Monday Meanderings - 6.5.2017

We opted out of providing free tomatoes for the squirrels and birds this year. If they want to grow tomatoes, they are going to have to go to Home Depot and get their own. However, since our jalapeno plants did so well last year we planted a couple more this year - and they have not disappointed us.

They seem to be critter-resistant. Well, I did find one pod partially gnawed, but I'm pretty sure that the squirrel that spent the day drinking water from the bird-bath learned his lesson and hopefully passed the word on to his tribe.

I mentioned in a previous "Tales from the Tree" post that I got the results of an Ancestry.com DNA test and that linked me with a bunch of folks who share some of the same DNA markers. To be precise, it linked me with 1,913 (and counting) other people that I am 4th cousin or closer to.

Here's a chart that illustrates how 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th cousins relate to each other:

While this chart specifies brothers, the solid colors could be any siblings, of course. The point is that it takes a single generation up the chart to produce 1st cousins, 2 generations for 2nd cousins, and so forth. It's really less complicated than I first thought, but I'm ignoring the 'once and twice' removed part.

Ancestor.com, and other genealogical testers generally draw the line at 4th cousins because the shared DNA becomes rather minuscule beyond that. You share only 50% of your DNA with your parents and siblings; 25% with an aunt, uncle, niece or nephew; 12.5% with a 1st cousin, 6.25 with 2nd cousins and it continues to drop accordingly for each generation. A 4th cousin shares only .20%.

Beyond 6th cousins there is no statistical match. I point this out only to show Barb that she did not inherit any royal DNA from her 24-generations removed grandfather King Edward III. She will not be pleased.

Nevertheless, it is sort of amazing to me that I have 1,913 (and counting) other people ALIVE TODAY that I am 4th cousin or closer to (speaking genealogically). And that number is only those kinfolks who are signed up on Ancestor.com and did a DNA test! If we're going to have a reunion, somebody needs to get busy!