Blogs of Excellence

Blogger-pal Victoria at Teachings of The Horse has seen fit to kindly award detroit dog an Excellent Blog award. Thank you! I couldn't have done it without my girldog..... Uh-oh, I hear the orchestra playing.... Well, perhaps the money will start rolling in now. (There's that student loan and a flooded basement, and perhaps some art supplies.)

Of course, all gifts are meant to be passed on. While only one of the following blogs is animal-specific, nonetheless in the spirit of gift-giving, I would like to share this award with:

• my hubby Alex at son of a guitarist's notebook, "the second edition: a repository for lighter topics and links," his musings on the world of jazz and music and whatnot. (If you are a hardcore guitarist and want to check out jazz/Brazilian music transcriptions, check out his mother of a guitarist's notebook - the original edition.)

• blogger-pal hardworking hippy at La Ferme de Sourrou, "An off grid, home built smallholding in France." Her topics are: home, food, water, animals, self-built, energy, wildlife, foraging, and gardens. I cannot tell you how wonderful this blog is; one post was about "meat for the table," which basically took you from the chicken in the yard to the chicken on the table, there are videos of goats being born, photos of sheep being shorn. She knits the wool from her own sheep (and sells the product). The photos are beautiful. It's truly a wonderful life.
  

• another favorite is The Walks of David Keates. Mr. Keates documents in words and pictures his walks around Britain, from the West Highland Way to the Lake District. Just wonderfully detailed musings about the walking, the land, the weather. Great photos, too.

• GPS Cycling Tours is a travelogue of Erasmo Perez's GPS bicycling/randonneuring throughout Mexico - from Acompay to Zoquiapan (thus far). Interesting photos and videos of cities, towns, and archaeological sites visited, GPS maps of his travels. He's been at it for years. It's amazing. (btw, he doesn't know detroit dog, though I check in on him frequently.)
  

• A "self-described eclectic," Sandy is a mom, wife, teacher, and lover of frogs. Her Frog Diaries has been on vacation for a while, but is still worth the read. What's it about? Frogs and photographs of them; she raises them from eggs to maturity. The photos are fascinating (evolution in progress). rib-bit.

• Woodland Shopper's Paradise is "A mini-mall of media, critique, and commentary" according to blogger Andrew Wood, a San Jose State University prof. He says it best, so I've lifted this paragraph from his blog: "Here's a collection of tentative musings (and occasional rants) related to a number of my interests that include popular culture, public life, urban design, and roadside Americana. I generally post Monday through Friday. Some of these posts may find their way into forthcoming efforts at academic scholarship or freelance journalism. Others are cheerfully abandoned here, just to get them out of my head." Check out links to his other sites while visiting him.

• Yet another favorite blog, and recent Google Blog of Note, is A Lucid Spoonful. New York City gal and raw foods chef, and writer for The Brooklyn Rail, blogger robotslingshot muses about all things culture related to food, posts wonderful recipes and appetizing photographs, and talks about her travels, interviews, and such. She's writing a book, and loves "extreme food cultures." bizzee, bizzee, bizzeeeee.

• Of course, long-time blogger pal (well, since last summer) Linda and Her Surroundings deserves a Blog of Excellence Award. Linda will tell you that she blabs, blabs, blabs. And she does. But her blabbings are thoughtful, thought-provoking, entertaining, and at times poetic; Linda muses on life. And she is a mother and a wife and an artist-in-progress. (Aren't all artists?) And being here in the States with fat chances of getting to Australia one day, it's wonderful to read Linda's take on life and learn about the world from outside this country.

• Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes is also a Blog of Excellence. Canadian Poetikat writes topical verse for fun and for profit. A perfect match! Go over and partake of her poetic offerings.
  

• And lastly, but certainly not least, visit Visual Norway and say hi to blogger-pal RuneE. I can't read his profile since it's written in Norwegian, but suffice to say that there's just about a picture a day posted of Norway. (wow. that rhymes.) In English and Norwegian. Good photos, good words. (And he's been showered with all kinds of awards lately.)

detroit dog will not tag anyone to pass on this Blog of Excellence Award. But the gift has been given; feel free to pass it on.