Rob's Hunting Journal - One Year Later

For the last few weeks I haven't had much time for blogging. A family vacation and just being busy is partly to blame. This week I'm taking a look back at my origins of blogging.

A year ago, I learned that one of my sister's had a blog page where she posted recent family pictures and shared stories with friends. At that time, I didn't really even know what a blog was, and to be honest with you, I thought blogging was a little weird. I didn't really think I needed to start my own blog. After all, I don't have that many friends, and I just didn't feel like it was for me.

But, several issues made me think differently.

First, for the last several years my dad and I talked about putting together a book of all of our hunting pictures, and trying to document which picture was from which year and so on. But, neither one of us ever really got around to creating this scrapbook. Another issue I had was finding an easy way to share trail camera pictures with my hunting buddies without clogging each other's email inboxes. And finally, I needed an easy way to document information from mine and my buddies hunts to help better manage the property we hunt.

Last July, after visiting my sister's blog a couple times, I finally thought to myself that a blog just might be the answer to those problems. So far, it has been. I've been able to upload pictures and include stories in scrapbook fashion. I can easily share trail camera pictures with my hunting buddies. And, I have been able to easily document each hunt or scouting trip with details that will come in handy in future years that I might have otherwise forgotten.

Not only has blogging solved those three problems, but it has also been an eye opener concerning other aspects. I never realized how many people can be reached and communicated with through blogging. Over the last year, my blog has received regular visitors from as far away as Alaska and Maine. I've had readers comment on my blog from various states including Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, and Florida, just to name a few. Even though my blog doesn't receive the number of visitors as some of the other blogs I visit, I am amazed and humbled at how many readers have stopped by. It has definitely caused me to see blogging in a different light, and that has led to some other callings. It reminds me of a verse from the Bible, Matthew 28:19.

Blogging has also been an avenue to express my creativity and helped me to hone my writing skills. I've really grown to like it, sometimes too much. Just ask my wife, she will tell you I spend too much time on this computer, and most of the time she is right. But, I'm thankful she understands that it is something I enjoy and that it can be used for valuable purposes.

If you are reading this, I appreciate you stopping by, and I hope you enjoy what you read. I welcome any of your comments and enjoy hearing from each of you. Don't be a stranger!