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It has been a busy few days! The online Quilt Expo has directed huge numbers of visitors to my blog and website that I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Visitors from around the world (thanks, WordPress for the world map showing from where the visitors originate!) have explored both my website and blog and the resulting comments have kept me close to the computer. With the expo experience nearly behind me (voting continues till tomorrow) I am now looking ahead to completing some unfinished business and embracing new challenges. A heartfelt Thank you to all of you who have stopped by, left comments and have signed on as followers!

And now on to my reason for today’s blog title:  A little over a week ago I was nominated for the Awesome Blog Content Award. That brought with it a little research and compiling the necessary information to honor the nomination. I have to admit: I was not aware of these awards and they may strike some readers as: odd, shallow or even silly?  It’s not like a Grammy or Oscar which is tangible and solid, with substantial history and protocol. I was unable to substantiate where these awards come from. While I reflected on the nomination I not only felt grateful and honored but also realized that if someone takes the time to support my blog by nominating it, I have the responsibility to meet the  requirements.

I am very grateful to “Erica from America, living in Norway” for taking the initiative to nominate me for the ABC (Awesome Blog Content) Award. Thank you so much, Erica – at the top of the world, sharing your life and art on “Once Upon a Dream”.
The three short months I have been publishing this blog have been an adventure and very rewarding. I started out wondering if anyone, other than a few good friends and former students, would even read what I have to say. I hardly understood what Freshly Pressed was, when I found myself Pressed (I didn’t pay much attention as I was so green!). At first I didn’t know how to navigate the buttons and links; I wasn’t sure who would read it, and especially if anyone would read and find my blog noteworthy enough to follow it. My objective was to move from monthly newsletter format to sharing insights, news and inspire creativity.

Back to today’s topic, the ABC Award:  I appreciate being acknowledged by other bloggers whom I admire and respect; and I am always surprised when they feel the same way toward me and my writing.
Here are the Awesome Blog Content Award Rules:

1) Thank the person who gave it to you. Again: Thank you, Erica!

2) Recommend as many bloggers as you would like to honor. I have narrowed this list to 10  – not because these are the only bloggers I respect or find worthy of following, but because these are the blogs I visit most often and leave comments on:
Elaine Quehl – Elaine offers diverse posts, featuring her travels and students’ work!
Susan Wittrup – Susan is a fiber artist who has great insights. As a matter of fact, Susan is my guest blogger for Thursday, March 15th.
Experience North Cape – an amazing blog bringing to us life in the most northern point of Norway!
Angela Shella – thought provoking and very interesting!
Art Profiles – diverse and always worthwhile taking a look!
Abe Pacana Outdoor Photography – stunning imagery, well worth the visit!
Max Reynolds: Sunrise, Sunset and other Visions – the blog name says it all!
Walking with Smacked Pentax – An educational trip through Yorkshire in image and word.
A Detailed House – interior design content with a commitment to historical details.
Violets and Cardamom – a young, fresh and diverse blog offering recipes and other interesting information!
Why not check them out – I am sure you will find something new to discover there. And remember to share the award with your favorite blogs too.

3) Say something about yourself with each of the 26 letters in the alphabet. I decided to share with you some trivia from Saskatchewan rather than my food preferences etc. I moved here nearly 5 years ago and have since embraced the diverse landscape and living sky! The images in my slide show are inspired by the ABC below:

A – Aurora Borealis – September is usually the best time to enjoy a spectacular show
B – Buffalo Pound Lake – the first on the western edge of the Qu’Appelle Valley
C – Colors throughout the seasons offer inspiration year-round                        D – Dragonflies are plentiful during hot summers, keeping us mosquito free
E – Emma Lake in Northern Saskatchewan, the half-point mark between the North Pole and New York (the observation was made by artists who established a thriving summer art campus at Emma Lake)
F – Field stones of all color appear from the soil every spring as if they were planted in the fall
G – Golden Sunrise days are not rare on the prairies
H – Hills surrounding Buffalo Pound Lake change color to reflect the season and time of day (from golden hills in late summer around 4 pm to deep red peaks at sunset when conditions are just right)
I – Ice fishing is a popular winter activity on Saskatchewan lakes. Fishing shacks appear well before the Dec. 15th date but have to be removed by March 15th – only two days to go!
J– Joyful chirps from surrounding birds’ nests erupt each morning to welcome the first rays of the sun climbing over the eastern hills.
K– Kaleidoscope of contrast and color are offered in my immediate surrounding every day of the year.
L – Light intensity changes with each season, offering a rich palette for the artist’s inspiration.
M – Migrating birds – we live in one of the world’s most diverse migration paths (people from around the world come and observe during September each year)
N – Never dull! The diversity of the province, its people and scenery is rich.  O  – Owls, perched on telephone poles greet us each time we drive into town
P – Pelicans flying overhead navigating the lake from end to end while catching fish
Q – Qu’Appelle Valley (Buffy St. Marie wrote a song about the Qu’Appelle Valley)
R – Rainbows after a summer storm when you can see the ends reaching from the water to the hills
S – Spiral created from hand collected field stones transform into  a meditation path in our front yard
T – Trees are sparse on the prairies but I am fortunate to live in the lake valley where we are surrounded by Manitoba maple and evergreens planted by the original owner
U – Upper Buffalo Pound Lake extends upstream and it’s natural setting is unspoiled, bursting with wild life
V – Volume control is needed when large groupings of snow geese congregate on the lake in the fall.
W – Water is my constant source of inspiration; in it’s liquid and solid states testifying to nature’s forces
X – Marks the spot I call home 
Y – Yvette Moore illustrated A Prairie Alphabet (publ. 1992) . Yvette’s gallery is located in Moose Jaw, our closest city.
Z – Zone for gardening is officially situated between 2 and 3; depending on the micro-climate an avid gardener can create it is possible to harvest small bunches of Concord grapes in September.

Well, this is the way I honor the ABC Award. I do hope you found it informative and worthwhile. Sorry for the long post – I will restrict myself in the future!

13 Mar This entry was published on March 13, 2012 at 12:46 am. It’s filed under Art, Blog Awards, Creativity Update, Guest Blogger, Journaling, Landscape photography, Nature photography, Photography & Events and tagged ABC Blog Award, Blog Follower, Buffalo Pound Lake, Canada, Emma Lake, Photography, Quilt Expo, Saskatchewan. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.