By Eilene Lyon South of the South Fork of the Rio Grande that flows down from Wolf Creek Pass, the campers (many of them hunters) were thick as late-summer flies. We spent one night on Park Creek as a waypoint between the Conejos River (two nights) and the Rio Grande headwaters, west of Creede, Colorado.... Continue Reading →
A Bird In Hand
By Eilene Lyon My usual MO when it comes to wildlife is “observe, don’t touch.” After all, we make life difficult enough for critters as it is. No need to add to their stress. Sometimes, though, a compelling conservation reason negates the usual policy. Based on long-term surveys, e.g. the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, it’s... Continue Reading →
The Shrinking Tree
Or, Why Charlemagne is Not My Ancestor By Eilene Lyon My recent post, The Instant Tree, sparked a discussion with Zoe Krainik from Hollywood Genes which I thought worthy of expanding on. Zoe provided a link to this article that seems to suggest that each European today is descended from everyone living in Europe during... Continue Reading →
The Botanist
Week 20: #52 Ancestors – Nature By Eilene Lyon You’ve met my great-grandmother, Clara Ransom Davis in several earlier posts. Clara moved to Idaho as a teen and attended Moscow High School, becoming a teacher at 16, while still in school herself. She attended the University of Idaho, and graduated with the third class in... Continue Reading →
The Huntington: Galleries
By Eilene Lyon During my day-long visit to the Huntington, I alternated between strolling through the gardens and visiting the galleries to get out of the sun for a bit. I wrote previously about the gardens. Henry and Arabella were both collectors and particularly enamored with Louis XVI French style. Their former residence is dedicated... Continue Reading →
Unintended Consequences
Week 15: #52 Ancestors – DNA By Eilene Lyon Well into my second year of doing Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompts, I’ve struck on one that really has me stymied. The “DNA” prompt just doesn’t bring any particular ancestor or relative to mind. Should I write about medical issues? Perhaps the... Continue Reading →
The Drought Diaries: Reprieve?
By Eilene Lyon The way a crow Shook down on me The dust of snow From a hemlock tree Has given my heart A change of mood And saved some part Of a day I had rued. --Robert Frost Dust of Snow March 14, 2019 The skiing at Wolf Creek was totally awesome! The... Continue Reading →
A Slow Death
By Eilene Lyon A 19th Century Scourge In my gold rush research, I’ve come across a couple cases of milk sickness – a deadly disease that was common in the 19th century throughout the Ohio River Valley states. I made the erroneous assumption that this was some bacterial illness that was neutralized by pasteurization. Rather,... Continue Reading →
The Striker
By Eilene Lyon We live in a forested area with many birds - and in a house with lots of windows. Once we started using UV decals, the number of birds striking our home dropped, but did not stop altogether. Every year, some continue to perish this way, which really saddens me, but I really... Continue Reading →