I intended sending this bouquet at the start of the year as a thank you to all my followers, for their interest in my blog; for all the likes and the insightful comments. Time slips away so quickly, but ever since the Annual Reports and the “crunchy” numbers released at year end from the WordPress team i’ve wanted to pay tribute. It quite blows me away to have had 16,000 site hits! Isn’t this blogosphere a surprising place?! I started out as the ‘reluctant’ blogger and now i’m quite the addict. It’s quite extraordinary really to have such ‘worldwide’ connections and wonderful to ‘meet’ bloggers and photographers and I thank you one and all. My wish would be to slip through the ether to present the flowers personally, but here now is the wizardry of the virtual world to send wishes at a push of a button.
I’d also like to make mention of my top ‘regulars’, and list them below – those who frequently pop in with encouraging comments and who keep the conversation going, I really appreciate that. You may already be familiar with their work, but if not you may like to visit their sites :-
Gilly at http://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com hails from SW England, with an eye for the eclectic, she has a way with words, and her Haiku’s and River of Stones are inspiring reads.
Uday at http://udaynarayanan.com is a portrait photographer, capturing street photography in India with a visual and textural richness. He draws in the viewer and captures a quest to look deeper.
Dina at http://toffeefee.wordpress.com encapsulates the magic of the North – Norway, Norfolk and the Arctic, with exquiste photography and also with a view on art and literature, guided by two intriguing muses in the guise of Bookfairies, Siri and Selma and the Master, Klausbernd with his literary talents.
Elena at http://elenacaravela.wordpress.com is a visual artist who beguiles with her artwork; find the nuances of a working artist in her pictures, from visual delight to foreboding shadowy shapes.
Daisy at http://dsaquarelles.wordpress.com is another artist whose passion is water colours, her work captures landscapes and her subjects are full of delicate transparency and light.
Tina at https://travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com makes me green with envy with her travel destinations! Her photography inspires as does her informative text. For me her documenting of remote indigenous people really stands out, and the ability to convey a sense of place.
Bente at http://bentehaarstad.wordpress.com hails from mid-Norway and blogs on a variety of subjects, but most interesting are her posts on reindeer and the culture of the Sami people.
Sid at http://sdunnebacke.wordpress.com put the Fenner Nature Center on the map for me, i enjoy the virtual walks and the nature he presents. He’s also a Dad grappling with day to day events and the thrust of the stress and the ups and downs of daily life.
The de Wets Family at http://dewetswild.com/ blog about the wild places in South Africa – their blog is a great resource to anyone wanting to know about game park, or wilderness areas. I admire the passion and committment they show for South Africa’s wildlife heritage.
Thank you too to those i haven’t included above, all the comments add a validity to a voice out there in this enticing world of the Blogosphere.
Nature on the Edge 
Thanks a lot for the bouquet. It is a great pleasure to follow your blog, and to learn about nature in such a far away place from here.
I couldn’t put it any better than my fellow countrylady Bente, Liz. It’s a true pleasure to follow you! Thank you so much for the wonderful flowers and including the four of us in your list. 🙂 We’re absolutely delighted and feel very honoured. Siri and Selma are looping happily in front of the screen, all excited to read about themselves. 🙂
You have put a big smile on our faces this Sunday, Liz. Have a lovely day yourself!
Klausbernd & Dina
Such a beautiful bouquet. I have received a few such as these and they are always beautiful on any table that they grace.
Your passion for the Cape’s natural beauty and your sense of how special it is to live in that environment shines through your words and photographs, Liz! May your blog continue to go from strength to strength!
Thank you very much for mentioning de Wets Wild – we really appreciate it!
Dear Liz, thank you so much for the bouquet, I know all of these flowers but to see them growing would be amazing. Thanks too for including me in your list, a real honour. I love visiting you because you show me things I really want to see, wildlife as it really is, with your camera skills and passion you have a real authenticity. You’re sharing such a stuning part of the world so please keep doing what you do so well. Love and light, G.
Thank you, Liz for this wonderful bouquet! And thank you for mentioning my name in the list. I just read Lucid Gypsy’s comment above and totally agree with all she has said. Not all of us have access to the wilderness. Most of us living in cities are far removed and disconnected from it. Your photographs show us the true beauty of wildlife, be it the posts on Baboons or the macro photographs showing the journey of a tiny worm to a full grown moth. They are truly fascinating. Thank you for sharing them with us.
How did I miss this, Liz? Thanks for the flowers, and for the kind mention! I love visiting here, as there is always something beautiful or wise or both to be seen. When I go on those periods away from wordpress, I miss my favorite blogs and their bloggers, you among them.
You shall have to pay a visit to Fenner. 🙂
Hi Sid, took a visit this morning 🙂 Looks pretty cold over there!
Actually, it was a downright balmy day today – it got up to, like, -2!
Edging towards the tropical?!