Happy Anniversary!

One month ago today I published my first post at CanoeCorner.  I started a garden blog because I thought it would be a great way to document my garden and our new life here.  Something to look back on and remind ourselves of everything we've accomplished.  A blog  seemed like an easy way to do this.

Easy, yes I said easy. 

I've learned a few things this last month.  The first thing I learned is that blogging is not easy.  It takes time and effort.  I learned that widgets don't always work the way you think they should.  I learned how to accidentally delete posts.  I learned that the preview option doesn't look anything like the post that will show up on your blog.

I learned a few things about myself too.  I learned that I am a perfectionist who will rewrite a post multiple times until I feel it's as good as I can get it.  And that I like reading other people's garden blogs.  I like learning about new plants and garden ideas and sharing those thoughts.   I've also found out that blogging is fun.  I like having an excuse to post pretty photos and share my gardening experiences.  Blogging has encouraged me to learn more from others and do more in order that I may share as well.  I would like to say welcome and thank you to those of you who visit me regularly.  I remember the first day my stats noted that a single person had looked at my blog and how exciting that was.  That number has grown considerably - over 20 visitors today!  Okay so it hasn't grown that much but it's leaps and bounds as far as I'm concerned.  It keeps me going knowing there's people watching me.  I'm grateful for the comments and look forward to your ideas and thoughts.  There's more work to do, I recently added a new widget and hope to figure out an email subscription I can live with.  I have been planning a more in depth About Me page for a while now (which will include house photos).  But for now I'm grateful to see what can be accomplished in one short month if I put my mind to it. 

I can't leave without some pretty photos so here are some shots of the ladybugs I found in my yard yesterday.  I was out digging more holes and discovered about a dozen ladybugs lazily climbing around in the grass.  You might remember that I learned about The Lost Ladybug Project at the PEI Garden Show a few weeks back.  So now was my chance to contribute.  They make really photogenic subjects don't they?

Too bad they're not native.  These guys are Coccinella septempunctata, or the Seven spotted ladybug introduced to North American from Europe to control aphid populations.  They are now one of the most common lady bugs seen in North America.  While I was disappointed that they weren't natives I'm still glad to have them, because more ladybugs means less aphids!