New Year resolutions

I have never been much interested in anniversaries or birthdays (especially my own) or big round numbers but I did notice in this past year that the blog passed five years and 1000 posts.  All this set me thinking about what to do with the blog in the future.

Regular readers will have noticed that the frequency of posts has fallen in recent weeks.  For much of 2019 I was posting three or four times a week but recently that has fallen to once or twice.  In the summer there was so much to share that I could hardly fit it all in but there is a danger that it might become a bit repetitive as the seasons come round each year.  In future I think I'll aim for once or twice a week and that will give me a bit more time to spend on the other two blogs as well.

In the past two years I have posted a report from my local pond, Banks' Pond, each week from April to October.  In 2020 I think I'll reduce that to once a month and add similar monthly reports from Gosforth Nature Reserve, where I spend a fair bit of time for the Natural History Society of Northumbria, and Weetslade Country Park, where I have been counting dragonflies for Northumberland Wildlife Trust since last summer.  Both are within walking distance of my home.

Although I enjoy sharing photos of things I have seen, the posts that give me most satisfaction are those that require a bit more planning or preparation so I think I will concentrate a bit more on those in future.  In no particular order, here are a few of those I have enjoyed writing in the last five and a half years.  You can click on the titles for links if you are interested.

What's in a name?.  Musings on the names of things.

How many woodpeckers visit the garden?.  Trying to identify and count individuals.

A night to remember.  The highlight of the past summer.

20 years of garden birdwatch

Red mason bee.  One of several posts about the red mason bees in my bee house.

RSPB, BGBW & BTO GBW.  Counting birds in the garden.

Bullrings.  Using photos to identify numbers on ringed birds.

The bee that swallows pollen.  I am fascinated by solitary bees, especially this tiny bee I found in the garden.

One from my photography blog, TrogTrogPhoto, Wolf Moon.  Memorable as I stayed up all night and stood outside in January.

Another from TrogTrogPhoto, Northumbrian Rock Art.

One from my honey bee blog, TrogTrogBee, Sir Christopher Wren's bee hive (no relation).

And lastly another one from TrogTrogBee, with some slow-motion video, Recycling propolis.

Here's to the next five years and the next 1000 posts.  Happy New Year.