A Star of the (Word) Cloud

It is the last day of the 2014 FLX/Word Count Blogathon. It is time to both look back and look ahead.


One of the traditions of the WordCount Blogathon (this year, the FLX/WordCount Blogathon) is a day devoted to making word clouds.  It's an excellent way to learn something about your blog.

There are a couple of different (free) programs you can find online to make word clouds.  One is Wordle. This year, I tried them and got a message that my Java plug in is outdated.  I didn't want to bother trying to update Java, so instead, I used a program I had last used a couple of years ago - Tagxedo.  There are some other programs out there, too.

Here is a word cloud I made from my blog as of yesterday, June 29, and you can see what has been on my mind the last few days, or, at least, keywords appearing in my blog posts.  Binghamton, the city in upstate New York I work in, has taken a lot of my thinking. Writing (of course), reading, boks, gardening, and even chickens.  Now, why "ago" is prominent, I can't imagine.  Can you?

Now, contrast with a word cloud I made last Sunday.  Just a bit different!

You can change the color, and the positioning of the words.  And, just in a week, see the differences in the cloud.  It was the week I wrote about my brother in law, and it also showed previous posts about cancer, and also showed my love of flowers.

But now for a confession, as we say goodbye to June.

I didn't get as much out of the WordCount Blogathon this year as I have in previous years.  I don't blame the Blogathon or my fellow participants - no, far from it.  I think, rather, that it is my mood this last month or so.  I have a lot on my mind.  But, life goes on, and I want to make the most of the beginning of summer.

And thank you again, my readers, for coming to my blog.  You are the ones who make it fun, and I appreciate each and every one of you.

So, what is in store for my blog in July?

I plan to participate in two blogging challenges in July.  They may be my last ones for a while.  One, which may be ending with the July session, is the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  The other one is
NaBloPoMo, which is celebrating the beginning of its (her?) second decade.

Registration is open until July 5, if you want to join some awesome bloggers (I already read several of these blogs) for the month of July.  I am probably not going to use too many of the prompts, but they are there if you wish to use them.

I am going to resume my normal blog writing in July, after a number of autism-themed post in June.  Those normal themes are a summer theme on Wednesdays, a sustainability theme on Saturdays, and my Civil War Sunday theme.  The rest of the time, anything goes but I promise you a few gardening posts, some peeks at our community garden, at least a couple of farmers market posts, and plenty of flower pictures.  I may still blog about autism - after all, my brother in law "B" will remain a part of my life for years to come.

What are you planning in July?