As of my last episode I have just received a more extensive upgrade of my DNA analysis. Ancestry.com Is always uncovering new data, whether it be a DNA upgrade, or simply adding new info in helping you discover your family tree.

   According to the new results of my DNA sample the figures have changed somewhat since my last findings. I have now been declared 70% Scottish, 19% Irish, 9% English and Northwestern Europe, and 2% Norwegian (those pesky Vikings).

   This has made more sense to me as my mother’s maiden name was Mills (of which I have found many of my cousins now living just north of me), and my father’s namesake moved to Scotland from Ireland, due to the Great Potato Famine, at about 1830. He then married a Scottish girl not long after he arrived there.

   For the next several generations the sons of the O’Donnell clan married women of Scottish lineage until my father arrived in America and married my mother (a Mills).

   I will keep my readers informed, and updated, with any new info as it arrives. I hope that my search results can help anyone who is considering in their quest to find their bloodlines and how to promote their own family ties.

JOD/TAEM

I have a new anthology coming soon to Our Book Store and Amazon Kindle titled ‘Tales for Late at Night- Darker Times.’

Joe O’Donnell, our photographer and superb graphics designer in his own right, has completed the new book cover design for the long-awaited book which I have submitted to this article. Joe has quite a few accomplishments under his belt and his book cover design can proudly take its place amongst his many fine works.

I want to thank Joe personally for his contribution to my writing and I’d like to point to his contact info at the bottom of this article for ALL my readers who wish to employ him for their literary works. You can contact him through his site below.

Thanks so much again, Joe!!!

TAEM/ JOD

Joe O’Donnell’s Contact Page

Virginia is unquestionably the most beautifully state for hiking along the Appalachian Trail . The state offers many trails branching out all over the Commonwealth, but its most scenic trails lay along the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Access to the area may be obtained via the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. This 105-mile serpentine roadway runs the length of the mountain chain and offers many places where a vehicle can pull off to the side of the road to let its occupants enjoy the beautiful vistas of the Shenandoah Valley below. The views are spectacular and many photographers flock to these sites to pan the seemingly endless horizon and mountain peaks. (more…)

Within the past two months we began a new venture by exploring the world of Hiking ! What seemed like a dire period of bad weather, either roasting hot or a season of monsoon-like rains, we finally stepped outdoors in search of a new story, and a new passion.

The impediments of extreme temperatures , what felt like 103 + degrees in the shade, to one of the rainiest years on record for our area, sunshine and more temperate weather finally kicked in. Friends of ours have been sending us photos of their hiking and camping adventures and they really wetted our appetites for similar field trips. Unlike their extended stays, encapsulated by mother nature, we decided to minimize our explorations by going Day Hiking. In this way we could start building up our stamina along with much needed experience. This included purchasing the correct type of gear and supplies we would need for this purpose. (more…)

Our magazine had trekked south this past week to explore the land of sunshine. Our goal was to explore the fabled city of St. Augustine, Florida, the first true city in North America.

St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565, by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida’s first governor. He named the settlement “San Agustín“, as his ships bearing settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain had first sighted land in Florida eleven days earlier on August 28, the feast day of St. Augustine. The city served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years. It was designated as the capital of British East Florida when the colony was established in 1763 until it was ceded back to Spain in 1783. (more…)

Writers block is a terrible thing for one who takes up the pen. Sometimes it is a brief thing. Other times it comes in stages. When unusual circumstances intervene, long periods of brain mortification can set in.

Usually in the brief term a cup of java, or a short walk, will help the writer regain their poise and will act like a refreshing wind to get their juices flowing again. In dire circumstances a vacation, or alternate hobby is needed to get them back on course. Such was the long term effects dealt to me recently. (more…)

   There are so many new authors with their work gracing the book shelves today, and they surely owe their talents to some of the great authors of our century, and the current generation. To name a few we must conjure up the names of Tolkien, Rowling, Martin, and Doyle.

Each of these writers have spawned, not only written works, but movies, board games, comic books, and television shows . There are also many current writers, whose written topics, mirror these great people and it is comforting to know that written literature has been reborn again. (more…)

Well, it’s time to dust off the camera and leave the ‘cabin fever’ doldrums behind us. When Winter set in and the weather left us in a state of hibernation, a good book and a cup of hot chocolate beckoned us indoors in front of the fireplace. We threw a comforter around our shoulders and settled in till Spring. Now that Old Man Winter is about to leave us our magazine’s team is searching to explore our surroundings once again. In retrospect we are like bears leaving our dens to see what has changed over the winter months. (more…)