Backwoods Babble

Okay, not part 52, but I thought it was funny. I have still not been able to find much about the Russian side of the family. I can only really determine that they left Russia before the Revolution as one of the ancestors was married in the US. Here's the maritime coolness that I found.. THIS is one of my ancestors. A sea captain no less! I have always loved The Ghost and Mrs. Muir so this is fabulous! I still know very little about this family, though I have discovered there are likely ALOT of them. Hopefully, I will find out some more. I am toying with a few options as to where to go next. However, since I found THIS I am guessing that things might be a little tricky... DOH!

I was a bit slow in returning to Death Valley and definitely think I missed the peak blooms, though this funky weather may be extending what is out there now. Rain this late in the year and it's cool... totally crazy! I took the same route as before and the road leading down into Badwater was great (except the part where it was fabulous last time, rather slim). There are a ton of these lovely, pastelly yellow dandelion like darlings in thick patches. And lots of spots of these darlings, which are smaller than a penny and really only visible when you get out and walk around. And the cactus, oh the cactus were in bloom almost the whole way back up from Badwater on the way towards Death Valley Junction. The shocking bright pink just jumps out of the landscape at you. And tons more of the yellow daisy like flowers from a few weeks ago, just not as thick and not as fragrant. I am now persuaded into thinking that perhaps the fragrance was actually not the yellow flowers, but inste...

I have not been able to get back out to Death Valley, so I may have missed the peak blooms, but here are a few more lovelies from the last trip. I think I'm going to try and do a little jaunt over there since tomorrow since it's been killing me that I haven't been back. I love, love, love purple and this year there has been more purple than ever. Including purple skunk weed, which oooooooh boy, smells much like the skunk cabbage I grew up with in Alaska. That's not what the the next two purple flowers are, just thought I'd throw that out there. And there is an abuuuuuuundance of yellow. Or there was really. And don't forget RED! Red is not my favorite color, but when seen in the setting below, how can you not love it just a little?!? And of course, the lovely, lovely white! They also have their place in spring! As I have mentioned before last year, I take most of my pictures on a 12x digital zoom on my digital camera. I say this as most of the flowers ar...

I bought the little selection above after despairing that anything was going to grow in my garden. This was during the depths of this last round of ridiculous weather, wind storms mostly. I added several herbs - basil, rosemary, oregano and chamomile. All of it smells AMAZING when I touch or water it. Yum! More herbs will definitely be making an appearance. From my reading and internet research the basil and rosemary in particular should be very well suited for this insane heat. When I first planted it, I was watering it to death, thankfully I realized it in time and it is now thriving happily in a pot all by itself. I highly recommend before starting a garden that you research what you are going to have in it ahead of time. I was so excited that I just went to the store and bought what I wanted to eat not thinking at all about the suitability of said yummy things. This is where alot of my current headaches are coming from. I also am not the most patient person at all times. T...

does not equal quality studying. It's spring and while I love all the green and gorgeous life that literally springs out of the desolate brown, I am not so thrilled with all that comes along with it. In particular, the pollen makes me sleepy. Okay, maybe not directly sleepy, but the pollen contributes to my allergies and then I wake up drooling in my math book. This does nothing for my grade or my understanding. I wish somehow I could innoculate myself from the pollen, or some how change the molecular structure so that it no longer interferes. As neither of these is likely to occur any time soon, I'll just wipe off the drool and try to study some more! Happy Spring!

So I knew there was a Russian connection to my family. As I mentioned, there is the family legend that we are connected to Russian nobility. I assumed that this connection was quite a ways back, but really not so far. My great, great grandmother was born in Russia in 1851. I am not sure exactly where, I only found that reverence as a side note in the book I'm digging through. I always thought that my Russian connection was not very strong, but wow! That's really close. This makes me that much more anxious to really dig into the family. Her mother was born in St. Petersburg in 1830. Soo exciting! I have always been fascinated by Russia and the rich culture of the people. My ancestors would have been living in St. Petersburg it appears at a very interesting time in that country's history in the tumultuous times leading up to the Russian Revolution. I am not sure if my great, great, grandmother's mother left Russia with her, but I can only assume that she may ha...