Let's get this party started!
Tomorrow this blog turns two years old....I can hardly believe it. I'm no longer sure of what my original intentions where with starting it but it has for all intensive purposes taken on a life of its own. This blog has brought me closer to dog lovers (especially GSP ones) and hunters and photographers from all over the world. It has also blessed me with a cathartic platform to expose the shenanigans we experience daily in our lives. I can only imagine that the reason Cleo and Luna's following has grown so much is because so many of you awesome readers have experienced or can relate to some of their ridiculous antics. So like last year I'd like to do a quick recap of 2012 and share how far the blog and facebook page has come over the last 12 months.
Nobelles Dances in the Moonlight - Call name Luna
The biggest single event to effect our daily lives in 2012 was the addition of our sweet Luna Lu. She entered this world on February, 15th 2012 and officially joined our family around Easter. She has lovingly completed our pack while managing to continuously raise the bar of destruction in our home. She's eaten my underwear, expensive high heels, managed to get stuck under the deck, destroyed my favorite jade plant, ran off with at least three welcome mats and chewed off every corner of my dining room rug. She has also proved to be an impressive hunter. At 6 months of age she passed her NAVHDA NA test with a perfect score and by 10 months old has hunted pheasants, chuckars, quail, woodcock and gone goose hunting. Getting a second GSP was the best thing we ever did for us and for Cleo.
Look!!! The Elusive Easter Pointer brought us a puppy!! Best Easter EVER!
I made a few changes to the blog this year and added additional pages on us, our dogs, and super cool links. The links page has a plethora of cool info and links to like minded individuals blogs, cool forums, facebook groups, hunting dog photography sites (not just mine), rescues and a responsible GSP breeders listing. If you have never checked it out you should take a second and look through it.
In 2012 this blog has been visited more than 25,000 times. We had visits from all over the world including the following places (in no specific order): The Unites States, Canada, UK, Russia, Germany, France, South Africa, Ukraine, Thailand, Philippines, Turkey, Romania, Pakistan, Norway, Australia, Singapore, Bulgaria, and Chile. People find us all kinds of ways but the following sites send quite a bit of traffic our way: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Upland Journal, Gun Dog Forum, Hunting PA, Birdhunter, Versatile Dogs, Pinterest, and of course Facebook. In the last year our facebook page called Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer has grown from less than 100 followers to over 330. The facebook page has been a blast and I love the immediate interaction it gives me with all you awesome readers. Especially when I get all liquored up and dress the dog in snorkel gear. Good times people.
Poor choices?? I think not!
Out of the 42 blog posts written this year some of the posts that got the most traffic are:
My new logo!
Raising the Bar of Badness
Life with German Shorthaired Pointers: Part 1 (Part 2 coming in 2013)
The Anatomy of Digging a Damn Good Hole in Daddy's Yard
The GSP Puppy Chronicles: Kicking Mischief up a Notch
Surviving Sandy
Rise and Shine and a Little Hunting Banter
Sweet Potato Dog Treats
Dog Cave!
NAVHDA Natural Ability and Utility Test Results
The Puppy Chronicles: 12 Weeks Old and Looking for Trouble
Don't party to hard tonight Cleo....just saying.
It's amazing in hindsight how fast a year flies by. Every New Years Eve leaves me looking forward to and wondering what the next 365 days will bring. 2012 was a good year for us and I'm hoping 2013 brings us good things too. Life is too short to hope for anything less. Tomorrow Jim and I will take Cleo hunting....which is our New Year's Day tradition. I mean what celebrates a New Year better than loud shot gun blasts when hungover!?! I hope everyone stays safe tonight and enjoys themselves. Jim, Cleo, Luna and myself thank you for following our adventures and wish each of you a healthy and prosperous new year.