It’s been very quiet here on the blog of late. My “blogging well” has felt dry as other life events have conspired to take my time, energy and attention away.
I spotted this Japanese maple leaf stuck on the arm of a very wet outdoor chair and it spoke to me of seasonal change, of flatness, of the effects of a dry spell. Its colourings are reminders that even in the natural cycles of ebb and flow, growth and decline there is a vibrancy that speaks of potential.
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its labourers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”
From a speech in Washington in 1953, by President Dwight. D. Eisenhower 1890 -1969
Sourced today from the blog of Valerie Davies.
A new month and a welcome award gifted to me by Zahra
Part of the award involves sharing 7 things about me:
1. I like blogging
2. I believe that ordinary things can make a difference
3. I love the native birds in my country
4. I am learning lots about digital cameras and photography
5. I have a second blog here
6. I am a keen genealogist
7. Gardening s a passion for me
Please refer to my blogroll for some of my favourite blogs. Thanks again Zahra and go well with your blog.
I see on my blog stats that over 1000 comments have been made on my blog.
Thank you to all the people who follow my blog and to those who have left comments over time.
I read this comment by another blogger recently and it really tickled my sense of humour.
It went something like this: “Thanks for reading my blog and leaving a comment. At least I know that I am not constantly talking to myself.”
I appreciate hearing from you. Take care out there.
I’ve completed my annual bird survey today. The instructions were to record the largest number of each type of bird that was seen or heard at any one time – not the total number of each bird over the hour. That was a bit complicated but bird numbers were low in the garden today so it was not as arduous as I thought it might be.
The common sparrow headed the list, followed by wax eyes, blackbirds, chaffinches, starlings, and goldfinches. I could hear a Tui over the road feasting on the red flowering gum trees so that was included too.
Male chaffinch
I blogged about the 2011 bird survey here.
I received an email late this afternoon telling me that a new website is being set up so that I can record any observations relating to nature but it will also be where future annual bird survey results will be loaded. I’m really pleased about that as there are times when I see a new bird in the garden and wish I could tell someone “official” about it.
The other numbers I crunched today were on my blog. WordPress provides a raft of statistical data and I do check my stats regularly. This post will be number 308. My readers have posted 966 comments and I now have 70 blog followers.
Thank you to all my readers. It is very gratifying to know that you enjoy my postings and continue to turn the pages on my blog.
There is an interesting statistic amongst the people who regularly comment on my blog and that is that 4 of them have names beginning with the letter “J”.
I also have a regular group of “likers” and it is always a pleasure to find your “Like” appearing in my notifications.
11 of my blog posts have been “shared” and that seems an extra honour and potentially widens my audience.
Spam wins the day with 1,356 items that have been successfully thwarted at the cyber boundary of my blog and I am very grateful about that.
I began blogging with so much trepidation but now it is almost a habit and I miss the days when I don’t post something. I began writing to satisfy an inner voice but having gathered followers I feel spurred on to provide something that I hope will interest you in some way. My photography interest is proving to be very satisfying to me and that has been a surprise too.
Thank you again for reading, lurking, liking and commenting. You all enrich my days.
No, I am not going to review the marvelous children’s story by Roald Dahl today. Instead I am going to write about how happy I am with the Mozilla Firefox browser I have just updated to.
For the past few weeks I had been having increasing problems on WordPress.com. The font kept changing and rechanging, pages either would not open or would be only half open and there were several options that just would not operate for me at all. A notification from WP told me I needed to update my browser but I was uncertain about that advice.
In part, this was because my laptop is gaining in years and with so many hackers and bugs and beetles around to infect computers I was unsure about where the problem lay.
I also learnt that because I am running the ancient Windows XP operating system that I could not upgrade my Internet Explorer version…
Today I took the leap and went from Internet Explorer to the Firefox system and things have shaped back in to good working order on WP and a few other website’s I was having strange moments with.
So a nice move for now and WP is no longer causing me frustration and irritation. I’m glad about that.
Earlier in the year I blogged about a local man, Russell Plume who had used old pieces of brick that he had found on Plimmerton beach and in the local stream to form quotations from Shakespeare. He has made settings of these quotes and several are mounted on sea walls at Plimmerton Beach.
Russell stumbled upon my blog during the week and left a welcome comment here.He has also set up a Facebook page called Shakespeare by the Sea, Plimmerton which includes photographic detail of how he constructed the pieces. He would welcome your interest.
When I publish a blog post WordPress tells me how many posts I have written and encourages me to keep going. Part of this encouragement includes a quote about writing. Today’s one made me laugh! Thanks Steven Wright.
I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.
— Steven Wright
In recent weeks WordPress has added a new statistical feature allowing me to see in which country people who have read my blog each day live. I’m an old geographer from way back and I have always enjoyed learning about new countries so this feature really appeals to me.
I have been pleasantly surprised to find just how far and wide my blog posts reach some days.
One country that had me reaching for my Atlas was The Faroe Islands.
I had not heard of these islands previously. I discovered a series of islands in the north of the Atlantic Ocean, between Norway and Iceland.
This link gives more detail about these beautiful islands.
I was also fascinated and humbled by reading about the Lace knitting that originates from this community. The way they construct their shawls is incredible.
Image off Wikipedia
So wherever you live on earth welcome to my blog and thank you for reading it. You make it an enriching experience.
The tally of hits on my blog has just gone over 4000. So a big thank you to all the people who pop in to read posts, who have clicked “follow”, who link from Facebook and Linkedin or via search engines.
I’m glad you are out there and give my blog your attention. It spurs me on to keep writing and taking photos.
Flowers are often given as thank you gifts so here is a photo, taken today, of my Aladdin patio rose, flowering abundantly for the second time this season. Enjoy and thank you!
ordinarygoodness 
