Simple

Recently, a colleague and I commiserated about the challenges of finding a printable recipe on many cooking blogs. We decided that some of the bloggers are suffering from PWWS, Pioneer Woman Wannabe Syndrome. Our dear internet friend, Ree Drummond, of Pioneer Woman fame, has built an empire through her blog, one post at a time. She now has her own cooking show, cookbooks and cookware. She has a Mercantile purveying all things Pioneer, from her signature cookware to her children's books about the family dog, Charlie. She recently opened The Boarding House, a "cowboy luxury" hotel, featuring guest rooms designed by Ree and her handsome husband, Ladd. And she has four kids. And she seems nice.

As a blogger, I can relate to the fact that most of us will never become powerhouse bloggers. Therefore, I am puzzled at the tactics some bloggers use in an attempt to build a blogging kingdom. My guess is Ree's recipe for success is massive amounts of hard work, a solid business sense, talented writing skills, a sprinkling of good people in her life and a dash of good luck.

On the heels of my 7th anniversary as a blogger, here is the sum total of what I have learned about blogging.

1) Success is relative. I remember the hot day in July I decided to write for more than just myself. The back to school bell was soon to ring as I clunked my way through the Blogspot process (emphasis on clunk). I wrote a piece describing a little bit of my world and hit the "publish" button. My brain screamed, "What are you doing?" and my calmer self replied, "This too shall pass." Over 200 posts later, my fingers still believe there is a tale or two to tell as they peck out another post. Success for me is perseverance and consistency. My reader stats could be read by the average pre-schooler but I am okay with that.

2) Know your purpose. My blogging goal is to celebrate the everyday. Many of us do not live lives filled with exotic traveling, fine dining or trendy happenings. We should not feel like we've fallen short because we aren't wearing the latest fashions or driving cars with retractable roofs. There is no shame in plain. So far, my dull life has provided me with blogging inspiration. No passport needed.

3) Comparison is the thief of joy. I stole that quote from Teddy Roosevelt. I'm sure he won't mind if I pass it along. My guess is that the average blog reader can sniff out a wannabe pretty quickly. Not all readers are swayed by mason jars photographed with clever drips of caramel cascading off the sides or plates of biscuits with rough hewn tables used as the backdrop. Frankly, I am more confident that perusing a community favorites cookbook with sticky pages will provide me with recipe inspiration.

4) Respect your reader. Nothing says disrespect more clearly than pop-up-down-and-all-around ads while I am trying to read a blog. I know this is how bloggers make money but for the love of Pete, stop it. When I cannot get past the first three sentences of a blog without running through a gauntlet of ads, it makes it easy to answer the inevitable blog plea asking me to "sign up for weekly e-mails". No, thank you.

I do have one thank you I would like to pass along, however.

Thank you, readers. You are a kind bunch of folks and I appreciate your acceptance of my world of beige.

Empty Nest

Postcard of Iris and L'el'e 

As some of my readers know, I was over the moon obsessed with a family of ospreys in Missoula, Montana (Hellgate Canyon) this summer. Through the eyes of a well positioned web cam, folks from around the world watched Iris (mom osprey), Louis (dad osprey) and L'el'e (baby osprey) live their lives as raptors in nature. It was a summer of heartbreak, joy and nail-biting drama in and out of the nest. Through it all, the O family taught me several lessons.

1) Procedures matter.--Osprey are fish eaters. They are phenomenal divers and their powerful wings allow them to haul a struggling fish out of the water and back to the nest. The fish are always eaten from the head to the tail and consistently in that order. Never once did I see them start with the soft belly, no matter how hungry they were. They forcefully ripped through the lips of their prey and worked their way through the softer inner parts and finally, made a final gulp to accommodate the forked tail. I can only speculate that this procedure gave the O's maximum nutrition and kept the nest free of stray fish parts.

2) Keep your nest tidy.--From the moment Iris and Louis arrived in the spring, their nest was in a constant state of upkeep. Large "crib rails" were hauled in, stick by stick. Soft pieces of moss and grass were tucked into corners here and there. Much fussing and fiddling with sticks in the nest was common throughout the season. And the number one rule for all the O's was "Never poop in the nest." When it was time for a poop break, the birds backed up to the edge of the nest and let 'er fly with great projectile force. I found it fascinating in a twisted sort of way.

