Some time earlier this week, in the dark of the night my 10,000 visitor turned a page on my blog.
While WordPress offers a range of statistics it is impossible for me to know who the visitor was.
So thank you all for visiting and reading my blog. Here is a bouquet of roses for you all as a small token of my gratitude.
Today is White Ribbon day.
New Zealand has shameful violence against women statistics.
KEY STATISTICS
One in three women will experience partner violence at some point in their lives[i]
On average, 14 women are killed by their partners or ex partners in New Zealand each year.[ii]
Over 3,500 convictions are recorded against men each year for assaults on women[iii]
Only 20% of abuse cases are reported[iv]
The Families Commission and White Ribbon Committee works with multiple agencies and NGOs to coordinate the national campaign. The White Ribbon campaign compliments but is separate to the family violence It’s Not OK campaign.
White ribbons are worn today to encourage men to say no to violence against women.
It is a critical cause to support by us all.
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.
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.
Early this year WordPress.com sent me a report on my blog for 2011. I was really interested to learn that I had had at least one person in the following countries read my blog.
New Zealand, Australia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Israel, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Italy, United States of America, Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Columbia, Ecuador and Brazil.
So welcome to my blog and thank you very much for reading it. I will be very interested to see whether I have reached people in different countries at the end of 2012.
ordinarygoodness 
