Walk in the Woods in 2021

This is something new I am wanting to do. This blog will be a review of the blogs from the previous year. I’ll list the five most popular blogs and the five least popular blogs. I will also give a little background for each blog. I’ll also shout out any achievements that this site has made.

With that said, let’s get started!

The first achievement of the year is that, in November, this site reached 1000 overall views! Since you, the reader, keep coming back for more, I want to say thanks for reading.

The second achievement is that this site has been viewed by readers from six countries on four continents this year! The nations are Canada, Ireland, the U.S., Germany, Australia and India. This is exciting for me, as I wasn’t really expecting this blog to be read outside the United States. I also do not know anyone from four of these nations, so I am really excited that someone has found my blog site!

Those are the achievements I wanted to share. Now, let’s cover the top five blogs of 2021.

5. Trails in Anchorage, Part 1: Raven vs Crow, Who’s Who?

Part 1 of the series introduces one of the animals I encountered in Alaska. Most of the encounters took place on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. This encounter did not. I actually encountered this raven in a parking lot. It was still neat to see and a good way to start the series. Click here to read the blog!

4. The Spotted Land

The backdrop for the majority of my Africa blogs, the Masai Mara. My trip was in the month of December, which is the wet season for Kenya. This provided a beautiful and lush backdrop for the encounters that I experienced. Click here to read the blog!

3. Why the King Needs a Mane

This blog features the first lions that I encountered on safari. During the three days that I was at the Masai Mara, we saw lions every day. This picture of the male looking across the grassland is one of my favorites. Click here to read the blog!

2. Phinizy Swamp, Part 1: Nature’s Filter System

In the first blog in the Phinizy Swamp series, I introduced you to a small wetland in Georgia. I also discussed research that shows the benefits of maintaining and even restoring local wetlands. Click here to read the blog!

1. River Giants

The most popular blog of 2021 goes to the first hippo blog. I encountered these behemoths while at the Masai Mara. I remember hearing their loud grunting from the river while we were escorted around the camp. Click here to read the blog!

Those are the top five blogs from 2021. Now, for the bottom five.

5. What Do Hippos Bring to the River?

The second blog post for these large mammals, this blog was very interesting for me to write and research. I was not aware of the importance of the hippo fecal matter until I received an email with a link to an article about one of the studies in the paper. This blog has also led to a friend showing me a very amusing (perhaps disturbing?) video of this process, with a twist. Click here to read the blog!

4. “Warts” in a Name?

In my opinion, this is the ugliest animal that you can see. Its name doesn’t make it sound any better. When I hear the term “wart”, I automatically think of witches and toads. Despite (or perhaps because of) their looks, warthogs were fairly common on the savanna. Click here to read the blog!

3. “Blue Jeans, Red Socks”

This blog touches on a topic that I find interesting and a bit of a headache: what makes a species a species? There are several definitions for what a species is, ranging from genetics to morphology. Planning on covering part of this in a future blog. Click here to read the blog!

2. Why the Blue Tail?

Having grown up in Ohio, I didn’t have much exposure to lizards. Any moment I did encounter a lizard was therefore deemed picture attempt worthy. Such it was for this little fellow, becoming the first featured lizard on this blog site. Click here to read the blog!

1. Phinizy Swamp, Part Five: Best of Both Worlds

A continuation of the series started with an introduction to the importance of wetlands, this is one of several birds that were encountered on that day. While writing the blog, I wasn’t sure what I was wanting to write about, until I saw a picture of their feet. Then it was just a matter of learning more about their footwork. Click here to read the blog!

Here are the five most/least popular blogs from the year 2021. Let me know if you enjoyed this and want to see it again. I hope everyone comes back next year!