I was flattered to receive an Excellent Blog Award from Ruth of Body, Soul and Spirit a few days ago. Ruth lives not too far from the area I grew up (and where my parents still live, the location of a lot of my posts), near the town where Blackburnian grew up, an area I’m quite familiar with. So I was delighted to discover her blog a while ago. This award could easily be reciprocated.
The award is basically another meme, but it’s another one that I’m happy to play along. The rules are that those who receive the award should pass it on to ten blogs that they themselves enjoy reading, but I won’t enforce that. If any of my awardees want to recognize blogs themselves, I think that’s great. There’s nothing like receiving praise from others to boost your self-esteem!
I have 45 blogs bookmarked in my browser, all of which I visit daily or on a regular basis (although it can take a while to make it through that whole list after I’ve been gone a couple days!). Picking out just a handful to nominate is a challenge! I will bypass the well-read blogs like Julie Zickefoose and Bill of the Birds, although they would definitely be candidates. I suspect most people know about these ones anyway. Instead, here is a selection of smaller blogs I enjoy reading (tough to pick, and I had to leave out many!). In no particular order:
A Passion for Nature
Jennifer has a blog style similar to my own – investigative, posting about neat things she finds, a mix of personal observation and factual information. Hers was one of the first blogs I found, listed in my WordPress tag surfer as having similar tags to what I was posting about. She’s in western New York – not too far from myself.
Nature Remains
Nina writes about nature on her wonderful country property in southwestern Ohio. She has a beautiful poetic writing style that really captures the feeling in what she’s seeing. Nina’s was also one of the first blogs I found, and I continue to enjoy it.
Wrenaissance Reflections
Wren is located in Michigan, also not too far from my home. She has a great collection of observations on her surroundings, including recently a trio of Sandhill Cranes that set up shop in her backyard.
The Moth Man
A friend of mine here in Toronto, the Moth Man is currently on winter hiatus (there not being many moths around to blog about). He makes great posts about the moths that come to the lights he sets out to catch them, with fabulous photos. There’s a whole ‘nother world out there at night, and he gets some really neat stuff. You can browse his archives till the moths start flying again in a few weeks.
Wanderin’ Weeta
Susannah resides in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. I love BC and the west coast, despite only having been out there a few times, and I enjoy reading her observations from that part of the world.
Rock Paper Lizard
Hugh is also from BC, but from the coastal mainland. He’s originally from Toronto and shares some interesting insights that sometimes mention both locations. His posts are often observational, often informative, and always enjoyable to read, particularly for someone from such a different landscape.
Roundtop Ruminations
Carolyn lives halfway up a mountain in the Pennsylvanian forests. Hers is a unique perspective of nature due to her location – eastern, but up in the hills. She shares some lovely photos and observations from her world.
Sycamore Canyon
Kathie writes from Tuscon, Arizona. This is another part of the continent where I’ve only been once but absolutely loved the place. Her nature is so completely different from what surrounds me that it’s like stepping into another world to read her posts.
Beth’s Stories
Beth’s is another of the blogs that I discovered early and have enjoyed reading since. Hers is a nice mix of personal stories and nature observations, as if she’s sharing her home with you, not just her Maine backyard.
Mary’s View
Mary is in North Carolina, and writes similarly to Beth, of both home and nature. Being much further south, I’ve enjoyed watching spring progress there while still snowed in here.
Drawing the Motmot
Debby is an artist from Oklahoma, and posts a lot about her sketching and paintings, as well as the natural world around her – sometimes incorporating both into one. As a fellow artist I really enjoy seeing and reading about her work.
The Ohio Nature Blog
As his blog title says, Tom is located in Columbus, Ohio. He’s a wonderful photographer and complements his posts with some great images. He often includes interesting tidbits and useful tips on different things.
Okay, so that’s 12. I told you it was hard to narrow them down! I hope you enjoy some of these as much as I have.
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