Blog Award From Arija

Recently Arija from Garden Delights bestowed this awesome award on me. I do not feel that I deserve it but I thank her for her grace and her gift of friendship. Blogging has opened so many new doors to friendship for me. Arija is one of them. She did not say I had to post this or pass it on, or link to her blog. There are no rules, and I like that. So, I will follow her example and bestow this award on a few. If they want to pass it on, they can. I just want to let them know I admire them and appreciate them. So, here dear friends, is the Deborah Award. You are strong and true.

Beth-Beth's Stories
Bobbie-Almost There
Lynne-Hasty Brook
Mary-Mary's View
Nina-Nature Remains
Wren-Wrenaissance Reflections

Do with it what you will, because like friendship, there are no strings attatched!


And once again, thank you dear Arija! If you have not visited her lovely blog, Garden Delights, you should. It has lovely photography, prose, and poetry.

Blog Award From Jess

As you can tell, I am doing a bit of "Catch-up." Last week I acknowledged an award given to me by my dear fellow blogger, Bobbie. This week I want to thank Jess for her encouragement when she gave me this Brilliant Blogger Award in September. I'm not sure I deserve it but I graciously accept it and thank her for it.

Jess has a blog called Scrapbook Ideas, and though I am not into scrapbooking myself, I do have many other friends who are and I appreciate the creativity. Thank you once again, Jess. I have known Jess since she was a baby. She is the same age as my oldest son, G, and when they were infants he was so big and she was so small that when we sat them next to each other they looked like Pebbles and Bam Bam! Of course as parents we fantasized about them growing up and marrying each other, but that never happened. They each found their own spouses perfectly suited to them. Imagine that! Ironically they were both married the same year and the same month just one day apart! We are still good friends and I enjoy the adult friendship we now have.

So, here are the rules for this award:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs you’ve nominated.

So, who do I think is a Brilliant Blogger?

1. Beth of Beth's Stories for one. Creative, insightful, and nature loving, I actually met Beth this past summer when I was in Maine. Through her I keep my finger on the pulse of the area where I use to live. I also learn about many new places. Right now she is keeping track of a new beaver family that is building a dam on her parent's property.

2. Lynne of Hasty Brook. Lynne's love of nature and thirst to learn inspires me. I love to visit Hasty Brook for the beautiful photography and humorous writing. However, Lynne has a serious side also. She has been through quite a bit in her life and I admire her courage and the grace with which she has faced the loss of her mother and her sister in such a short span of time. Hugs to you, Lynne.

3. Klaus of Virtua Gallery for all the brilliant websites he administers, like Skywatch Friday and My World Tuesday. I know he has lots of help on those websites and those people deserve high praise also, but I want to acknowledge Klaus for his brilliant photography and his constant commenting on this and other blogs. I swear I see his face everywhere and he is always so cheerful!

4. Gossamer Tapestry. Doug Taron, of course, my premier bug and science guy!

5. Susan Gets Native. Spunky, sassy, silly and serious, Susan is all of this and informative too! She works with Raptor Rehab in Ohio. What could be more Brilliant!

6. Quiet Paths. Go here to sooth your soul and refresh your spirit!

7. Got Bladder Cancer? Okay, this one comes with a warning. You have to be brave to read this one. While it's not for everyone, Steve is my friend. He has bravely been fighting a battle with Bladder cancer and if you know anyone else who is, this is a great place to send them for real life info, no holds barred, in-your-face reality.

Blog Award from Bobbie

Quite a few months ago Bobbie, of Almost There, gave me a Blog Award. It was right before I went on my trip to New England and so I never published it. I would like to do so now because I so appreciate her kindness and her Blog. Bobbie is always supportive of new bloggers. She especially supports environmental concerns, poets, and artists. I have found some very interesting new blogs because of her. So here's a big shout out to Bobbie and her blog, Almost There. Thank you for your kindness, your constant support, and especially for being my friend.

The rules for this award are as follows:

l.) Choose five blogs that you consider deserve this award for creativity, design, interesting material, and for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2.) Each award must have the name of the author and a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3.) Each award winner must show the award and put the name and link to the blog of the one who has given the award.

