A tribute to my mom
2015 was a year of highs and lows, the lowest of lows coming the day after Christmas when my mother passed away following a long battle with breast cancer. Mom was the woman who taught me my love of gardening, cooking, crafting, and birds (although not necessarily chickens, of which she had enough as a young girl helping to care for her own mother’s flock). Mom was into sustainable living before sustainable living was cool, and I don’t know if I would be raising and preserving my own food if it wasn’t for her influence and guidance.
It’s a little scary facing a new year without her, but life goes on. I will honor her legacy through this blog by sharing the things she taught me with all of you.
Rest in peace, Mom.
My last selfie with my mom, taken the week before she died.
My top five bog posts of 2015
2015 was the first full year for Counting My Chickens, and one of the highlights of the year was watching the blog grow. I’ve learned a lot and gained many new readers, for whom I am grateful. I’m still not where I want to be with the blog, but I will continue to keep working to provide you valuable content. The whole reason why I started this blog in the first place was to inspire others the way my mom inspired me – to show you that anyone can raise their own food and live a more sustainable lifestyle. Have I inspired you to start a garden, try your hand at canning, or even get a few backyard chickens? If so, I would love to hear about it.
As I did last year, I am sharing a few tidbits from the Counting My Chickens annual report that I received from Jetpack (a WordPress plugin I use). The report provides all sorts of interesting statistics about my blog and readership. For example, in 2015, I had readers from 112 different countries. (Wow!) Not surprisingly, most of my readers come from the U.S., but you Aussies come in a strong second. (I know how you love your chooks Down Under.)
There was one statistic in particular that stood out for me. The busiest day of the year on the blog, the day it received more traffic than any other day, was May 20. That day just so happened to be my mom’s 71st – and last – birthday. How cool is that? I am going to take it as some sort of sign.
The final statistic I am going to share with you is the list of my top five blog posts for 2015 – those posts that had the most views among the 33 that I published.
Here’s the list, in case you missed any of them:
- Is it legal to raise chickens in my suburban backyard?
- Caring for your suburban chickens: How much time does it really take?
- 10 things that can be recycled for the garden
- How to make life more interesting for your suburban chickens
- Housing chickens in a suburban backyard
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy 2016. If you are still fortunate to have your mom in your life, give her an extra hug the next time you see her.
Happy New Year.