Sunday, January 27, 2013

An anniversary, and a reintroduction

Hello, my name is Deb and I am the author of this blog called Sand Creek Almanac. A few days ago I realized I have been writing this blog for eight years now. Many things have changed in my life, and in the interconnected lives we share on the Internet. I feel as if I have gotten out of touch with blogging, time and time again, and I have been doing some soul searching as to the reason I do this in the first place, what I want this blog to be, and even what I want my life to be in the next ten years or so.

I started this blog when blogging was the new Social Media. Some wrote it off as a way for narcissistic types to share every detail of their lives on the Internet, but I started out with no such pretense; I just thought it would be a fun way to challenge myself to do some writing, to share my life. And my life was anything but normal; I lived with my husband and three kids, ages 7, 5, and 3, in a small cabin on 40 acres in a very rural wooded area in Minnesota. As a bonus, the winter I started writing this blog was the winter this region saw an incredible irruption of Great Gray owls; I would routinely see a dozen or more on my way to work. Great fodder for writing, at a time I needed it.

Year have passed, my posting frequency has dwindled, and Facebook and Twitter have taken over as the way to share life stories. As I see it, blogs have gotten to be a promotional tool. While a few of my original blogging friends have remained faithful to the medium, I have perceived a "get big or get out" movement in blogging. Sand Creek Almanac gets about 25 hits a day, mostly from random Google searches. Not big in any regard.

Yet, I still have this urge to write, to tell my story, or to weave stories. I am not the same person I was eight years ago, nor would I like to be. I am the mother of teenagers who have plans for their lives, and in less than ten years I may be an empty nester. At the same time, I have a job that I like, I am Assistant Area Fisheries Manager for a four county are in east central Minnesota, but I can't see myself doing that until I am 65 or older. In fact, I would like to retire and start a new chapter in my life in ten years or less. I am going to be 46 in a month and a half.

So, I am turning to the things I like to do: writing and playig music. I can't see making a career out of the latter, although I would like to be in a band that plays once in a while, just for fun. But writing...yes I know, the success rate is horribly low, but, it is something I have always felt called to do in some way. And that's where I think this blog can help, can be a beginning.

So again, my name is Deb, and I am hereby re-commiting myself to the art of blogging, and what it might lead to, if only for the discipline it teaches me. I will write stories, about Vinny who takes Sally (the labrador) on long walks on weekends; about Nina, who has a goal to go to medical school; and about Joe, who loves epic stories like The Hobbit, swords, and who recently won the school Geography Bee as a fifth grader.

Thanks to my long time readers, and I am looking forward to meeting many more on this journey.

17 comments:

Caroline said...

And I look forward to reading what you have to write about :o)

Unknown said...

Deb - It was good to read this. I too have wondered about the future of my blog. Comments and other ways of interacting directly with the blog are way down since much gets shared on Facebook and the comments and likes are primarily there. Yet the blog is still, I think, a beautiful longer format, incorporating photos seamlessly and encouraging writers like us to choose our topics and our words with care and thought. I will look forward to continuing to read Sand Creek Almanac.

Jayne said...

Wow Deb, I can't even believe you've been here for eight years now. I think I found you via Lynn at Hasty Brook. Back then, Fb was really new and was only for kids it seemed. We Bloggers were a tight knit group and oh, how I loved visiting all my friend's blogs. Like you, I continue (or for me, came back to) blogging because I love the creative outlet. I don't have the same passion either, but it's like a nice longer visit with a cup of coffee rather then waving as you pass on the street on Fb. So, here I'll be as you start this next fork in the road of your journey. Can't wait to see where it leads you my friend. Hugs to you on the discovery...

LauraHinNJ said...

Glad you're still one of us, Deb! It's hard to blog anymore and I miss that sense of community, but I keep at it the best I can.

Anonymous said...

It's good to see you are coming
back. Looking forward to future
writings. Hoping to see lots of
bird and other wildlife reports
with photos. Some stories about
you at work might be also be fun.
Enjoy blogging again!!
Hap in New Hope

Carolyn H said...

Glad to hear you're still around! (as am I). Part of the reason I've stuck with blogging and not moved much into Facebook is because Facebook and the like are blocked at work (but Blogger isn't). So I can check on other blogs and update my own during off minutes during the day, while I can't do that with other social media.

webb said...

I thoroughly enjoy your slice of life in the "frozen north" and always feel refreshed after a visit. I think it's the community feeling of blogging that keeps us coming back. FB is just too "instant", and i don't want to share too much of my life with the acquaintances of my acquaintances. Glad you are entering a new phase in your life and look forward to sharing the experience.

Susan said...

Deb, I appreciated reading your post. Sometimes blogging has to take a back seat while you sort out what life has in store. I enjoy reading your blog because it's a connection to east central Minnesota. Happy anniversary and many more!

Greg said...

Write on, Deb!

Adele in Northeast Minnesota said...

Happy Anniversary! So good to hear from you again. I've missed your writing. I always read, but rarely comment. Your posts often touch memories for me, when you wrote about the huge white pine, you reminded me that my grandfather moved his wife to Lutsen in 1910 to be the Federal Forest Ranger in this area. Before that he surveyed a lot of the Lake and Cook County area and named a good bunch of the lakes here. I remember him very well, and his life story is amazing.

So, keep writing, because stories keep people in touch with the past, the present and the future, and in touch with one another. Thank you.

Deb said...

Wow, I must say I am pleasantly overwhelmed by the response to this post! Thanks everyone, sometimes it is nice to hear that people are out there reading what I have to say. I do believe that blogs like this and the ones I read regularly fill an important niche somewhere between the sound bites of Facebook and the slick, professional online news outlets.

Anonymous said...

I love to come by and visit every now and then. I'm glad you will keep posting.
vickie in kc/aka momadness

Yonassan Gershom said...

Well, neighbor, I too enjoy reading your blog. I don't look for quantity, I look for quality, and your blog has it.

As for my blog, it doesn't get huge numbers of hits either, but I enjoy being able to write something in more depth that I can fit into a Facebook post. In fact, I rarely go to Facebook anymore, because I'm just not a chit-chatter. I don't care what TV programs people are watching or the latest stupid thing some celebrity just did. (For a long time I did not even know who Justin Bieber was. And no, I am NOT watching the Superbowl today.) For matter, I don't tweet, either, because I doubt anybody out there really cares that right now I'm typing on my computer about blogs!

Deb said...

YonassanGershom- Hello neighbor! I enjoy your blog as well, definitely quality, thoughtful posts. My husband and older son are watching the Super Bowl in the bedroom, which means I'll be out here by the wood stove with the iPad until it's over. Although I may watch some of the commercials and the halftime show out of morbid curiosity.

Tara said...

Deb,

I just found your blog and am really enjoying it! Keep it up! I doubt any natural history-oriented blog will hit #1 on buzzfeed... but I usually don't want to read that kind of thing anyway.

Tara

Deb said...

Tara- so glad you found this blog and are enjoying my writing! Still trying to break out of the iced-over mindset of winter here, but more posts will be coming soon, I promise.

Anonymous said...

I'm late to this post, but glad I stopped by and scrolled down to see some of the older entries. I'm with you on the blogging thing, and keep plugging away at Dharma Bums. I think blogging is a much more satisfying way to communicate than Facebook. I'm glad you're still here, Deb. The co-hort of bloggers who started around the same time all those years ago still tell the best stories!