Arte y Pico

Being recognized by fellow bloggers is a humbling and heartening experience. Though blogging is a bit of a personal thing, it is also expansive. Whatever reason you may blog, whatever style, whatever goal or crusade you might embark upon, you are throwing some bit of yourself out into the wide world of the blogosphere for any and all to see. If you are shy, you become, through the blog, gregarious. You can talk to people. You can travel the world with the click of a mouse.

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Some may say an internet relationship is no relationship at all. That is because they don't understand them. Are internet relationships the same as those with your neighbor or your school friend? No, they are not the same. Can they be as intense? I think so.

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I have friends who have met over the internet and married and remain married after many years. I have met people half around the world first on the internet and then in person and know others who have done the same. I have had adventures with blogging friends, with forum friends, with e-mail friends. I have encouraged, and been encouraged. I have learned and taught and shared.

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I visit Inland Empire Girl several times a week at her blog Gathering around the Table. We have several things in common--we are both teachers, love books, love the outdoors, words, photography, gardening (though she is considerably better at it that I am.) We have other things in common she is not aware of. It is not inconceivable that we might meet face to face one day.

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The other day, Inland Empire Girl stopped by to tell me she had an award for me. I am humbled and heartened. Here it is:

It is called Premio Arte Y Pico, and translated from the Spanish here is its explanation:

This award is "dedicated to many who nourish and enrich the spirit and creativity. They see dedication, creativity, camaraderie, joy, and above all ART, much art. I wish that this prize is entertaining to all those bloggers and to bloggers who day by day share this space and enrich it a little more each day." Arte Y Pico at http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

The Rules are these:
1) Select 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award
itself.

4) The award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show a link of "Arte y pico" blog, so everyone will know the
origin of the award.

Do you know how hard #1 is?

Only five! Which five best fit those exact criteria? Which five do I choose? Why can't I chose ten? Why can't I choose them all?

So, here goes:

First and Second: A blogging couple. I have met several in the blogosphere. Blogging from South Africa, Max-E and SuzyK share their corner of the world with us with awesome photographs, insightful analysis of events in their neighborhood and their country, delightful wanderings. What one did not tell of their recent trip to Lesotho was detailed by the other--and is some cases the two sides of the same adventure made a delightful contrast. Stop by to see Max at The Max Files and if that header doesn't blow you away, nothing will. Suzy can be found at Arty Farting Around and check out her art blog as well.

Third: You must visit Imac whose stunning images on Imac's Photos from the Mind's Eye will amaze you. He's a time traveler, too!

Dot, from Strolling through Georgia is my number four. She is the one who invigorates us all, inspiring us to share in the group blog Picture This (a no comment blog).

My number five is a blog I have recently begun visiting regularly. I am not sure who led me there, but Thank you, whoever you are. I came, I looked, and I liked what I saw at Faith, Fabric and Photos. It is well written, well photographed--and I am jealous as all get out of those macro lenses!

For some reason I couldn't do the nice cool hyperlinks for those last few paragraphs. I think blogger hiccuped. I'll fix them later if I can. Fixed. And now I must go tell them all.* This weird font anomaly is a blogger hiccup, too. Hopefully that can be fixed later, too. Nope, still hiccuping on that one.

*It appears that I have unwittingly entered into some no-tag zones. (I never heard of no tag zones--hmmm, gotta think about that.) These bloggers have the right and reason to not participate in passing things like this along and I respect that--some of them can get a bit crazy( the tags, not the bloggers). I will, however, leave my post as it is, as these are the five that I have chosen.