Taking Back the Blog

Gwyn here at the keyboard.

My friend Polly, who's Mom has a lovely blog called Graceful Greyhounds, is worried about my Mom's blog...and by extension, worried about me. She thinks there have been way too many pix of cats on the blog lately and not nearly enough of me. She was so alarmed by this trend that she sent me an invite to come live with her. While I would love to visit her and her Mum, I would miss my home here.

Polly, I know you find it hard to believe, but I really do like my kittehs. And my humans do still take good care of me...even if they haven't been showing you daily pix of how lovely I am. Today I got to play with my favorite toy before the rain moved in. So I guess I'll stay here...but I'm gonna' put my paws down and hound Mom into remembering that the only animal who's mentioned in her blog title is DOG!

Silver Linings

I know! I know! I've been MIA for over two weeks!

Sometimes, by necessity, your world can get very very small. It occurs to me that in an age where a lot of us (myself included) are so wired in that we have friends all over the globe it can be an odd experience to pull back from. But it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just life. In all its richness. With silver linings to be found.

Am I rambling? Perhaps. I'm a bit out of practice here :D The quick version is that my normally hectic schedule went from busy to full-out wackadoodle. Go figure. A few weeks ago the owner of Solana's barn went into the hospital unexpectedly just before his gelding, Geronimo, needed to start chemotherapy treatments for his eye three times a day. Also during this time I succumbed to one of the evil viruses that's going around. No fun. But I did start off talking about silver linings, didn't I? Well, none of this started until after Solana had gotten completely off "restriction". That same barn owner went above and beyond in making adjustments to bring Solana back to good health from her illness this past winter. I am grateful that I was in a position to help take care of his horse when he needed it most.

Plus, I may have mentioned before that I consider 'Mo to be Solana's knight in shining armor. From the very first day she moved to a new barn for the first time years ago and I asked 'Mo to look out for her, he's taken that duty very seriously. And with that he earned a special place in my heart!

Blog the Change 4 Animals

So, whilst noodling around the blogosphere as I'm wont to do, I came across Blog the Change 4 Animals Seems to be a good way to help spread the word about worthy causes working hard to help improve the lives of animals...and I'm all for that! I've long believed that in times when it seems overwhelming how troubled the world may be, that the best I can do is to take action--any action, however small--to make my little corner of the world a better place. That's one reason I'm a big fan of spreading the world about local organizations.

My goal for today's post is to help spread  the word about Greyhound Friends of North Carolina Their motto says it all: changing the world one greyhound at a time. I can't say enough good things about the fabulous people who give tirelessly to help these wonderful animals. (Especially since I didn't start this post early enough and really have to report in to the day job!) When times get tough, one of the first things that goes down can be charitable giving. It's hard to rescue all the hounds they rescue in good times...much less when people stop giving! GFNC is committed to their work and regularly manage to take good care of their charges and find their forever homes while operating on a small budget. Any donation can help! It may be monetary, supplies, or time...it's all valuable!

And you may be helping someone like this:

Pet Blogger Challenge

The very first picture I posted on this blog: Times Square at Night

I warned you with the badge! Because I thought it would be fun, I'm participating in the Third Annual Pet Blogger Challenge. What does that mean? Well, it means I needed to answer the following questions:

1. When did you begin your blog?
February 2008 (how can it be possible that it was almost 5 years ago?!?) Here's the very first post: The Inspiration

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog?
To share pictures and thoughts about our first trip to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show..and whatever else struck my fancy. My secret original purpose? To have a different kind of outlet for my writing.

3. Is your current purpose the same?
Yes and no...since I didn't really know where it would go even then, it's a little hard to say whether I'm getting there!

If not, what’s different?
I've become more accustomed to the blogging world. Others inspire me to try different approaches/tackle different ideas...

If so, how do you feel you’ve met your goals?
It's definitely been a good outlet for both my photography and my writing...when I blog.

4. How often do you post?
Well now, that all depends on what all's going on. I've done daily, and I've gone months without it. Even though right now my life/schedule is perhaps at an all time high level of wacky, I'm trying to post daily because it's making me happy.

5. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you?
As the spirit moves me (but refer to #4 above).

If you publish on a schedule, why? How strict are you about your publishing deadlines? What do you do for inspiration when it feels like you’ve covered every topic?

If you don’t publish on a schedule, why?
See above!
How do you think your decision affects your audience? How do you know when a topic is “post-worthy?”
Will I lose my three readers if I say I really don't think too much about how it will affect them or whether or not something is really "post-worthy"?

6. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? 
All depends on whether I'm in a daily posting phase or not....anywhere from a couple of minutes to maybe an hour or two?
How much time visiting other blogs? 
Wow! This is turning into a rut. When I can, I like to stay current on several of my favorite blogs, but sometimes "the real world" interferes and I just can't do it.
Share your  tips for staying on top of it all.
Lately I've discovered the "trick" of at least starting several posts that I know I want to eventually share (like different sets of pictures) and then saving them as drafts only to pull them out later and post them. That seems to be a pretty good way for me.

