Nature Blog Network

Welcome to the first “Meetcha Monday.” Each week, I’ll be introducing members of the Nature Blog Network, telling you a little about them and their blogs, and sharing with you my conversations with them about blogging and social networking.

Today, I’m pleased to inaugurate this feature by introducing Pablo, the editor of Roundrock Journal. Roundrock Journal can be found at http://www.roundrockjournal.com/ . You can email Pablo at editor (at) roundrockjournal (dot) com or by using the contact form on the website. Without further ado, meet Pablo!

Lake Marguerite at Roundrock

Pablo, please introduce yourself and your blog to the Nature Blog Network.

For more than three years I’ve been writing in Roundrock Journal about my days in the woods on the edge of the Missouri Ozarks. My 80+ acres have a surprising amount of diversity, and it seems that I find something new to share on the blog every time I visit. I live in Kansas City, about 100 miles from my woods, where I lead a conventional life and long for an escape to the forest.

Why do you blog?

I keep a blog as much to share my enjoyment of the woods with others as to engage in a bit of personal discovery. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and when I compose a post, I write with myself as the audience in mind. Others have seemed to enjoy the posts over the years.

What got you started?

My daughter and son-in-law recognized that I could match my enduring love of my forest with the blogging medium and encouraged me to give it a try. They still help me with the technical aspects of the work. Now I seem to have built my own momentum to keep going, but reading the blogs of others keeps me charged up as well.

How did you pick the name of your blog?

Well, my forest really is full of round rocks. They are the byproduct of a meteor impact hundreds of millions of years ago. That part of the name was easy. I’ve kept a paper journal for nearly thirty years, and I looked on blogging as something like that, so I put the two together and came up with Roundrock Journal.

What’s the best thing about blogging?

I enjoy the creative aspects of it: always on the prowl for material; considering how to discuss a topic and then trying to phrase it all in a clear and memorable way; writing and then rewriting; trying to take decent photographs; revisiting old posts to have a look at the person I was then. I also like the conversation that ensues as readers leave comments and send emails.

Can you share your favorite Roundrock Journal Post with us?

I keep coming back to this one, http://www.roundrockjournal.com/?p=624, which talks about my mixed feelings about the cedar trees which are moving into Roundrock.

What do you like least about blogging?

There is a bit of drudgery to it sometimes. Except for when my hard drive crashed last summer, I have made a post every day for more than three years. Keeping up that pace can feel like a chore sometimes.

How has blogging changed how you think about nature?

It’s made me look more closely and try to see how everything in the natural world is related. I’ve also learned that I need to be correct in any scientific assertions I make in the blog since careful readers will helpfully point out mistakes when I make them. From keeping a blog, I’ve come across dozens of others who do the same thing, only much better. I’ve learned more from others’ writing than I can ever fully take in, much less express gratitude for.

Any other changes in your life from blogging?

My self-imposed “obligation” to make a daily post has “compelled” me to visit my woods as often as I can find (or steal) the time. That means I get more opportunity to be in the natural world, which has to make a difference in anyone’s life. But beyond that, by making public statements about my forest and my experience in it, I think I am obliging myself to look and think more deeply. I’m “on record” with what I say and I think that requires a standard which is more demanding than mere personal ramblings in the forest and on the page.

Do you feel you’re part of a community with other nature bloggers?

Becoming part of an extended community was probably the biggest surprise I found when I started blogging. I now have virtual friends all over the country. We share conversations, birthday greetings, and even gifts occasionally. We’ve participated in each others joys and heartaches. There are always kind and supportive words ready to be exchanged among us. The nature blog community covers a vast range of technical knowledge and personal enthusiasm. There are some who can give the Latin name for each insect or plant they encounter and others whose strength lies in depth of the enthusiasm of their personal experience and appreciation of the natural world. I find something worthwhile in both ends of this spectrum as well as the cozy in between.

If you had it to do over again, would you still start a blog?

Certainly I would! I’ve always had a certain facility with the written word, so daily blog posts keep me in practice. But beyond that, my blog has taken on a life of its own. It’s a challenge to me at the same time that it is a comfort. I always need to find the next thing to say, and then I get the chance to say it.

Any words of wisdom for new nature bloggers?

Write for yourself. Write what you want, when you want, and as much as you want. Keep yourself open to change and growth, and be ready for the unexpected surprises. You don’t have to know everything about your subject — part of the fun is the adventure of discovery. And pay no attention to your visit count. It isn’t important at all.

Anything you’d like to volunteer without being asked?

I may be the only one in the world who thinks this, but I don’t consider the word “blog” to ever be a verb, as in, “I’m going to blog about that.” To me “blog” is a noun. Also, I consider the blog to be the collection, the whole. Each day’s entry is a post, not a blog in itself. A blog is composed of posts. No one listens to me when I assert this though.

Thank you, Pablo.