Spring Arrives

Yes, spring finally arrived. The fruit trees are blooming, the snails are out and the weeds continue to grow.
I bought quite a few tomato plants, but have only planted the Cherry Tomato so far; not counting the four Early Girl I stuck in a large pot. That was a temporary measure until I could get the ground ready. With my bum knee, I haven't been able to do that yet. There are 6 more to plant besides. Why so many tomato plants? I came home from the grocery store and after seeing the prices on them and knowing they are never as good as home grown, I just went overboard. Didn't buy them all at once, but they kind of added up.
Raspberry Rita is the first to bloom in the weed covered Iris Garden. Many others have buds on them. Something is eating the 3 Iris plants that have been blooming for weeks now. Some of the leaves are brown. These are planted in another area. Also my Fantasia Nectarine tree has Curly Leaf. DARN!!! I thought I was getting by without spraying the fruit trees. So far the two peach trees are o.k.

Mennonite History and Genealogy

Yesterday, Kevin from the Hiebert Library at the Fresno Pacific Bible College was the guest speaker at the Merced County Genealogical Society meeting. His informative program was very interesting. He told us about the different groups of Mennonites who left Europe and settled in the U.S. and Canada. The first ones to settle in the U.S. were from Switzerland, they settled in Pennsylvania in the 1600s. They became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, which was a misnomer.
The groups from Holland and Germany left their homelands for Poland and later Russia before migrating to the U.S. and Canada in the 1870s. About 2/3 of them stayed in Russia, but by 1920 decided to leave, but by then the U.S. and Canada had quotas for immigrants and so some went to South America. I wish I could remember more details of Kevin's talk. I was really impressed with his vast knowledge. There were questions from the audience and he had an answer for each one.
Then he told us about the "Grandma" file and everyone laughed when he said he was related to himself 6 different ways. So, when I came home, I decided to see how many times I am related to myself. Only five ways, so he has me beat.
I'm my own 4th cousin, once removed; 8th cousin 3 times removed; 9th cousin once removed and also 9th cousin twice removed. I'm sure this is all on the Dirks / Unruh lines.
For more information on the "Grandma" file see http://www.calmenno.org/index.htm.
To see which books are available at the Hiebert Library go to: http://geoweb.fresno.edu

GENEALOGY

Yesterday the Merced County Genealogical Society presented their beginners' class in genealogy. We had a good turn-out, about half of the people were guests. It was interesting, even for the members who don't consider themselves beginners.
Rosalie did a nice job of explaining the basics and made it interesting, interjecting personal experiences.
Next, Ann did her presentation on "Google Your Family Tree." Ann purchased the book by Daniel M. Lynch, and gave us some tips that she learned from it. With a handout and the overhead projection, she shared many useful insights on how to narrow your search when looking for your ancestors.
The book is huge and is available from Barnes & Noble and Amazon. It's a bit pricey, but I'm sure well worth the money. Ann told us that some group (I think in Fresno)is doing a series of classes, just on this book. If you look it up at Amazon, read what the customers say about it. The information within this book is also helpful for non-genealogical searches.
GENEALOGY ON TV: If you have missed the PBS series of "Faces of America" with Louis Gates, Jr, you can see the missed episodes at video.pbs.org/program/1397337072
This program is aired on Wednesdays at 8 PM. It started February 10.
ALSO: NBC will air a program titled, "Who Do You Think You Are? on Fridays at 8 PM, starting March 5. For more information see: nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are

MENNONITE GENEALOGY: On Saturday, March 20, the Merced County Genealogical Society will present Kevin Enns-Rempel from the Hiebert Library at the Fresno Pacific Bible College, who will speak on the Mennonite Origins in Europe, the different kinds of Mennonites and he will give us an overview of the genealogical resources at the Center of Mennonite Brethren Studies in Fresno. He will tell us about the "Grandma" (Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) project, which was created by the California Mennonite Historical Society. This database is available on CD for $30.00 and currently has more than one million individuals linked to their families. For more information on this project see http://www.calmenno.org/index.htm
The Merced County Genealogical Society meets in the Merced County Library, 21st & O Street every third Saturday at 1:00 PM downstairs in the Gracey Room. Visitors are always welcome and there is no charge.

Joe is 50

Joe, "the gardener" had his 50th birthday the other day and his wife, mother, aunt, niece and other family members threw a Birthday Bash for him.
My sister and I were invited. It was a fun party with some of the guys playing "beer pong." A live and LOUD band played while we visited. The food was delicious. Joe's wife made Chili Colorado; the sauce was outstanding. I'd love to have the recipe. It would be an excellent addition to the Winton Centennial Cookbook.
Here is another picture of Joe. He's wearing the "50" Birthday Pin with the flashing red light. Made it easy for his wife and mother to keep tabs on him last night. LOL. Joe's wife made the beautiful cake in the first picture.
In the second picture, Joe is opening his cards and gifts.
The party started at 4 o'clock, so we got home a little after 8. It seemed later than that, I guess because it still gets dark early.

Vintage Post Cards

This is one of my vintage postcards of Merced. I uploaded it almost 3 years ago to flickr.
As of today, it's been looked at 1,000 times!! Amazing. People like it because of the F.W. Woolworth store in the picture that used to be on 17th (now Main) Street. I think it was between M and L Streets, but not positive.
The photo with the next highest number of hits, is a picture of my brother, Johnny after his accident. It's been looked at 326 times. On February 1, it was two years since Johnny died from complications of his accident.

Beginning Genealogy Class

Next Saturday, February 20, the Merced County Genealogical Society will offer a beginners' class on researching your family tree.
Conducting the class will be Rosalie, who is a co-founder of the society that began in 1983. Rosalie has a lot of experience in researching her family history and has helped others get started on this fun and fascinating hobby.
The beginning class is free and the public is encouraged to attend. The meeting starts at 1:00 in the Gracey Room (downstairs) in the Merced County Library, 21st and O Streets in Merced.
Handouts will be given. Bring a pencil and names and dates of your parents, grandparents, etc., if known. If not, just bring a pencil and get started on your family tree.
See you there.

First Iris Bloom of the Year

I took this picture of Captain Hook today, it was in full bloom by February 8. Never had any Iris bloom that early before. It has 4 or 5 more buds on it. Bridal Fashion has quite a few buds on it too. It's a pretty white ruffled Iris. I wonder how long they will bloom? Some others will be in bloom in April and May.

Maggie is still loving her cat tree. When I am sitting at the table having a bite to eat, she gets on the top level and stares at me while I'm eating. How do you teach a cat that it's not polite to stare?
I have a cat toy that we have fun playing with. It's a glove with long fingers with a pom-pom at the end of each finger. Maggie can really
get wild when we play with that on the cat tree. She gets so excited and climbs from level to level and finally wears herself out.
Maggie likes to tear paper and cardboard. I was concerned about that, but read on the Internet that some cats like to do that. I thought she was missing something in her diet, but I guess she is just being playful or ornery. She doesn't eat it, just tears it and spits it out.
I still think she would have fun playing with another cat, but I'm not going to try that again. She won't let the "intruder" come near her and she looks at me like she's really mad. You can tell who's the boss around here.