There Are More?

I thought I had received every award out there in blogdom, but here comes another one! It was sent my way by Roberto who is one of my very first Internet friends. When I was just getting my toe in the water and learning to put together my web site, he helped me out many times while I kept trying and bumbling along. And all along the way, he has been one of my most encouraging readers: cheering me on, and keeping me going. Thank you, Roberto!

Roberto has several interesting blogs of assorted subjects; everything from technical help to Thai recipes and travels. I have spent many hours there reading his tales and reports. Everything can be found on his attractive, colorful home page, Roberto's Blogs I am glad another friend awarded Bob with the "UBER award", he definitely deserves it.

"UBER" is an acronym for 'U've Been Excellently Rewarded'. UBER is a synonym of Super. The 'UBER amazing Blog Award' is given to sites that:

1. inspire you
2. make you smile and laugh
3. or maybe give amazing information
4. a great read
5. has an amazing design
6. and any other reasons you can think of that makes them UBER amazing!

The rules of this award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 5 blogs that for you are Uber Amazing!
3. Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

I am going to grant the award to five blogs that I especially enjoy for various reasons. I do not mind if you do not want to play the game, but I do want you to know that I consider your blog worthy of this award, and that I enjoy visiting you. So, it is up to you whether you want to pass it on, or not.

Here is my list in alphabetical order:

Esther Montgomery's Esther in the Garden
Esther's blog is one I visit daily if I possibly can for it reflects one of the most original and unusual talents among blogs. It didn't take long for me to become addicted to her story.

Meadowview Thymes is a blog out of Texas. It could be given the award for prettiness alone, but there is also coziness, simple joys, fairies, books she reads, and when she travels, she takes us along.

Pomona Belvedere's Tulips In the Woods never disappoints me with its beautiful photography and a wealth of interesting information.

Robin at Bumblebee Blog Keeps me entertained. I drool over her recipes, her photography of the flowers, and best of all: especially the chickens. I like chickens, but will never have any of my own. I live such vicarious fun through her with her chickens... and, that has to be the fanciest chicken house in the world!

"The Inadvertent Farmer" writes: Hilarious & Heartwarming Adventures of Life on a Small Farm. What more could I say about her escapades! But, what can you expect from someone who can't say no to another animal. I think she must be a descendant of Mr. and Mrs. Noah of the ark fame. And, yes, that is a real camel.
The Inadvertent Farmer

And, don't forget Roberto!

Happy Reading!

Sunshine Award

I think nothing sweeter could be said than: You bring sunshine to others. That is the award gift that Balisha gave to me. The award reads: "You are Sunshine, On a Cloudy Day!" I think the same about Balisha and her blog, Never Enough Time, so literally, I could give the award back to her as well.

But, unbeknown to her, this award has special meaning to me, this giving sunshine on a cloudy day. Sunshine is so important to my health that any cloudy day puts me in my lethargic mode and sometimes physical pain.
I am one of the approximately half a million people who suffer of Seasonal Affective Disorder, better known as SAD.

To learn more and for a list of its symptoms go to this link for the following information is blatantly copied from:

The Seasonal Affective Disorder Association

The world's longest established support organisation(sic) for Seasonal Affective Disorder

What is SAD?

"SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is a type of winter depression that affects an estimated half a million people every Winter between September and April, in particular during December, January and February.

It is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the hypothalamus due to the shortening of daylight hours and the lack of sunlight in winter.

For many people SAD is a seriously disabling illness, preventing them from functioning normally without continuous medical treatment.

For others, it is a mild but debilitating condition causing discomfort but not severe suffering. We call this subsyndromal SAD or 'winter blues.'"

I am in the first group. If you get wintertime blues, I hope you are in the second. And, if my feeble attempt at writing brings anyone a mood lift, that makes me happy, too. Thank you, Balisha.

Games We Play

The Tag Game
This is a good way to get to know other bloggers, but it has been around (and around) for a long time so it is difficult to find anyone who has not already been tagged. I have been tagged four times in about six weeks. What I am doing, and will continue to do in future, is updating my old post and re-using it, but not on the front page of the blog.

We have new bloggers daily it seems, and I think it is only fair to give them an opportunity to read what has been written already, so what I plan to do is a little post something like this one with a link to the Tagged post.

On that post, I state that I will not be tagging anyone, but if someone reading the post would like to play, they are to consider themselves tagged and to run with it and have fun.

If you are playing and do not know if someone has been tagged already, you might check their sidebar for a labels list. Look in there for a label called "tagged" or "games", or something like that. I know, not everyone has a list of labels, though.

So if I am new to you, and you want to know more about me, here is the link. Barbee's Tagged Post

I was tagged most recently by Sunita at THE URBAN GARDENER. I want to give her recognition and opportunity for more exposure for her fairly new blog. She is a new member of Blotanical, too. She lives in India, and I enjoy her posts very much. A recent one was about the maidenhair ferns that grow lush for her during the monsoon season. Nice photos of the ferns and an interesting post.

The Awards Game
If you want to be sure to be permanently ensconced in people's blogs for others to see and possibly click through to your own blog, a good way is to create an award and present it to friends. It is a fun thing to do for both awarder and recipient. And, because it is a compliment to the blog owners who receive the awards, how could one refuse!

