Yesterday I featured my five most-viewed posts in 2021, all of which were published in previous years. Today I decided to show you photos from my five most-viewed posts in 2021 that were actually written in 2021. In many ways, these photos are a better representation of my me and my blog than yesterday’s set of images.
What do I mean? As I noted yesterday, most of the views for my older posts probably came from someone doing a Google search for a particular subject or combination of words. My posts popped up in their results because of the words in the posts themselves and the keywords that I have associated with the posts. I like the way that my posts take on a life of their own after they are published, but there is a kind of randomness to the process.
Most of my views for the postings below almost certainly came from folks who currently follow my blog and viewed the posts within the first few days after they were written. These viewers, many of whom I now consider my friends, are much more likely to read the entire text of the posts and to provide detailed comments. I really value that sense of engagement and the feeling of community that this process builds, which has been of even greater importance than ever during the ongoing pandemic.
In terms of the quality of the photos and the variety of the subjects, I like today’s images a lot. Many people know of my fondness for dragonflies and I am tickled to see that two images of dragonflies made the cut. Those two images (and the other three as well) show of some of the skills and creativity that I strive to apply to my photography—they are not merely documentary shots.
I encourage you to click on the titles of the individual postings to visit or re-visit the original posts. If you, you will discover that most of these postings contain a lot a lot “me”—my personal philosophy, priorities, and personality. You can see that approach in my use of titles like “Hope and happiness” and “To everything there is a season.”
I should warn you, though, that these postings might be a little longer than some of my other posts. WordPress tells me that my average post for 2021 had 204 words, and these five may be longer than that. When I sit down to write a posting, I tend to use a stream-of-consciousness style. I compose as I am thinking, letting my mind run in whatever direction it happens to go. As a result, I may ramble a bit or go off on tangents, but the results are often a direct reflection of the genuine me.
It is snowing our right now, our first snow of the season and we are forecast to get up to 10 inches (25 cm) of snow. In many ways, this is a White Christmas for us. I attend an Episcopal church and we begin our celebration on Christmas Eve, followed by the Twelve Days of Christmas, leading up to the Epiphany, when the Magi appeared. If I remember the lyrics right, today my true love should bring “ten lords a-leaping.” Hopefully my day (and yours too) will be more peaceful than that and we will all have a silent night.
Hope and happiness: 213 views, originally published—22 January 2021
Nine year anniversary: 189 views, originally published—7 July 2021
Early morning fox: 142 views, originally published—6 February 2021
A kaleidoscope of butterflies: 138 views, originally published—6 April 2021
To everything there is a season: 134 views, originally published—11 October 2021
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wow amazing ❤️
Thank you Mike for your wonderful thoughts/stream of conciousness.
Your words resonated when you observed that -‘ the pandemic has added greater value to the already rich loam of connecting with like-minded fellow travelers in this vastly different world today.
Thank you for your wonderful shares, and stunning photo essays. Cheers.😊
Thanks, Suzette. I like to think about things and my blog provides a wonderful outlet to share my thoughts. I am always delighted when my words resonate with others.
Thanks again Mike. Blessings to you.😊
A beautiful overview Mike.
All gorgeous photographs, Mike. Thank you for bringing inspiration to me throughout 2021.
I have so enjoyed your journey shown in your postings. And I have taken to heart your encouragement to click on an image, to allow myself a moment to be lost in the glory of your post’s subject. Many thanks. SC
Congratulation on what you have achieved. I enjoy following your journey.
Congratulations, Mike! You have a wonderful blog with BEAUTIFUL photographs! Happy New Year!
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I can see why they were the most viewed posts of the year, Mike. Although, I’m surprised there isn’t an eagle in there. 2021 seemed like a very good year for eagles. In any case, I hope 2022 brings you more opportunities to make us stop and say “wow!”
I may put together a selection of my favorites and if I do so, it will almost certainly include an eagle shot. Your recollection is good, Dan, 2021 was a great year for eagle photos for me.
I was so happy to see that picture of the Northern Cardinal when I opened this post. They are my favourite birds and I love that they stick around all winter. Seeing the red cardinal against a white snowy backdrop is one of the things I love the most about winter
We just had 6-8 inches of snow and if it is safe to go out tomorrow, I may well be searching for a cardinal.
Happy New Year, Mike! I look forward to seeing whatever catches your eye and inspires you in 2022.
You do a lovely, lively blog Mike and it provides a little window for me into the wildlife and nature of North Virginia. And often enough there’s bright colour too; I look forward to viewing your posts in 2022! Thanks for explaining Epiphany, just this morning I was wondering what it refers to but hadn’t looked it up 🙂
Thanks so much, Liz. As you rightfully noted, I tend to spend most of my time photographing the area in which I live. I don’t feel any overwhelming need to visit lots of other places to get good photos, though I will endeavor to do so when I make a trip for other reasons, like my recent trip to the state of Washington. When I was growing up, we tended to lump together the visits of the shepherds and the visit of the wise men and the manger scenes show them all there. So, we would sing carols like “We Three Kings of Orient Are” at Christmas. In my current Episcopal church, we wait until 6 January, i.e. the Epiphany, to sing songs like that.
The most viewed posts of 2021 all have interesting photos, but there are some other photos of yours from this year that I like much more. I would be interested to see YOUR own top 3 or 4 or 5 favorites from this year — I wonder if they would be the same as the ones I’m thinking of? By the way, I found that I get the most blog views on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. How about you?
Mine also says Sunday at 9:00 a.m., which sounds a bit strange. I have actually been thinking of doing one more retrospective post with some personal favorites, though I worry that I will have trouble making a decision about which ones to feature–not a bad problem to have. 🙂
Some really beautiful images! I can definitely see how they were your top viewed. What about your personal favorites?
Thanks. I am working on selecting a few personal favorites, but got distracted by the recent big snowfall that we had. I hope to get back to a posting with my personal favorites within a few days. 🙂
[…] Most viewed posts published in 2021 […]
An interesting observation on those posts that get “found” by the search engines over time, and that your most viewed posts were from previous years. I don’t look at my stats much but am now inspired to have a peek.
I did re-look at all of these, Mike. I checked up on your suggestion on your anniversary post that you might update your About page 😆.
“To Everything…” … poignant on the loss of your brother and I suspect more deeply felt as we pass through the holiday season. Not said at the time, your image of the dragonfly on the arc of grass is very nice, and just perfect for your musings on life.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Ellen. I really do need to update my “About” page, which is woefully out of date. As for stats, they are interesting to see, but don’t change my approach to blogging in the slightest. As you noted in your final paragraph, my photos are sometimes merely a jumping-off point for me to talking about some issues going on in my mind or in my life.
You are welcome, Mike.