Four-year Anniversary: Best of INWIG 2013

According to Blogger I made my first blog post on March 5, 2010 which means today is my four-year anniversary!  One of the main reasons for creating this blog was so I'd document everything I did in the garden, and I have to admit I've done a pretty good job of that. Did I list every detail of every task I did? No, certainly not. I missed lots of stuff, including some important details such as what exact varieties of veggies I planted, spacings, fertilization schedules, etc. but I also shared a lot of things that I would normally have just observed and enjoyed for myself, and have hopefully given some entertainment and knowledge to my readers. This past year was a bit different, in that I also heavily documented our two-week roadtrip to Yellowstone -- so it went way beyond my own garden.

Today, as I've done every March 5 since I started, I'm going to take a look back over the past year and list my favorite posts in chronological order. If you haven't seen them before please take a look. If you have seen them already, then take another look -- it's still fun! I did this type of post on my previous anniversaries too, and I really like the way they turned out. Expect it every year.

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This is an "index" of my favorite posts from the last year (March 2013 - February 2014). This, like the previous "best of" posts, is a great page to start -- if you want to send somebody a link to show them what this site is all about, this is a great one to send. Click the titles/dates to get to the full posts.

Enjoy!

(Note that unlike previous years, the first few months contain few posts. That's because September contain so many!)

Imagine: bark   1 March 2013

This was one of my favorite posts about one of my favorite natural things (bark), as I use the phrase "hurricane of wood".

Spring!  18 April 2013

Macro photos of the sunny, springtime garden.

Beautiful is caterpillar   21 May 2013

Eastern tent caterpillar, a nightmare in its squirming tent, so beautiful up close.

Spring means new life  29 May 2013

Rescued baby bird, and discovered baby fish!

Pond creatures, unknown  8 June 2013

Some of the creatures living in my pond. (Still a mystery!)

Hello.  21 June 2013

Two fawns "talk" about how they find out what plants they like to eat, and how it affects my garden.

Stages   12 July 2013

I show all stages of a thistle bloom -- all found on the plant at the same time.

Yellow   23 July 2013

I show the yellow blooms in my garden. I also did purple, red, and white.

Morning Bees   4 August 2013

The rising sun provided just the right lighting for these bee photos!

Roadtrip: Theodore Roosevelt National Park day 1  28 Aug 2013

The first day of our roadtrip to Yellowstone, and a bison made us really work for our memories.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone   1 September 2013

One of my longest posts ever, from a really spectacular canyon in Yellowstone National Park.

Smoke, Relax, View   4 September 2013

The views of forest fire smoke plumes overhead in Yellowstone. I just love these!

Yellowstone: Fountain Paint Pot     9 September 2013

Hot mud on a cold morning made this a memorable stop. So quiet too!

Bacterial mats, fascination   11 September 2013

You won't see more texture and color harmony that you do in this post. I could have taken a hundred more photos!

Grand Tetons National Park Day 2   15 September 2013

A wonderful day of hiking over such varied terrain.

Devils Tower, the next day   24 September 2013

A morning hike around this towering rock shows us just how impressive it is.

St. Louis Zoo, part 1    16 October 2013

We have a great zoo in St. Louis, and I spent a beautiful autumn day there.

St. Louis Zoo, part 2   17 October 2013

The zoo visit continues. (A giraffe battles with an ostrich)

Beauty, from first freeze   30 October 2013

These leaves have been frost-killed, but they have a new kind of beauty.

Four Surprises   3 November 2013

A few discoveries remind me that there is so much going on in the garden that I could miss if I don't pay attention!

More views of the colorful back yard    5 November 2013

Using a different camera than usual, this doesn't seem like my garden!

Dark and Wonderful    7 November 2013

Some forgotten photos from a summer evening at Yellowstone.

Branches, snow clings, lovely    14 December 2013

Heavy snow clinging to everything. One of my favorite things!

Frosty!    26 December 2013

The dark ice of the pond is ornamented with tiny spikes of ice.

Winter means contrast     2 January 2014

Warm then cold then very cold, these photos attempt to show this winter's contrast.

Bamboo survey    3 January 2014

With bamboo-killing cold moving in, I surveyed all of mine. (I should do this more often!)

Pretty, cold    8 January 2014

Deep snow, sub-zero temperatures, and driving winds make for a beautiful morning: when viewed from indoors!

My "new" plant labeler    24 January 2014

I buy a vintage labeler. I love this one because I rarely get to include beautiful "machines" in my posts.

Liars!    11 February 2014

I rehydrate dead bamboo leaves to show how the outdoor plants lie to me in the rain and insist that they're healthy (when they're not).

Browns    19 February 2014

Too much brown in the garden after a harsh winter (that isn't quite over yet either). Beautiful, but I'd prefer to see more green.





So that's my selection of the "best" posts from the 4th year of It's Not Work, It's Gardening! I'm certain that I've missed some great posts -- it's so difficult to pick just two or three from each month.

Please browse the site and find some others -- I know you'll enjoy yourself. Thanks for reading!


Want more?   Best of 2012  -  Best of 2011  -  Best of 2010

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