Monthly Archives: December 2012

Top Seven Posts of 2012

Here we are, the last day of the year.  I don’t know about you, but I am ready to welcome 2013.  Before we get there, I thought I’d recap some of my 2012 posts for you.  I published 80 posts this year (this post makes 81).

This year, pinterest came on the scene for my blog, and I had to start upping the ante on my photos.   I also started getting some movement on reddit.  It has been a fun year of writing for me, and I hope to do even more in 2013.

Below are the top posts in seven different categories.  Some of them are the most popular and some are posts that I thought were a bit overlooked.  Almost all of them have to do with food.

Most commented on post: Homestead Failures: Confessions of What I Didn’t Do.  Seems like you guys could relate!

Best food post of 2012Garlic Scapes Two Ways.  It’s hard to go wrong with garlic scapes, and they are pretty too.

The most overlooked food post of 2012:  Despite having quite a few comments, there were not very many hits on my Spicy Hot Lava Cakes recipe.  It’s a quick and easy dessert, and very tasty.  Check it out!

Most overlooked how-to post:  When to Harvest Garlic.  Was this old news?  Or not many people growing garlic?  Just bad timing?  I’m not sure why the hits here were low here.

The most popular post of 2012: Practical Ways to Store Food without a Fridge which, thanks to pinterest, surpassed my previous all-time most popular post: 2010’s Handmade Halloween – Garden Gnome Tutorial.

Most “controversial” post of the year: Five Things No One Tells You about Keeping Chickens.  I got some heat on reddit, where this post ruffled the feathers of the chicken huggers there.  Despite that, it has stayed in the all time top twelve of /r/homestead.  It was actually in the top ten until the middle of November.  So yay for that!

The 2012 post I’m most proud ofThe Gamey Taste of Game Meat, Part I.  I really love how this post turned out.  I worked hard on putting it together and it was well received.  I hope to do a few more hunting/game meat posts int he coming year.

If you enjoyed this recap, make sure to check out my top posts of 2011 as well.

I would personally like to thank you, my readers, for visiting my blog, especially those of you who take the time to comment.  Many of you are regulars and I appreciate your frequent comments:  Annie at Learning As We Go, Cynthia in Denver, Jessie: Improved, Robin at Seventh Acre Heaven, Laura H., City Sister, John (aka El Goucho), Alice, Roxanne, dixiebelle, and so many others (I’m sorry I can’t list you all!).  Seeing that people are interested in what I have to say keeps the blog fun and exciting for me.  All of you who comment add so much to the information here.  Thank you!  I hope all of you have a safe and happy new year.  See you in 2013!

Categories: Recommended Reading, Top 5, Urban Homesteading | Tags: , , , | 7 Comments

2012 Resolutions Revisited

It’s the winter solstice.  The days are going to get longer and spring is on the way.  2012, you have gone by so quickly.

Around this time last year I set out a few resolutions for 2012.  Here’s a recap of what those were:

  1. Grow a giant pumpkin. 
  2. Grow enough in our own neighborhood gardens to feed ourselves for the summer.
  3. Process chickens.  
  4. Harvest Honey. 
  5. Start a monthly potluck circle.

So how did we do with those?  Well, we tried to grow the pumpkin.  We planted it, we watered it, we fed it compost tea.  But it only got to about the size of a volley ball.  So next year, we will have to try again.

Number two, well… not quite yet.  We’ll keep on that road.  We did process chickens this year, as well as harvest our own honey, though.

HHarvest10

The potluck.  We started the monthly potluck in February.  We have hosted one every month since then except in June (kids were all sick) and November (we were out of town, hunting).  And this is one resolution we are definitely keeping up with.

I’m still thinking over what my resolutions for the new year will be.  Do you have any resolutions for yourself yet?  How about ideas for me?  Something you want to see me try?

Categories: Community, Garden, Sustainability, Top 5, Urban Homesteading | Tags: , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.