Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!


Today marks my 250th post since starting Deerfield Diary on Jan. 1, 2009. Much to my surprise, I have been averaging 35-40 unique daily visitors to the blog.

Perhaps this is a good time to restate what Deerfield Diary is -- and what it's not.

First, I don't pretend this blog to be great journalism or titillating commentary on the state of mankind. It's just daily notes and photos about the goings-on at our few acres in Blount County, Tennessee. I dash out these posts rather quickly without a lot of forethought. There's not much editing either as I look back aghast at some of the posts.

Some readers have asked why I don't have more family photos or vacation shots. This is not intended as a family blog. The centerpiece of the blog is our 10 acres in the Deerfield community of Louisville and its flora and fauna. I log my occasional victories as I try to create gardens, maintain or build structures and generally muck about the place. You will probably read much more about my failures.

I try to keep family updates and personal prejudices out of the blog, or at least warn you when I'm lapsing into such. (I should note that if you desire a good family blog, go to www.missinglinkfam.blogspot.com where you will see a record of the grandest granddaughter in the world.)

Looking back over my 250 posts with a critical eye, I find that on several occasions I strained a little too hard to come up with entries. I resolve now to write only when a valid subject comes to mind. There is far too much blather on the Internet for me to add to it.

At one point, I considered giving up the blog because, after all, who is really interested in my small blueberry patch or the swarming yellow jackets that chase me around the hills. In the end, however, Deerfield Diary is a small way I can give some semblance to my day and pay back in a minuscule accounting for the privilege of being able to bumble about on these hills and gullies.

Best wishes to you for 2010.

6 comments:

  1. I read numerous blogs each day, and this one is consistently one of my favorites. Thanks for writing it!

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  2. Yes, please continue to write! I'm glad you have this dairy so that Keaton will have an easy family history project if she's ever in a class taught by the same English teacher that I had my junior year at MHS.

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  3. I've learned a lot over the past year from your blog....don't even THINK about discontinuing it.
    You have a real knack for capturing the common and showing the unusual in picture and text. It's worth every minute of this reader's time and I know others agree.

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  4. Don't stop writing!! I love your fun facts and amazing pictures - I've learned a lot!

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  5. I love your deerfield diary! I am living vicariously thru your writing---it brings back memories of my grandparents farm on Sand Mountain in northern AL , it teaches me things and also gives me explanations to things that I have wondered about and didn't have answers to-- it provides such a wonderful get-away in the middle of the day--Thanks so much for writing it-- Lynn Vawter-- Bobby Vawter's wife-- or Robert Vawter

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