My most recent award was presented to me by Lucy at Loose and Leafy. I, and others, were presented the Esther Montgomery Memorial Blue Flowers Nosegay Award for a memorable photograph. Of course I cannot claim it for myself, for you know, I am not the main photographer for my blog, therefore, I accepted the honor for Husband/Best Friend/Chief Photographer who took the photograph that stuck in her memory. See the blue flowers nosegay in the sidebar. Thank you, Lucy.
Loose and Leafy is fairly new. It was begun after Esther disappeared. If you want to know what is going on go to Esther in the Garden, click on Day 1, then enjoy a fun story.

These are ways to stir up traffic to blogs and increase readership and interaction. For readers, it is a good way to surf from blog to blog. If you have an alarm clock or a kitchen timer that can be carried to the computer, it would be good idea to set it for an hour. If you don't, first thing you know, half the day will have vanished!

For ME?!

The Patient Gardener at the patient gardener's weblog sent word that she had awarded my blog the Arte y Pico award. What a nice surprise! Thank you, Patient Gardener. I had no idea my modest offering could be of any value to others. But, the feedback has been wonderful. Thank you for the encouragement.

I understand that along with the honor go some responsibilities such as abiding by these five rules:

1. Choose 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogging community, regardless of the language.

2. Each award should have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner should show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented him/her with the award.

4. The award winner and the one who has given the award should show the Arte y Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award. Translated, it means "the peak of art."

5. Show these rules.

I had to think about this for a few days, because there were so many I wanted to name. It was most difficult to choose so few, and even so, I have cheated and named 6 instead of 5. I could not cull them down to any fewer.

I tried to choose only those who had not received the award before, as far as I could tell, in hopes of spotlighting blogs and their creators who had not enjoyed the recognition they deserve.

Some of you may not want to play, and that is OK with me. Still, I wanted each of you to know that the results of your efforts are appreciated.

Thinking of Beauty, these are my final selections:

First of all there is Kerri at Colors of the Garden whose inner beauty, plus sweet spirit, shine through her lovely, and friendly, blog: Colors of the Garden.

Karin in Sweden and her blog, Ute och inne. Even though I cannot read the Swedish language, it doesn't make any difference. I can recognize enough words to understand enough and the photographs are gorgeous! My visits are always enjoyable. Sometimes she writes in English, which must require additional effort and dedication. A beautiful blog. Ute och inne.

Esther... Esther In the Garden for her talent, delightful originality, entertainment, and all the beautiful smiles and chuckles she sows among her readers. But, she has to share with Lucy (whose eye-of-an-artist's is apparent in her outstanding photography), because Lucy has been such a good friend and helper. esther in the garden

Philip Bewley... Philips Garden Blog
I miss my classes in History of Architecture, History of Interiors, Art History, European History, etc. I feel at home in Philip's beautiful blog. Subjects of his posts display the range of his eclectic interests from river restoration to fine art; plants that are special to antique-style tools and flower pots; gardens all over the world from deserts to roof-tops; maybe not poets' ivory towers, but there are famous writers' huts; from cottage gardens in California to an Edwardian garden on the windswept grounds of the castle on Holy Island, England. And of course, the overall quality includes his photography: excellent. Philips Garden Blog

Phillip Brown has amassed photographs of his own and others in his two blogs, Golden Age Gardens, and Houseplants.

A family member once said of me: Barbee' "is a romantic in the old sense of the word." Interesting to be seen through the eyes of others. So, that is what is wrong with me, is it? I knew no one else around me shared whatever it is I am. Finally, I have found someone who, perhaps is not a romantic... or maybe is, but someone who has pulled much of it together into a blog or two where I may visit and steep in visuals dripping with romance.

I would never have found all these heart-meltingly beautiful photos if Phillip had not searched and gathered them all together for me. Where does he find them all! Ah, the Victorian and Edwardian gardens and gardeners, Gertrude Jekyll, William Robinson and many more... He brings them all into his Golden Age Gardens as one would bring plants into a walled garden.

Houseplants: Should be named Houseplants and more. I learn things there, such as: Dicksonia antartica plants were brought back as ballast on packet boats in the 1880's. He describes this blog as: Houseplants, conservatories, glass houses. I add that it is also:
Houseplants to container gardens; Alpine troughs to Carnivorous plants. Photography of his and others.

His work is not without humor. One Ann Geddes style photo of large flower pots each filled with a baby, he has labeled: "Need plenty of light and good drainage!"

His blogs are no longer showing up in the Picks lists of Blotanical, because they need to be updated with Feedburner, but, they are definitely worth seeking out... especially if you are a romantic. Houseplants
Golden Age Gardens I could (and do) get lost in this one for hours!

And finally, a couple in the subtropical mountain rainforest around Nimbin, Northern NSW Australia, and his blog Wholistic. I add him to my list for the beauty and elegance of their lifestyle. I am reminded of Swiss Family Robinson, and Tarzan and Jane. Reminded, also, of Jon Franklin who wrote in Writing for Story, "Simplicity, carried to an extreme, becomes elegance." I scrolled all the way down to the bottom of his archives list and started with his first post: "A nice opening thought" Sunday, February 18th, 2007. If it had been a book, I would not have been able to put it down. Wholistic