3) Trust the O's.--Nature is nature and any attempts on our part to anthropomorphize our little bird family resulted in heartbreak and frustration. It was an astoundingly difficult spring in Missoula for fishing. The Clark Fork River was raging and the turbidity levels were off the charts, resulting in near starvation for our O family. Siblicide is one way ospreys cope with low food availability. We watched as Iris and Louis ignored the attacks of the oldest nestling on the younger siblings. Our heads knew this was the only way any of the offspring had a chance for survival, but our human hearts wanted to intervene. Sadly, two nestlings succumbed but the remaining chick grew into a strong, beautiful osprey. The species continues to the next generation.

4) Never give up.--The most critical moment this summer was a 36-hour stretch of no fish being brought into the nest by Louis. It was cold, rainy and the river continued to churn violently. The remaining chick was within hours of death if food didn't arrive soon. Iris was keeping the chick warm but in a surprising move, she flew off the nest and shortly thereafter, returned with a fish. Iris is much older than Louis and her hunting prowess and motherly instinct gave her a life saving advantage that fateful day. Throughout the summer, Louis developed into a fierce fisher bird and his deliveries to the nest were always met with great fanfare.

Fall is arriving in Hellgate and our osprey family is feeling the urge to fly south. Soon the nest will be completely empty and we will most likely never see L'el'e again as the young do not return to their birth nest. The timing is good for me as I am back to school and I need to migrate out of the nest myself.


Until next spring, that is.

Screenshot of L'el'e in early August

Hometown Chronicles

My husband and I moved away from our hometown over 30 years ago but we continue to subscribe to our hometown's newspaper. Mind you, the town does not have a population much over a thousand people but it continues to faithfully print and distribute a weekly paper. My husband and I are like vultures on carrion when the paper arrives each Thursday and may the best bird win rights to the first read through.

The paper has all the sections one would expect in a small town paper. The front page is dedicated to the news of the town such as school board elections, businesses changing hands and local celebrations. The inner pages include letter(s) to the editor, sports updates of local teams, pictures of school happenings, library news and classified ads. The last page is reserved for obituaries and a column written by the current editor.

One of our favorite sections is called "News from our Files". It reprints a few news items from decades gone by, beginning in 1908. Yes, our hometown has a longstanding tradition of printing newspapers for its constituents. My favorite decades are the oldest ones. I don't recognize the names but I am fascinated with what was in the news and even more intrigued by the interesting language often used to describe events. One example came from July, 1908: "Hail last Saturday evening caused considerable damage to crops northwest of town. The storm also put a quietus on the circus, which was being presented in town that night." Another news item from one hundred years ago noted that a teacher from a local country school was leaving "due to some unpleasantness." News items from the 30's and 40's give me a window into the Great Depression and the war years. Local young men made the news for leaving home, for returning home and sadly, for never seeing their hometown again.

Along the way, I have learned a couple of lessons from my hometown paper about the folks who live there.

1) They support each other. Almost weekly, there are fundraisers for individuals and groups. Sometimes, they are for someone who needs help with medical bills. Sometimes, they are for churches raising funds for designated causes. And, periodically, the town tackles a really big project such as a new swimming pool. The town is fiscally conservative with a small taxpaying base so building a new pool is not done without a lot of sweat, time and fundraising dinners. The monies for the pool were  secured and the children are not only enjoying a beautiful new pool but they also have their own swim team. As someone who took swimming lessons in the local leech-infested lake, I wholeheartedly endorse pools for kids.

2) The residents in my hometown take pride in their community. It is not unusual to see a front page op-ed piece encouraging others to shop locally. There are many photographs highlighting the latest school play or the winning run in a wild baseball game at the local ballpark. The beautiful new city park is often featured with events for outdoor family activities. The Memorial Day program is published with an emphasis on honoring those who served our country.

It is no secret that many newspapers are going the way of the passenger pigeon. But, I believe in the tenacity of small town papers and their readers. They are less likely to believe that social media will be their only source of information and most of the faces and places in the paper are recognized by almost every resident in town.

My subscription money for my hometown paper is money well spent.