Worth Your Attention

I thought I would take a moment this cold Wednesday to thank everyone who has invested a moment or two in reading what I put out here on the Genuinely Faux (Genuine Faux Farm) blog on a nearly daily basis.  Since last April, I've not missed many days putting some sort of reading material out here for those who enjoy reading what I write.  I know you're out there and I've received several kind comments and many useful thoughts.  I am grateful.

Usually I do enjoy the writing - but I probably enjoy the learning that comes along with it even more.  I also admit freely that there are times when I am less than motivated.  In fact, I sometimes wonder why I bother.  Surely this little blog with a smattering of farm stuff, food stuff, amateur philosophy and whatever else is barely worth anyone's notice.  That is exactly why a comment here and a comment there is valuable to me.  I don't need accolades and I do not need much affirmation.  But that little bit?  It goes a long way!

Some Recommended Reads

Today I thought I would share a couple of efforts with all of you that I feel are worthwhile and that I, personally, hope will continue.

Kip Ladage is a talented nature photographer for whom I have great respect.  We remember the year we had fox kits on our farm and Kip came out for a couple of days to take photos of the family as they meandered around the old foundation they were calling home at the time.

Kip spent hours standing in his blind, patiently waiting for the kits to show their faces - doing his level best to not call attention to his presence so he could catch them simply being foxes.  We, in turn, did our level best to avoid the area so we also would not disturb the family.

Kip maintains a website with his quality nature photography.  But, I find myself drawn to Kip's Comments, typically offered on a daily basis as he shares his moments trying to capture wildlife and nature each day.   So, Kip, if you read this - you have at least one fan right here.  Keep up the wonderful work.

Dr. Ai Wen is another person for whom I have much respect who also is a skilled ecologist.  If I recall correctly, we first had contact with Ai when she (and some of her students) were attempting to measure the presence of pollinators and other insects on farms such as ours.  They placed these tubes with plastic cups every so often in some of our vegetable fields in an effort to see what they could find (and where they might find it).

Part of the hope was to be able to determine if the populations might become more diverse as you moved away from the row cropped fields.  While we came away with only a little information that might be applicable to our farm, we had more appreciation for what it takes to study and appreciate the diversity that are the invertebrates in our world.

Ai has had an on-again/off-again blog that featured some educational and very enjoyable entries focused on some of the insects we could encounter here in Iowa.  Ai is an Assistant Professor of Biology at University of Northern Iowa, so it would be too much to expect her to put out many entries during the school year.  But, if Ai reads this - I hope she considers continuing to put out a gem or two during each break.  There is at least one fan (me) that reads them!

I also read a few organizational blogs.  Some of these are for my PAN job and others are because I just want to.  I will admit that I don't always read any particular blog 'religiously,' but I do read some of them frequently.  One that I enjoy is put out by the Xerces Society.   I find this blog informative and I tend to learn something new each time I read it.

In fact, that might be why I enjoy each of these three offerings.  I tend to learn when I read - and that is something to be valued.

And, while you're at it

If you like the Postal History Sunday posts on this blog, you can read them and a few more postal history posts at my alternative blog that is postal history all the time.  And, yes, you can get more doses of my writing on the PAN blog as well as other talented writers on PAN's staff.

I hope you all have a great day and learn something new as you travel through it!