Moore Genealogy

Fun With Genealogy

My Slice of Mexico

Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada

Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50

Navigating the second half of my life

The Willamette Valley's Heritage through its Barns and Structures

A history of the people of the Willamette Valley as revealed through their structures.

A Dalectable Life

Doing the best I can to keep it on the bright side

Amusives

You might think you understand what I said, but what you heard is not always what I meant.

Tumblereads: A New Twist on the Old West

A New Twist on the Old West

Eilene Lyon

Author, Speaker, Family Historian

bleuwater

thoughts about life from below the surface

Northwest Journals

tiny histories

Ancestral Writing in Progress

... stories of significant others in the Allery, Cutting, McCulloch and Robertson tribes ...

Coach Carole Ramblings

Celtic, Mythical and More ...

Shedding Light on the Family Tree

Illuminating the Ancestral Journey

Forgotten Ancestors

Tracing The Faces

The Patchwork Genealogist

Uncovering Family Legacies One Stitch at a Time

Family Finds

Adventures in Genealogy

What's Going On @ ACGSI

Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana Blog

sue clancy

visual stories: fine art, artist books, illustrated gifts

Ask the Agent

Night Thoughts of a Literary Agent