Thank You, Blogger

Raise your hand if you've ever heard of "Blogs of Note."

If you're like me, you might have noticed the little tab which appears on your Blogger dashboard, along with the "Blogs I'm Following" and the "Blogger Buzz" tabs. I'm pretty sure I might have clicked on that tab once or twice in the past, and when I did, it took me to the Blogs of Note page where a few blogs are listed for your clicking pleasure. I may have even visited a few of them but I never gave much thought to why there were there.

I've learned how effective it is to have a blog listed among them, when on December 30th, unbeknownst to me, Blogger included my humble pages as their Blog of Note for that day. The results were something similar to being recognized on David's Authorblog Post of the Day, but on steroids.

I started getting kind, warm comments from a few new faces. One offered their congratulations for being listed as a Blog of Note. It didn't click. When several more made similar comments, not only on my current post but on a few back posts as well, I took a look at my Stats Counter and found that many wonderful people (plus a few spammers and one irate anonymous troll) were visiting my blog at the astounding rate of several hits per minute. By the end of that day, I had 4,400 visitors and as I type this post, my visitor count has topped 14,000 in just five days. That's insane! But so much fun!

I've been trying to keep up with return visits to everyone who has left a comment (thankfully, nowhere near as many as have visited), but that's going to take some time. Until then, I'd like to thank everybody - from "the new kids on the blog" to my long-standing, loyal bloggie buddies for having such kind things to say about The Smitten Image. I treasure every one of your warm words. And thank you Blogger for finding this blog and deciding that it was worth sharing.

Should you decide to take a look around Blogs of Note, consider clicking on a few of them and leaving a comment. You might just make their day too.

Due to semi-popular demand, I've included a photo of the sink mentioned in the previous post. I was standing in the bath tub in order to take it. This bathroom is that small.



Here it is, Jeffrey's Mission Creep Special.



Below are a few photos taken around my home and Frank's place recently. Please remember to click on them to enlarge the images.



Our weather has gone through a number of changes recently - from bitter cold, to surprisingly warm for a brief spell. One morning last week, I awoke to find that a moody fog had crept in, and took up residence for the full day. (please click to enlarge)



Just beyond this tree, a busy freeway is cloaked in fog, rendering it invisible, though its muffled sounds were still apparent. (please click to enlarge)




The pond takes on a bluish hue when fog suspends over the water, and wisps its way between branches. (please click to enlarge)




A clearer view of some branches against the opaque waters below. (please click to enlarge)




Early the next day, the sun painted the sky with streaks of soft cotton candy and honey. (please click to enlarge)




At the creek near Frank's place, a blustery snow squall followed us for much of our walk. (please click to enlarge)



Outside of Frank's window, this Downy Woodpecker had just finished feasting on suet. His beak is still flecked with the fat. (please click to enlarge)




Back at my place, a young Starling pecks away at the suet feeder in my plum tree, bathed in that late-day sunshine which I love so much. (please click to enlarge)



At the side of my back yard, bright red berries still cling to an overgrowth from the next yard. (please click to enlarge)




On a rainy day, this rosy branch is moist with rain droplets. (please click to enlarge)