A Giveaway and Looking Back Again

Away back in May, we hit 1000 posts made on this blog. 

I intended to do a giveaway to celebrate, but kept forgetting. 

All of the sudden, I had done 100 more posts... and it seemed silly. 

However, I decided to go ahead and do it! 

Here is what we are giving away: 

This is a new copy of Deborah Nieman's book

Homegrown and Handmade. 

Some of you may remember that Deborah's blog was featured on our sidebar for some months. 

She actually has written a second book "Ecothrifty".  

In this book are chapters dealing with gardening, keeping an orchard, and the "regular" livestock of the homestead, all of with which Deborah and her family have experience, so she writes about what she truly knows.  

All you need to do to win it is to let me know you would like to have the book by leaving a comment in this post.  We'll choose one at random, and I'll let you know via the blog who has won.  If you could then contact me with your address, I'll get it mailed posthaste after.  

We'll keep this open for one week from today. 

Here is the old henyard about 8 summers ago: 

back then, it was the NEW henyard! 

And those two were Fred and Wilma, our original Japanese bantams. 

Look how fresh and new the fence is, and there was GRASS. 

Approximately the same view today.  See what chickens do to a chicken yard? 

This is true everywhere, and I don't think neophyte chicken owners realize it. When it is wet, it is like glass, and I am not kidding you.  Very dangerous.  

There are saplings growing in there everywhere, and if I had turned and looked back towards the little henhouse behind me, you would see that it is almost completely shaded now.  In fact, there are a few saplings that I need to cut OUT, and quite a few I need to trim back. 

We are, however, expecting some more rain this week, so I think I'll wait until next. 

This was Keith's very first building project here, and he knows much more about building fence than he did then.  We cope with these... because this flock is shrinking. 

And here was the original "little" henyard, with Rambo, our Buff Orpington rooster we adopted through Olathe Animal Control, and the two hens adopted with him. 

No little henhouse, no rabbit hutch, no brooder hutch.  Grass. 

Whew. 

Now I want to write about something that I think might be happening to a lot of us. 

About a week ago, Kim at My Field of Dreams wrote about "bouncing" on her blog.  She intended to write about her stats... but when she started investigating them, she found that a porn site was "bouncing" off her blog. 

I looked up bouncing, and I am not sure that is the right term, but what is happening is that a porn site is pointing off her blog and she is getting read, but as a means to get to this other site.  No, I am not sure how it works. 

However... after reading it... I began to think about my own stats, which had been going up at a rather steady rate.  In fact, one Sunday post had drawn nearly 200 readers... and I had mentioned it to Keith ... Wow... we are sure increasing our readership!

Ha Ha on us. 

I looked in our stats, and yes, folks, there was a porn site referring our blog.  Like I said, I don't know how it works, or what can be done about it.  I looked in the stats for "referring sites" and there it was. 

It is not a triple X horrible picture site, but it is a site I would not choose to go to, nonetheless. 

I don't know where it originates. 

I noticed we had 253 pageviews two days ago, and I know those weren't all for our blog. 

Sad. 

I have no idea what can be done, because, as you know... Blogger is not very responsive, and I don't think it's their fault, anyway, I think there are just hackers out there who know how to do "stuff". 

So... I don't trust my stats anymore, because of it.  I thought it was interesting that my overseas traffic had picked up... now I see why! 

So, if you want to check your own blogs... go to your Stats page, 

and then to "Traffic Sources"... and you can see from whence your traffic is coming. 

I have just checked mine... I no longer have the mild porn page, but DO have a Fat Loss Page connected now. 

Guess where most of my page views are coming?  GERMANY. 

Go figure. 

10,000 + page views 

I worked for a German company for 6 1/2 years before retiring, but I know I don't have that many friends interested in a tiny midwest blog. 

Anyway, something to be aware of. 

Now I'm off to get some straw and hay for the haybarn, for cleaning day (henhouses) tomorrow.