Monday, January 18, 2016

It's my blog-aversary!



Eight years ago today, on January 18th, 2008, I began this blog.  I'd blogged before as a guest writer on another animal blog,  but I'd left that organization the previous year and soon had a bunch of foster animals to care for and plenty of  stories to tell.  And so I learned how to set up my own blog, and put pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard.

And here I am, eight years later, with way fewer animals to write about and way more photos to share. (Those early posts were more stories than photos,  though some posts did get the occasional photo attached).  My posting waxes and wanes, with some months having few (or - gulp - zero)  posts,  and others having plenty, but I seem to be back in the swing of things, making an appearance at least every second or third day at the moment.

Since January 18, 2008,  I've posted a total of  1,379 posts and received a total of 5889 comments - the latter count having declined, per post, since I started putting  the link to most new blog posts on facebook, and many people now comment there instead.  Can't blame them - Blogger seems to make it more and more difficult to comment.  (Oh, and if you rely on 'notifications' to tell you when I've posted, Blogger is changing the rules on that too - so starting this week, you may have to stop by to see if I've posted recently.)

But back to the stats.  I've had approximately 392,527 page views from about 258,362 visitors (not counting the ones who are surfing and don't stop to read anything).  That's likely a conservative count as every now and then the counter has broken.  And I'm not sure how many are return visitors and how many come here only once, because that part of the counter seems to have disappear.

The post that got the most views was "We Canadians Kill Dogs" with a record 3450 views - followed closely by the subsequent posts on the topic of importing dogs.   Some of the comments from importers were so nasty I ended up closing the comment section.

My favourite posts are the ones I have written from my heart, not my head - posts full of love and humour and the joy of being alive  - stories of the critters I fostered, the dogs I've loved, the beauty of nature, special times with family and friends,  magic moments that make one glad to be alive.  And, of course, my annual July 1st tribute to Canada - which combines images from all those favourite posts.

So....unless you've been here from the very beginning....you might have some catching up to do, to find those buried treasures.  They are hidden among the 1,379 posts on this blog.  If you're curious about how it all began, you'll find the very first post here: Welcome to my blog .


7 comments:

Marie said...

Congratulations on your anniversary of writing my favourite blog! Now to get reading, to see if I missed any postings!!!!
So happy to hear of Mitzi's outcome at the Vet. Seems that she can be the energizer bunny!

CarolineA said...

Congrats on this anniversary! I've followed you pretty much from the beginning.
That first blog post brought back so many memories, wow! Does not seem all that long ago but now it's like a whole different life.

barb said...

Congrats Jean! That is quite an accomplishment, and those of us who check in on you daily
to see what is happening in downtown Crofton, really enjoy your efforts. The photos, funny
stories and social commentary are all wonderful to read...although some of us (ahem, well
moi!)don't always reply, we do follow your blog religiously..so know we are out there!

barb and the furry ones

Zazie Todd, PhD, for Companion Animal Psychology said...

Congratulations on your blog-aversary! 8 years is a brilliant achievement. I love your photos and stories and hope you have fun keeping on blogging :)

Ellen Nickerson said...

I have been following from the beginning and have enjoyed every minute of it.

Sheryl said...

Congratulations on 8 years of Blogging!

I've been thinking about Martin lately. Do you have any updates on him?

Jean said...

Sheryl, I haven't had an update for a couple of years now, and lost the adopters email info when I drowned my last computer with a mug of coffee. Last report he and his buddy were doing great.