Exactly one year ago I kicked off this blog with Hot. I'd always enjoyed writing, and for about 10 years of my life I earned my living as a photographer, so, a few months after taking the reins at Poggiosole, I decided to start blogging about it because, for me, Poggiosole represents an entirely new way of working. Most of my previous jobs had me engaged as in the photo above: facing a screen, not perched in a tree with secateurs, riding a 50-inch mower or arranging soaps and pillows in a vacation rental. Dizzy with the novelty of it all I wanted to tell the world ☺️.
The blog is the only part of Poggiosole's website which is updated regularly, providing, I hope, a reason for a handful of fans to check in from time to time. It also gives me "hooks" for my occasional posts on Poggiosole's LinkedIn page: about the only form of advertising we do. We don’t have a Facebook page (FB has always felt needlessly creepy to me) although from time to time I do put exterior and landscape pix on Instagram (also a Zuckerberg property).
On Instagram Poggiosole has fewer than 40 followers and the readership of the blog has also, to date, been very modest. Only six of my posts (of which this is n.27) have gotten over 100 views. The record holder (so far) is a May 2022 post about my parents, which, as of this writing, has garnered 11 "hearts" or likes. Nearly tied with "Gianni e Lilia" for the highest number of views is Winter adds, which describes a series of welcoming touches I introduced to our lodgings as we headed into fall and winter last year. The post with the fewest views was inspired by an artwork by an Afghan woman and a brief text about refugee rights, published in August 2021 shortly after the US's poorly planned withdrawal from Afghanistan. Admittedly that's pretty far afield of rural Tuscany.
Like anyone putting his or her own content online I'm grateful for every "heart", comment, or view. But if I'm honest with myself I post mostly as a way to reflect on the work I'm doing here and on Poggiosole's broader context. Occasionally, as in April showers, Black-out, or Smoke, no mirrors, I'll start with a local event and pivot to something bigger. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind; I'm more interested in words as a kind of nourishment. As a litmus test for what's "nourishing", I usually start with myself, but then it's always exciting, sometimes surprising, to see what my readers most appreciate. Hypothetical: if no one ever viewed or reacted to my blog posts in any way... would I continue? Probably not.
In Hot I wondered aloud if my blogging would "last". A year isn't much, but it's perhaps more than I thought I'd sustain when I started. So if you're still with me, or if you're just joining me, thank you.