Elizabeth Warren's - And My Own - DNA Testing

There's a lot of back and forth going on regarding the results of Senator Elizabeth Warren's DNA test results.  I've had my DNA tested by three companies, and there is less than 0.10% report of Asian/Middle Eastern DNA in my findings for all three reports, which might indicate Native American blood, but probably does NOT.  Of course, I am a woman, and my DNA results will have a large preponderance of my Mother's DNA heritage.  - And it is through my Father's maternal line that I found my 7th great-grandmother was a Native American.  The great-grandchildren of Captain James Crews produced enough evidence that they were listed in the Cherokee Tribal register as being 1/8 American Indian.  John Williamson and his siblings were admitted to the tribal rolls; their great-grandmother had been a member of a small tribe near the James River, members of the Powhatan Confederacy, and their tribe was extinct by 1690.  John Williamson was born in Henrico County, Virginia in 1694, and died there in 1762.  His daughter Judith married William Allen Lancaster (Senior), and my paternal grandmother was their direct descendant.
  Due to the quirks of DNA inheritance, and the fact that my ancient Native American blood was from the paternal side of my family, the DNA test in my case really showed that I have very little, to no Native American blood.  But I actually AM 1/1024 Native American.  It's just that in a person's 10th generation of ancestors, there are 1024 different people (unless cousins married cousins recently) - and one out of those people who are my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents was a Native American on my paternal side, from whom I received very little to zero DNA material.
  According to the released report on Elizabeth Warren's DNA, she might have Native American blood more recently than I do, but she has a snippet of complete Native American DNA in her maternal line, which I do not.  Here's an article that explains it well, with an illustration of how DNA is passed on to descendants:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/18/just-about-everything-youve-read-warren-dna-test-is-wrong/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dbaaa5c2a466

   Enjoy!

Critters, Wild and Tame

It doesn't seem like a week since I sat down in front of a blank blog page...  All sorts of things are going on in the news and wildlife areas.  And I've been taking care of multiple houses full of critters, as people decide to vacation on a whim, without planning for pet care.  I've been running around like crazy.  I think I have two days off, Wednesday and Thursday this week, if nothing else pops up.
   I've started re-reading my Robin Hobb collection, and am currently reading Dragon Haven.  After I read her books, I'll hit my Rafael Sabatini novels, and then my un-edited editions of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.  That should keep me busy for a little while.
  I received my National Geographic DNA information back some time ago - my Haplogroup is J1c4.  But I have recently sent my DNA for processing to both Ancestry and to 23AndMe, also.  I'm waiting to see what is reported by the other two agencies...
   We've recently had moose in North Boulder - a woman was tending her garden on the edge of Wonderland Lake, and said she "suddenly felt a presence looming over" her.  It was a mother moose with twin calves, and the mother decided the woman was threatening her babies.  She was knocked down and walked upon.  Luckily, she only had scrapes and bruises.  And another moose with a single calf was reported at the Justice Center near the end of Boulder Canyon.
   Of course it's now summer, and we're having our usual incursions of coyotes, mountain lions and black bears.  The coyotes have been grabbing small dogs who are off-leash on walking, jogging, and biking paths, as well as cats loose in neighborhoods.  The mountain lions are grabbing the mule deer and fawns.  The bears are smashing bee hives and stealing honey, as well as raiding any bird feeders they can reach.  A friend has a one-inch thick wrought iron post for her feeders, and thought they were safe - this morning the post was bent at a 70 degree angle and the bird feeders were crushed and empty on the ground.  And folks around my sister and brother-in-laws house now have teen-aged bobcats out hunting with their parents, as well.  The fox are staying under cover as much as possible.  The cottontail rabbit birth explosion is feeding most of the smaller predators.
    Tess, one of the dogs I care for, is not doing well at the moment.  She started having seizures last fall.  They began occurring every 4 days a couple of months ago, and she has finally been placed on Potassium Bromide as a daily medication. (Her owner is a very firm believer in holistic medicine and diet taking care of everything.)  The K-Bro medication has increased her appetite amazingly, as well as her thirst.  But the main side effect is ataxia, her hind legs don't support her well...  The vet told the owner that once Tess reaches her optimal medication level, she'll return to normal.  The vet told the owner it would take one month.  I read the information, and it says the optimal level is reached in three to four months...  We'll have to see.  In the meantime, the dog who always bounced and danced on her hind legs is now shuffling with her nose to the ground.  It's pretty sad...
   Still at 59 new foals on the Chincoteague NationalWildlife Refuge - 56 after the three losses.  One foal died from an umbilical infection, one foal got stuck in the marsh mud and couldn't break free, and one had a congenital defect of the forelegs, which could not be healed.  All the others are quite bouncy and bold.  As usual, there are some really stupendous pinto markings, quite a few solids with great conformation, and a few real stand-outs.  I'm happy with the foals so far...