The Puckerbrush!

What a treat to be the proud recipient of the Puckerbrush award! I rather feel like Sally Field at the Oscars! Thanks to Delia's Genealogy Blog for the honor!

Quoting now from Delia's blog on the Puckerbrush:
"The award was created in honor of genealogy blogger Janice Brown by Terry Thornton, author of "Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi", who explained that "Janice told us all about the word 'puckerbrush' in an article she posted August 27, 2007 at "Cow Hampshire". Terry elaborated a bit further in a comment: 'On any land allowed to go fallow and left untended, a wild assortment of wild plants grow – in some areas, this wild growth results in such a thicket of plants that it is almost impossible to push your way through the growth.So it is with the growth of blogs --- so many that it is impossible to read them all. But in the puckerbrush eventually a few plants/trees become dominant and influence all who view them through the thick surrounding puckerbrush.And it is those outstanding blogs whose influence spreads beyond just the surrounding rabble of puckerbrush that I'm honoring.' Terry issued this challenge: Henceforth these awards will be called the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence. All blog authors are hereby challenged to name the ten blogs which have influenced their writing the most and list them as a tribute to Janice --- the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Awards for Excellence."

I am inspired daily by bloggers who take the time to share their triumphs and stumbles while pursuing this maddening hobby. Several I have mentioned before and would again here, but someone has beaten me to it: Becky at Grace and Glory,the footnoteMaven,The Small-Leaved Shamrock , Cindy at Everything's Relative. I have nominated these favorites on other occasions and they all deserve a repeat mention. But, new favorites include these five listed below who absolutely represent the Puckerbrush spirit:

1. Craig at GeneaBlogie. His descriptions of his Gines/Guions family research are almost a tutorial on how to develop leads. Plus his Louisiana sojourn is just fascinating reading.
2. Kathleen at Carrow and Faunt Family Tales share with me an interest in families in the DelMarVa. I have learned much from her knowledge of the region.
3. I have only recently discovered Terry at Desktop Genealogist Unplugged. Her vivid narratives bring her ancestors and their stories alive.
4. Debbie, at Debbie's Indiana Genealogy, is a genealogy angel. Her dedication to transcribing records for online access is inspiring.
5. My thanks to M. Murmurd, at Murmurd's Franco-American and
Québec Genealogy, for his timely information about common Charron/Ducharme ancestors. When he posts, it is always a must-read.

The blogging community is fast becoming a valuable resource for exchanging information and ideas that promote good research. The days spent at the crank of the microfilm reader are gradually being overtaken by days spent reaching out from the keyboard. I know the microfilm days will probably never disappear, but this is definitely more fun!