This past week I had a feeling this blog is on it's last days, much like the bark from the Sycamore tree that has popped off and is blowing all over the yard and driveway. This has nothing to do with my desire to blog, write and take photographs. I will always do that and have this past week, only privately. There are 4-5 people that visit this blog that might end up being the reason I stop blogging publicly.
It comes with the territory when you expose some of your life and that of your hounds to the public, not only to those in the USA but other countries as well. It happens to other bloggers, and some on Facebook. The big difference is on Facebook they can be blocked and they have zero access.
You cannot block people on Blogger unless you know how to write code. Even then it's hard because the people you want to block can change their user names, make new accounts or their IP's change, to continue to visit the blog.
Granted it's only a very small group of readers out of all the visitors I get but it's an annoying group since I don't get nearly the amount of visits/readers I had in past years.
Three of these five I mention are who I consider ex-friends. Due to disagreements we no longer speak to each other. In some cases I have been able to install fairly easy blocks to where they cannot call me, text me or email me. One of those in particular has none of those blocks installed but she still visits the blog on a weekly basis, usually reading a couple of different sites that are listed on my sidebar.
I say to those 3 people that are reading ... if I could block you from this blog so you could not keep track of what I am doing, or how the hounds are ... I would. I'd prefer that you just leave.
I could name you by name, location, type of computer you are using, how long you stay and what pages or sites you are reading ... very tempting ... but I won't.
Yet when you start a blog and click the settings to where it is in the 'public' status you are inviting the world to come and see it, then read about your life or interests. For a blog author that considers themselves on the private side of the scale, a self-proclaimed loner, public blogging is hard to do at times. Exposure is never a good thing.
One option is to make this blog private, then send out invitations to those I keep in contact with by blog comments or emails and those that would send me a request for an invite. But 'they' have to have Google accounts set up and a few of these people that enjoy the blog don't have and won't sign up for Google accounts (Gmail).
That also adds a step to those that might accept the invites. Each time they would want to see the blog to either read or scroll through the pictures of the hounds would have to log in. I know if that were me I would not be staying around reading a blog that I had to log into every time.
The other option is what I have done the past week ... put all my photos and content on my private blog and keep it at that. No access to anyone. Yet I know how I feel when blogs I've read or followed for years have stopped or the authors have disappeared without any announcement. So I understand feelings of some of the readers in that case.
What is boring and mundane to me at times is still enjoyed by readers based on what they have told me. The pictures of the hounds in the same field, on the same path are all different to them. They like seeing what they are doing each day during different seasons and in all kinds of temperatures. Some like hearing what I am doing or seeing the fields change with the seasons.
Then those few that are no longer in contact with me can keep track of what I am doing, how the hounds are doing and if I still have a pulse ... even if I don't want them to.
Still there are a couple of people that do more than that. They don't just download pictures of the hounds enjoying their daily walks or laying in the backyard soaking up some sunshine. They download ONLY those pictures of Heidi's terrible looking skin that WAS raw and bare up until 2017 .... and now ONLY those pictures where Stella's ribs are showing and or hip bones are showing just how skinny she was these past 3 months.
It doesn't matter that she is gaining weight back and her rib cage is slowly disappearing ... the vet said it would take a long time for her to regain the weight she lost.
No, they keep coming back to download pictures of her looking skinny, that they may have missed the first time.
In today's world where there are people spending all their time on the internet looking for instances of animal abuse and then reporting it to someone ... owners, farmers, rescuers and even the Ringling Bros Circus are guilty until proven innocent. In some cases pets and animals have been taken away. It's the reason Ringling closed their circus.
So I admit, those two readers in particular concern me. Since they will read this I am sure they will be jumping up and down with joy knowing they have caused me some concerned and have been legitimized.
So that is where the hounds and I have been this week. I am not blogging this to ask for advice or any kind of help. I decided to be open about the 4-5 people I don't want visiting the blog and what my concerns were. I'll continue to think about what to do with the blog.
I am still not sure what do to about this blog. If I stop blogging here but leave it open, all the photos are still available for anyone to download. All but two of you that do download them, I have no problem with and you are invited to do so ... except the two that I mentioned.
Also when blogs are left open for years without activity, the Spammers take over even with restrictions set in the background.
Blogging is addicting not only to readers but those that write. So much so some people can shut their blogs down and even stop blogging, yet can't stay off the internet so they still spend time reading other blogs.
I only wish I could block the readers that I don't want around here.
Heidi has spent 99.9% of her time inside taking full advantage of the air conditioning that fights against the summer heat. It's not even that hot yet but more than hot enough for her. She did join us in the early evening the other day and did the complete half mile walk, leading the way at times.
Stella is slowly feeling and looking like she is gaining weight. She is stubborn as ever as tonight's pictures show. Her appetite has never been affected by whatever problem she has and thinks that anything I fix to eat for myself is also meant for her.
Sadie is still demanding 2-3 walks per day. She doesn't care if it's hot outside and doesn't care that it's mid-day ... all she wants is to walk. She turns 9 years old on Monday.
I've raised my mower blade back one level and it's ready to mow again as soon as the grass gets a little higher. The backyard grows faster than the front yard so I'll wait another week before I cut the front yard.
Once I decide what to do about this blog I will let you know, either way. I'll just not disappear.