4.) The award winner and the one giving the award must show a link to "Arte y Pico" blog, so that everyone knows its origin. That link is here: Arte y Pico

My five picks are:

1. Vickie Henderson Art, new blog I have discovered with beautiful art and photographs of Whooping Cranes.

2. Out With Ari, one of my favorite reads. Humorous as well as informative. Go here to see life through the eyes of a Canine Naturalist in Maine.

3. Nature Girl from Nature Trail. This blog is artistic and beautiful with lots of garden flowers and nature photos to boot.

4. Troy and Martha from Ramblings Around Texas have a very creative and informative blog. Troy is always there to help fellow bloggers in need.

5. From the Faraway, Nearby. T.R. has one of the most beautiful photography blogs out there, but his writing is what keeps me coming back. If you'd like to see the world at a dizzying pace, visit this blog.

Congrats to Kathryn and Ari!

My sincere Congratulations to Kathryn and Ari, the Caninaturalist who are having their Blog published as a book! If you have not read about Kathryn's Blog, Out With Ari, it is one of my favorite reads. Kathryn lives in Maine with her dog Ari and they have many wonderful nature adventures together. At one time Kathryn did research here in AZ at the Santa Rita Experimental Range. She is living my dream and I wish both her and Ari much success and many more years of naturalist adventures! Click on the link to learn more and find out where you can purchase your copy of her new book!

Blogging Award from Texas Travelers

Troy from Ramblings Around Texas Gave me a "Blogs That Make My Day" Award last week. I am pleased and overwhelmed to say the least. Now it's my turn to pass on the honor to 5 of my favorite Blogs. The choice is not easy. There are so many good blogs out there and I enjoy visiting everyone, and some of my favorites have already received their awards from others.

The rules for this award are:

1) Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make me think and/or make my day.

2) Acknowledge the post of the award giver (Thank you Troy!)

3) Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news!

Here are my five choices:

1. The Brownstone Birding Blog. Larry was the first unknown person to come and comment on my Blog. Whether he knows it or not, he is a great encouragement to me and I have learned so much about blogging from him. He says he is not a great writer but he is better than he thinks. I don't know what his real life job is but I can tell he has an educators' heart. His blog is always so helpful and informative. Plus, he birds in many places that are familiar to me since I grew up in CT. His blog is my window on my homestate.

2. Doug Taron at Gossamer Tapestry has an informative and funny Blog. He has become my entomologist expert and is always so kind to help me identify the insects I am seeing. While I largely ignored or complained about the 6 legged creatures before, I now look at them with interest. One of his funniest post is the Dear John letter he wrote to his ailing lab equipment.

3. Mary's View for her open and kind heart, her friendship, and her great bird and pond photos. Plus, she always makes me laugh (or cry)!

4. Nature Remains for her wonderful photography and well written observations of nature that hover between prose and poetry.

5. From Patrice/Pappy's Balderdash Okay, I'm cheating here, but there is a reason. From Patrice is one of my favorite blogs. I visit all the time but she has shut off her comments so I can no longer communicate with her since I don't know her email address. I love her poetry and I miss her as a friend. I think I found Texican through her and he is connected because he writes awesome poetry also which I love to read. So, Kudos to Patrice and the Texican for my daily poetry fix! (Patrice, I can only hope you still visit here. If you do, please turn your comments back on, I miss you!)

Fenlandwalker, Maine Nature Photos, Island Rambles, Ramblings Around Texas, Out With Ari, and Aunt B's Backyard are just a few of my favorites that have already received this award from others.

Roy Norris from Fenlandwalker also nominated my Blog for this award. Thank you so much Roy! I always enjoy a walk in the fen! (Does this mean I get to pick 5 more?) Okay, here goes!

1. Beth's Stories for my peek at life in Maine.

2. Hasty Brook for her great nature shots, her sense of humor and her incredible courage in facing life with joy after great loss.

3. Twelve Acres for letting me see life on the farm again and for her love of trees!

4. Bookbabie because she inspires me to create.

5. Nature Tales and Camera Trails, a new blog I have just discovered that has awesome photography from New Brunswick, Canada