As I look at the yearly summary, I found that only four of the most hit upon posts out of the top ten were actually posted in 2011. I am not sure what this means except there are a lot of searches for disco balls, burnt almond torte, furry convention and city rooftops at night.
1. Wordpress sent out a report on my 2011 year in Blogging and my top post of the year was the one I posted for my son’s birthday. He’s a grown up man, married with four children of his own(see Zoo Lights post if you didn’t already) but when he was a little boy he had a wish that remained unfilled until last May. I can tell by his expression how surprised and delighted he was when he opened his gift. Sometimes parents can’t realize how important certain things are to a child and I certainly felt bad when I would hear occasionally how he ALWAYS wanted this Millennium Falcon but didn’t get it, usually when he and his brother were together and they reminisced about growing up.
If you want to read the rest of the story click here
Thanks to Phil, who owns Where The Toys Are Canonsburg PA! 
2. The second most viewed post this year is those furries that show up every year for a big furry convention in Pittsburgh. I just happened to stumble upon them when I was going to a gallery in a downtown hotel. This post was first posted in 2010 and yet it gets hits every week.
3. And the disco ball image. Go figure. Almost EVERY day someone hits on this disco ball/mirror ball reflection. I shot it at wedding (the couple now has a darling baby girl) and it looks retro but is not. Here is that image. Should I be concerned that some of my top hits are from different years than 2011? This is from 2009! Why do people search for “disco ball“?
4. And the next most popular every week is New York City Rooftops at Night.
This was posted in 2009 as well.
5. The Pug Guard Dog in a Shadyside store got linked and hit from Tina (Pug owner/lover) at Carrots ‘N’ Cake blog
6. Copy Cat Recipe for BurntAlmond Torte gets weekly hits and adds up to the 6th most hit upon for the year
7. The Bookshelf (most controversial on reddit.com) single most hit upon in one day over 18,000 hits!!!
8. And the Tenth Street Bridge lit up at night for the Tom Cruise Movie
9. The ninth most hit upon post in 2011 is a tribute to my cousin Lori Lynn Baur Meli. She touched a lot of lives as her name still comes up in searches. She fought a valiant battle with breast cancer. Her husband Fredi just became an American citizen recently.
10. The tenth most hit upon post from this year was
Open Letter to Shiny Buick Man
I’m so impressed with all your photos… I can’t believe the numbers.. very awesome accomplishment! (sigh… a girl can dream:) Looking forward to 2012!!
The day the bookshelf went viral was a fluke. When I first started I was lucky to get 20 hits a day and most of those were from family or dear friends whom I’d ask, “did you see the blog today? did you see the blog today?” and they were like -“huh, blog? what blog?”. The blog has grown but it takes time.
wonderful photos, as I’ve only recently come across your blog they are a great display of your work. Thanks 🙂
I am new to blogging and I enjoy your blog so much. Your photos are amazing!! I am not surprised they are so popular. Looks like Cardboard Me Travels will be just as enjoyable. Looking forward to all your posts in 2012.
What a great year. I look forward to the blog
It’s always hard to pick a favorite for me. Sometimes its the actual photo that impresses me and sometimes its your description that makes me appreciate it.
I was excited to see I had already seen most of the photos. The birthday boy was one of my favorites. I look forward to your photos every morning. Thanks for sharing.
I like them all!
Wow, Ruth! Each photo is evocative, in its own right but, together, they make a great retrospective! Well, except for that disco ball. 🙂
I know, John, why in the world do you think that almost everyday of the year someone is searching DISCO BALL.
If I chose MY favorite top ten posts it would totally different, except I would keep the Millennium Falcon.
You may have noticed, like my sister did, that I did not show that Furry photo again. One could see it through the link, though. It does seem to creep people out except the thousands of people who search for the Furry Convention in Pittsburgh.
I really did not know much about the furies until later. Thanks for your nice comment today.
wondering why the bookshelf photo was so controversial?
Beautiful and powerful pictures and stories that match. Thanks, Ruth.
I love the fat pug and the rooftops and I want that game! Great shots here, Ruth.
Your BOOKSHELF is my favorite, but several close seconds!! XOXOXO for 2012
I liked getting the report. It’s fun to see which of your posts were most liked and what countries your readers are from. It looks like you’ve had a full year and some great photographs. Personally, I want to eat that dessert in your post. Hope you have a great 2012.
Happy New Year to you and I look forward to wonderful 2012. That dessert, if you’ve never had one, is worth getting the copycat recipe from my old blogpost and making in your kitchen. I am serious. If you like almonds, try it!!
Loved revisiting these posts
I love all your photos – it would be hard to choose just one – but if I am pressed to do so would say your book shelf! Happy photography in 2012!
Thanks for looking at them all. I look forward to following you in 2012.
A beautiful and impressive selection! Perhaps eventually I will get around to being reflective about my blog – we’ll see! 🙂
They are all great shots… But one of them impressed me much more! The books… The books… Thank you, Happy New year, with my love, nia
Hello Nia, Thank you for all your wonderful and gracious comments I found in my inbox this morning. Oh my!
You certainly took a lot of time to look at my photographs and I appreciate your taking time to write.
So glad you found me through Smidge. I look forward to following your blog and thank you again for your good comments on my posts and pictures. Best to you. Ruth
p.s. Off to school so cannot reply to each comment you made so generously.