Six-year anniversary: best of INWIG 2015
>> Friday, March 4, 2016 –
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According to Blogger I made my first blog post on March 5, 2010 which means today is my six-year anniversary! One of the main reasons for creating this blog was so I'd document everything I did in the garden, and I have to admit I've done a pretty good job of that. Did I list every detail of every task I did? No, certainly not. I missed lots of stuff, including some important details such as what exact varieties of veggies I planted, spacings, fertilization schedules, etc. but I also shared a lot of things that I would normally have just observed and enjoyed for myself, and have hopefully given some entertainment and knowledge to you, my readers.
Today, as I've done every March 5 since I started, I'm going to take a look back over the past year and list my favorite posts in chronological order. If you haven't seen them before please take a look. If you have seen them already, then take another look -- it's still fun! I did this type of post on my previous anniversaries too, and I really like the way they turned out. Expect it every year.
This is an "index" of my favorite posts from the last twelve months (March 2015 - February 2016). This, like the previous "best of" posts, is a great page to start -- if you want to send somebody a link to show them what this site is all about, this is a great one to send.
Click the titles/dates to get to the full posts.
Click the titles/dates to get to the full posts.
Enjoy!
(Please let me know in the comments if I listed any of your favorites here)
A nice hike at a new-to-me place, this gives you a great idea of what rural Missouri woodland looks like.
On the road back from Chicago, A gigantic flock (?) of migrating birds passed high overhead.
The toads were crazy in the pond this year, and their mating activities filled the pond shallows with eggs.
Honey bees kept flying to my seedling cups, giving me a good look at them up close.
I visit Lafayette Park in St. Louis for the first time ever and found that the "grotto" there is such a nice spot!
I add some hardware cloth panels to the copper trellis and transform it. One of my favorite results in a summer full of projects!
My first visit to Citygarden in downtown St. Louis on a beautiful Sunday morning.
I updated one of my boring metal mesh chairs as a test and loved the results!
July was a month full of projects, and in this one I upcycle a glass shower door into a garden screen.
A cute young box turtle visits me on the front walkway.
I add "skylights" to my deck, brightening up the area below.
I acquire an old fire hydrant and add it to the garden. Every garden needs some rusty metal!
Mantises, katydids, and more. Late summer is great if you love insects like I do!
I built and revealed the first prototype of my Whorn stool/table design.
I watch a pair of Northern Cardinals eating the seeds and blooms of Texas greeneyes (Berlandiera texana).
Views of my garden from different vantage points. Late summer garden is the best!
A cool jumping spider put itself into a good spot for being photographed on one of the windows indoors.
I rethink my strategy when choosing food at the grocery and go for the less-attractive items.
This post made the list because it highlights one of my successes: this totem pole cactus has grown so quickly!
I take a look back at our trip to Hawaii in 2005, which may have inspired me to garden obsessively.
Every January I gather my favorite photos from the posts of the previous calendar year. (This may be my absolute favorite post of the year!)
Eagle watching near Alton. Very nice winter scenery in this post!
As winter drags on the garden shapes and patterns visible from inside the house call out to me.
A walk in a nature preserve brings back childhood memories.
So that's my selection of the "best" posts from the 6th year of It's Not Work, It's Gardening! I'm certain that I've missed some great posts -- it's sometimes difficult to pick just a few from each month.
Please browse the site and find more -- I know you'll enjoy yourself. Also use the "Best Of..." buttons near the top of the right column of every page to get to the "best" posts of every year.
Thanks for reading and commenting -- I really appreciate it!
By the way, if you've not commented before I'd love to hear from you!
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This will be a fun post to study for quite a while!
Happy anniversary! Six years! You're about 7 months ahead of me so I rely on you to keep track :-)
My favorite post of 2015: "Long-awaited project: Screen." Why? Because I looooove the way it turned out.
Happy Anniversary!
You are a fantastic blogger that never disappoints. Thank you for all the work you put into every post and photo. Its not easy to chose a favorite as there are so many.
Congratulations on 6 years! And thank you for so much inspiration and beautiful photography.
Congrats on the anniversary and thanks for sticking with it, I enjoy your blog immensely! I'll be celebrating 7 years on the 13th, time flies...
I do like looking back. So much gets done in one year. I remember a few of these posts. The make over of the patio chair (amazing!), the skylights on the deck (any updates on the area bellow?) and the old fire hydrant (want one) that came with a lovely story.
Congratulations on your anniversary. I must check out when mine was. It is wonderful to look back on how the garden was. Sometimes I find I was doing a better job back then but it does inspire me to keep at it. I'm sure I missed a few of your posts so this will be a good reminder.
Peter: I hope you can enjoy it too -- "study" sounds like a chore. :)
Gerhard: there were so many projects that I loved doing, it was difficult choosing just a few favorites. Glad I picked one of yours!
Maywyn and Renee: Thanks so much!
Loree: Thank you! Does it seem like 6 or 7 years to you? Some days it seems like I've just started doing this, and others it feels like I've never not been doing it... :)
Chavliness: I do like looking back too, and I'm so glad I started doing these "best of" posts, as it's an easy way for me to take a quick look back at highlights. I'll post a deck update this spring after the cleanup -- I move stuff under the deck for the winter so it's not photogenic right now. :)
Jenny: Thank you and I agree I feel like I did a better job of documenting back then, but it's good to see how the garden and blog have changed over time.
Happy anniversary! A gardener needs to be a good observer first and foremost, and you are certainly that! Thanks for sharing all these years! I could never pick a favorite post, but I do love those that feature your pond! It was the stream that brought me here in the first place!