Monday, February 9, 2009

Humble appreciation

Last week I was notified by Kelly of Red and the Peanut that she had an award that she wanted to pass along to me. Kelly is a fellow Ohio birder who I met through the Nature Blog Network. She shares great stories and photos of the birds in her backyard and beyond, sometimes taking us to birding hot spots around Cincinnati. Her passion for birding is quite evident, and I feel honored that my Ohio neighbor chose my blog to be one among 5 recipients of the Dardos Award. Thank you Kelly!



Here's what the award is all about:
The Dardos Award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.

The rules:
1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog. [Note: Don't forget to copy and paste the award jpeg itself to include on your own blog!]
2) Pass the award to another five blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

It’s hard to choose just a handful from such a huge community of great blogs out there, but I have narrowed my picks down to the following:


First, I have chosen to pass this award along to outstanding blogger (and another Ohio neighbor) Julie Zickefoose. Julie’s blog was the first blog I ever checked out, and it was her blog that got me to thinking, “Hey, maybe I can do this blog thing, too.” Not only that, but it showed me that a blog about nature is cool! Thanks for inspiring me onto this nature blogging path Julie, and for opening my eyes to a community of like-minded folks.

Next up is Nina at Nature Remains. Nina also lives in Ohio, over in the southwest corner by Kelly (yes, I am proud of all us Ohio bloggers – we rock, what can I say?). Nina has a way with words, and uses both her words and photos to weave beautiful and enchanting tales about the beauty she finds in nature. Thank you for sharing your unique perspective Nina.

Third is Michele out in Oregon, otherwise known as the Northwest Nature Nut. This is one of the first out-of-state birding blogs that I started to follow, and I have since seen some very cool pictures and accounts of birds that I will never see in Ohio. Michele actively encourages others to get out there and bird by hosting various friendly counting competitions and by talking about citizen science projects. I appreciate the birding community that you are building, Michele.

Fourth on the list is Shelley, who tends 3 (count ‘em, 3!) different blogs up in Michigan. I easily got hooked on Birding in Michigan, seeing as how I have a soft spot for Michigan (see, I’m not just all about Ohio!). Shelley loves her birds, and she has a special way of sharing the unique personalities of the avian friends that visit her feeders. Shelly, your personable view of the birds makes them accessible to birders and non-birders alike.

The final blog I chose is Nature Knitter by Ruthie. Ruthie was one of the first followers of my blog, and helped me to feel like a real part of the blogging community. Ruthie has varied interests that she shares on her blog, from knitting to hunting, and birding to gardening. I recently learned that her backyard has been certified as a safe habitat for birds by the National Wildlife Federation! Ruthie, I appreciate your love and respect for the great outdoors.

11 comments:

Julie Zickefoose said...

Aw, I'm all bawly, Heather. What a gift you are giving to everyone with your beautiful blog. So proud to have had some small part in it! and thank you for the award.

NW Nature Nut said...

Wow, thanks Heather. What an honor to be grouped in with bloggers like Nina and Julie! I love their blogs very much as well. Next,I will have to go check out the others that I am not familiar with. I am bad at picking people to award in these things, so please pardon me if I don't pass it on. I am a blog-aholic and love so many blogs out there, including yours. Your's is one of my "new faves." Thanks again!

Kim said...

Everyone of them is worthy of recognition and I agree they all have wonderful blogs.

I have to do this myself, but narrowing it down 5 has been difficult so I have been procrastinating. Thanks for the reminder.

RuthieJ said...

Wow Heather, I'm humbled and grateful to you for including me in the group with 4 other bloggers I consider to be amazing (and much more worthy of this award).
Thank goodness I had kleenex close by, cuz I got all misty-eyed just like Julie, who BTW also inspired me to start blogging and introduced us to YOU through her blog.
Thank you, thank you and a big ((HUG)) from Minnesota!

Heather said...

Julie - I didn't mean to make ya bawl! Thank you for your kind words, and you are most welcome.

Michele - I completely understand about not passing it on, so no worries. It was my pleasure to pass it on to you.

Kallen - Like I said in my post, it is HARD to narrow it down to 5, so I understand! Congrats to you, and take your time with it. There's no deadline!

Ruthie - I was pleased to include you, and of course your blog is just as worthy! We're all in this together and all have our own ways of sharing this beautiful world with each other. HUGS back 'atchya!

Kathie Brown said...

Heather, congrats on the award. I'm sure you deserve it. You are in good company and you have chosen well.

KaHolly said...

Nature Remains certainly deserved to be chosen! Congratulations to you, and to the 5 persons you found worthy.

North West Birds said...

Congratulations on the award!

Heather said...

Thanks to all of you for your kindness, but even more so, thanks for being my audience. You all are the ones who encourage me to keep going and it's for you that I try to provide unique, quality content. I share the award with all of you in spirit.

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Late to the party, shame on me!
But, none the less grateful for its being given.

Thank you so much, Heather.
You have created such a fine place here, with such truly well-crafted offerings we all enjoy. Ohio sure does seem to enjoy boasting--both, of its beauty, AND its bloggers! :-)
And, I'm honored to be included in the likes of these others, whose blogs I enjoy so much.
Isn't the blogging world a wonderful place to find eachother!

Heather said...

Nina - Better late than never, right? Thanks for your nice compliments. Yes, the blogging world IS a pretty cool place to find each other. Here's to Ohio and all it's great bloggers!