đș Doot, do-do-DOOOOO! Thatâs the trumpet fanfare announcing that this week marks the 1-year anniversary of this blog/email newsletter! Woo hoo! đ„ł
So I want to THANK YOU for joining me on this journey! Whether you subscribe to my email newsletter, read this online, or read this in the app, I appreciate you being here!!!
The Origin Story of My Blog
I created this Venn diagram to explain the origin story of my blog/email newsletter (which Iâm just going to refer to as âmy blogâ for the sake of brevity).
As you can clearly đ see on my Venn diagram, 3 people were instrumental in my decision to start this blog:
My friend âJâ is an excellent writer whoâs published a blog for over 10 years. Her blog is positive and full of keen insights about the world we live in. I much prefer to read her blog than the news sites I also look at every morning. I enjoy her dose of positivity!
As a result of leaving Twitter in Fall 2022 and because I havenât been on any Meta products, I was no longer able to follow some of my favorite artists, including Grant Snider. In early 2023 I was delighted to discover that Grant started his Incidental Comics blog on Substack, and better yetâI could subscribe to his Substack email newsletter to get his awesome comics and posts delivered directly to my email Inbox! Sweeeeeet! đ€©
One of the best books I read in 2023 was Heart to Heart, a collaboration between The Dalai Lama and illustrator Patrick McDonnell. The book âcalls for a Compassionate Revolution to heal our relationships with the planet and its inhabitantsâ and contains the following prayerful meditation:
âMay I become at all times, both now and forever,
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all those in need.â
These words really resonated with me and these 3 influences coalesced into a bright idea in my mind: by publishing a blog about my art and the wonders of the natural world I could, in my own way, add more positivity to the world.
Itâs my hope that whether youâre having a bad day or a good day, feel lousy or feel good, and/or are down about the state of whatâs going on in the US and in the world (and who isnât?), then seeing my blog show up in your email Inbox every Thursday will be a dose of positivity that brightens your day.
On a related noteâyesterday (March 20) was the International Day of Happiness, and when I brewed my tea at lunch, look what I saw! Talk about serendipity! I assure you this photo has NOT been digitally altered (except for adding my copyright)!! đ
So there was a dose of positivity for ME yesterday! đ
Some Fun Stats About My First Year on Substack
Not counting todayâs post, Iâve published 53 weeks in a row on Substack, putting me in the top 5% of publishers here! đ
My blog is read in 20 (US) states and 12 countries, and since starting this blog Iâve published (not including this post):
54 blog posts (one week I published twice!)
27 of my photos
121 of my works of art
over 25,000 words!
Most Popular Posts
My top 3 most popular posts (based on number of times each post has been viewed) are, in order:
How I Fell in Love with Watercolor (May 4, 2023)
Itâs a Girl (Go Girl) AND It's a Boy (Watney)! (March 7, 2024)
Desert Milkweedâand a Tiny Little Friend! (January 4, 2024)
This is MeâNot AI!
One of my favorite aspects of creating my blog posts each week is that the content is 100% MY content and MY voice (except for the few quotes I include and attribute)! Iâm not beholden to corporate mission statements or the whims of a micromanaging boss (been there, done that, done with that!), and I donât concern myself with how I rank in Google searches or SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I recently read an article about the blandification of the web due to so many sites trying to optimize their sites for search engines and Google. Nah, not me!
I like my blog the way it is, with my own art and photos, words, personality, and humor shining through. đ Itâs genuine, authentic, 100% humanâand 0% AI. đÂ
This reminds me of a movie quoteâŠ
â...this is ME expressing MYself!â
- Joanna (Jennifer Anistonâs character), Office Space
âŠexcept Iâm not using Joannaâs obscene finger gesture! đ
Thank you for joining me on this journey, and hereâs to Year 2! Iâll wrap this up with another appropriate quote:
"We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely."
- Leo Buscaglia
You can leave a comment or ask a questionâŠ
âŠand share this post with friends, family and the world! đ
Woo Hoo & Congratulations! Thank you for all of the wonderful art, natural history, humor & happiness that you have shared with the world! Keep exploring!
Congratulations. An inspiring diagram of inspirations! I look forward to more posts about the nature in your part of the world.