WordPress is great at keeping statistics. Although it provides lots of data about my blog, I don’t really pay much attention to the numbers. For me, this blog has been primarily a vehicle for expressing myself creatively through my words and my photos. That was my original goal in July 2012, when I wrote my first posting, and I have remained pretty faithful to that approach.
As we begin a new year, though, it is interesting to review some of the statistics for 2023. During the year I published 359 posts with a total of 69,520 words. The blog had 43,575 views that included many views of postings from previous years—out of the 20 most-viewed postings of 2023, only one was published that year.
To give you a sense of context, since 2012 my blog has had a total of 4,995 postings with 427,759 views. The totals may seem impressive, but they actually are quite modest. I have never really aspired to attract a huge audience and am quite pleased with the success that I have achieved. Thanks so much to so many of you who have supported and encouraged me over the years.
I will probably be continuing my “normal” approach during this new year, but hope to venture a bit more into recording videos. I have a small YouTube channel that has languished a bit that I hope to reinvigorate this year.
Many of you know that I love long shadows. I captured the image below early in the morning on 30 December 2023 at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The image is a symbolic representation of my view of this new year that is full of promise and possibilities. Happy New Year!
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

