Our 3-Month Birthday: Time To Celebrate And Reflect

Naturally Wonderful, by Rich Haag – May 1, 2012

Today marks a milestone for Catawba River District Blogs. We are officially three months old!

That may not seem special to you, but for the seven contributors to this daily look at living well in the Catawba River District, the last three months have been quite a journey.

For starters, we collectively have:

• Published 93 posts (about 36,000 words).
• Written on topics ranging from the transforming power of the Catawba to fun places for dogs and people to walk with nature.
• Attracted more than 3,000 views by people across America and across the globe!
• Rediscovered our love for sharing ideas that we care deeply about.
• Learned that writing weekly truly becomes a labor of love.
• Learned from each other’s posts. For instance, Barbara Lawrence’s weekly blogs on shopping local have helped me discover several great shops and restaurants in our old and new village centers.
• Learned from our own weekly blogs. I never knew what a Halberdleaf yellow violet was before, but thanks to a recent blog on wildflowers I have spotted my first one just 2 miles from home!

Birthdays – even 3-month birthdays – give us a chance to celebrate and reflect. That’s what our group will do this afternoon, when we gather at one of Mount Holly’s unique businesses - the Cream and Beans coffee shop at 108 S. Main Street. We’ll toast our success with some coffee or latte, maybe indulge in some locally made Tony’s ice cream, and then talk about where we might want to go over the next three months of writing.

Do you have any ideas for us?

Shoot me an email at rhaag@catawbariverdistrict.org, and I will share your comments with the group. Or drop by our table and say hi. We’ll be there from 2 to about 3. I’m sure you’ll recognize us. We’ll be the ones with laptops and note pads. You never know when you get a good idea you want to jot down!

About Rich Haag – Rich gained his love for the outdoors while roaming the woods and river gorge near his upstate NY home. He has spent many vacations – one lasting eight weeks -  camping with his wife, Karen, and their sons. Rich still roams the woods nearly every day, either walking with Karen at Reedy Creek Nature Preserve or cycling on the Mallard Creek Greenway.