I like to keep an uncluttered web site. Not too many ‘side-bar’ distractions, no multi-colored backgrounds, and certainly no ads…but I have to confess, I have been curious about the awards for the various kinds of blogs. I’ve read the comments on other people’s sites that declare “I’ve nominated you for this or that award,” and I have to admit, I feel a pang of jealousy that no one ever nominated me for one. So when I was nominated for the “One Lovely Blog Award” I felt very honored. As I read the instructions, I couldn’t wait to share that honor and excitement with other bloggers. I could list 15 blogs that I liked and in so doing, they could share in the excitement as well. And so it was with some surprise that my first nominee, Eddy Winkos, revealed this to be nothing more than a type of chain letter that benefits someone down the line. Participation in the nominations generates traffic and some sort of reverse back-linking patterns. More traffic means more clicks, very important if you are a ‘PPC’ (pay for click) site. See Eddy’s blog about this for a clearer explanation. http://winkos.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/be-aware-of-awards/
Appealing to someone’s vanity for reward is nothing new, it’s just that I thought I was smarter than that. I’m sure the person who nominated my blog did so with good intentions as I did with my nominations, but thanks to Eddy, this will be the first and last time that I take it further.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
The award may resemble a chain letter but, honestly, what does that matter? Some people actually have fun doing them. So maybe that’s their purpose. Umpteen years ago, a work-friend convinced me to participate in a Kitchen Towel thing, where I sent out some nice towels and got zilch in return. But you know what? We did something non-work and fun together.
That being said, I didn’t complete the One Lovely Blog Award process because although I probably would’ve gotten some nice towels (site visits) this go-round, like my garden, I prefer to grow things organically. Don’t beat yourself up because someone snuck some synthetic fertilizer into your garden.
It’s the thought that counts, and yours were obviously with good intentions.
Thanks HB, for your thoughts on this. I did enjoy listing everything as well as getting the ‘towels.’ As an avid stats observer, (my wife might say “stats obsessive”) it was exciting to see the numbers increase every time I looked at them, which was often. But if I ask the tough question, “How can everyone nominate 15 others for the award?” It really doesn’t make sense…but it WAS fun!
Pat
Pat, I’d like to give you an award for being in the right place at the right time.
There’s a lot of broke boomers and seniors out there who are wondering how to live a thrifty low impact life and raise healthy food. And have a good time doing it. Your adventures and information come with great photography and lots of humor. Solarbeez is not some sanctimonious back to the lander site scolding everybody for ruining the earth. It’s a lot of fun.
For me, the bee information is crucial. Several leading scientists involved
involved in the effort to rescue the honeybee genome have said that local beekeepers are crucial to this effort. Local beekeepers can raise queens without pesticides and hives with characteristics that fit their landscape. (Like California Coastal for me). There is a group of women beekeepers in the mountains from Colorado to New Mexico who are breeding queens and will soon be connected by a Blog. Solarbeez and the Rocky Mountain Beekeepers
are crucial to spreading good information fast.
Thanks for all your work.
Terry
Thanks for the compliment Terry, that’s worth more than an award. I’m not up to your level of ‘splitting hives’ yet or raising queens. I’m just working on getting the bees to survive through the winter. December and January are the ‘iffy’ months around here. Even the very experienced can lose hives then. One of the most experienced beekers in the local association says, “expect 50% losses.” Ouch! I hope not,
Thanks again for the nice comment Terry, and maybe we’ll see a beekeeping blog down the line from you?
Pat