7. How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)?
??? See #5 above. I just have to put it out there in the blogosphere because it makes me happy to do so and hope that someone may enjoy looking at it.

Do you look strictly at the numbers, or do you have a way of assessing the quality of those interactions?
I occasionally look at numbers, but in qualification of the above answer and in response to this one I will say that I LOVE when people comment on a post...it confirms that someone did actually see it :D

8. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one issue you’re having with your blog, what would it be?
Wow! Even though I've been playing with this for almost five years I still feel so new at it that I don't even know.

9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?
To be more committed to keeping it going and posting regularly...even if that's not every day. I know it's a good outlet for me. If I can participate in some discussions that help raise awareness/support for some good causes that benefit animals that would be awesome.

So, if you want to check out some other neat pet blogs and see what other folks are doing, hop along to some of these other sites:
 

One Word 2013

It's Lori's fault :D I'm copying her. Sort of. She shares these great ideas. When I saw her post about this year's one word, I knew what mine needed to be: Simplify. I've been moving in this direction for a long time now. This is the year to act on it! If I put it out there in the blogosphere then maybe I'll be compelled to follow through. Maybe my wonderful blogging buddies like Lori will feel free to give me a gentle nudge (shove!) if I'm not...

Anyway, thanks to Melanie at Only a Breath I have my very own one word button! (She's johnny-on-the-spot with the requests too!) Go check out her introductory post about the idea behind One Word and her explanation of the button: One Word Blog Buttons What a fabulous way to spread positive energy through the web!

Grace

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I have a dear friend who defines grace as "the unmerited favor of God". I don't intend to get all preachy on you or anything, but faith is a critical part of my life and while I may not talk about it a lot, and frequently struggle with it, I do know that I am truly blessed. Blessed with family (which includes human, and not human...) and friends who I treasure. And while I've never discussed it here, I had a life-threatening medical emergency some years ago which reminded me that we are not guaranteed tomorrow and that we better appreciate what we have here. And now. Carpe diem! I firmly believe that I need to focus less on myself and more on others. I want to spread joy. Pay it forward. Commit random acts of kindness (hat tip to Lori at What Remains Now for the linky on that). And I'm right there with Houndstooth at Tales and Tails about the whole resolutions thing. She's participating in the 30/30 Challenge put forward by You Did What With Your Weiner. Walk 30 minutes a day with your dog for 30 days in a row starting today. Go. Do it. Spending more time moving with the hound...that is something I can aspire to! Gwyn is serious about her morning walk. Somebody better go with her. Every day. Unless, of course, it's raining hard...and then somebody should really make it stop raining. And then walk with her. And while right now my schedule is unbelievably crazy...and I'm spending time every day walking with Solana (more on her later)...I'm totally about walking more with Gwyn too. LoML's been really good about walking Gwyn for time reasons, but I know that when I walk with her I'm rewarded in so many ways....not even so much the exercise factor, as the bonding...it's good for my soul!

So, let's be kind to each other. Spread joy. Recognize grace. Walk the hounds. (And the horses.)

Welcome to 2013.

So, I've been checking out new/different ways to keep up with blogs...think I might like this Bloglovin thing (learned from Lori over at What Remains Now 
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

You Take a Few Days Off...

Wow! I don't really know what to say. Just when I was feeling bad about not posting anything for almost two weeks, I went to catch up on What Remains Now and discovered I'd been awarded a Liebster Award!

This is me expressing my goofy side...so Mom doesn't feel so bad!

Sometimes the demands (read craziness) of my day-to-day life and full-time job get in the way of my goofing off and sharing pictures and funny critter stories. Just when I question my sanity for even trying to keep up with my blog, someone like Lori comes along and honors me and inspires me. Thanks, Lori!

So, what, you say, is a Liebster Award? Well, here are the rules: 

Liebster means “dearest” in German, and the award is intended to help up-and-coming blogs get the attention they deserve.  As with any award, there is a bit of ceremony involved. In order to accept the award, you must do the following:

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2. Link back to the blogger who gave you the award.

3. Pick your five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the award.

4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs.

So here goes...in no particular order, five of my current faves (but gosh there are so many fabulous blogs out there!):

BZ Training 

Wonderful, fabulous pictures...inspires my photography while I enjoy Henry and Zachary the beautiful golden retrievers.

Mayzie's Dog Blog

The most glorious adventures of one brindle dog...indeed! Mayzie inspired us through her Rescue Me Week project and I hope we continue to try to do our part to help animals in need throughout the year (and I'm not just sayin' that 'coz we won, Mayzie!).

Cult of the Greyhound

Photography and greyhounds. Two of my favorite things!

Never Say Never Greyhounds

Jennifer shares about working with greyhounds in agility and obedience and has lots of interesting tips to share.

House of Carnivores

Mel the law librarian shares about her life with her husband, three cats, two greyhounds and the occasional foster. Good stuff.

Thank you so much, Lori, for my Liebster Award. I hope some of you have fun checking out my awardees. I know I"ve enjoyed discovering lots of great blogs out there just from clicking on other peoples' links. You all inspire me to be more creative! And, who knows...maybe I'll just manage to keep up with this thing on a regular basis.