DEAR MINNESOTA PRAIRIE ROOTS READERS:
Today, if I possessed excess cash, I would send you all a dozen roses or the best chocolate in the world or…, well, you get the point.
But I am not rich in the monetary sense, so you will have to settle for words to express my gratitude.
I am thankful to you, dear readers, for pushing my monthly blog readership to a new high. During January, I had exactly 10,334 views, surpassing my previous record of 9,976 views in November.
And, no, the extra day in January did not skew figures. I had already reached 10,000 views on January 30.
This bar graph shows my views for the past eight months at Minnesota Prairie Roots. The horizontal graph lines indicate increments of 2,500, beginning with zero at the bottom and progressing here to 10,000.
I’ve been watching my stats, waiting for the month when I would reach 10,000 views. Don’t ask me why. It simply seems like an impressive number.
The past five months, in fact, my readership has consistently been at 9,500 views and higher, but just under 10,000.
So today I am celebrating. I am celebrating you, my readers, wherever you are—whether in Finland or Germany, Washington state or Washington D.C., up north or down south, in Minneapolis or St. Paul, in Appleton, Minnesota, or Appleton, Wisconsin, in my community of Faribault…
Whether you know me personally or know me only through my blogging, I appreciate the connection.
I hope that through my writing and photography I’ve made you smile, made you think, made you laugh and even made you cry. I hope I’ve taken you to places you may not otherwise have seen. I hope I’ve entertained and informed.
Please continue to share your reactions to my writing. I value your input. If you’ve never commented, do.
I pledge to continue bringing you stories from my life, from my world, from my heart, from my thoughts.
Writing is my passion.
My dusty, dirty and well-used computer keyboard.
© Copyright 2011 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Congratulations and thank you for this warm breeze each and every day.
You’re welcome and thank you for reading Minnesota Prairie Roots.
Congratulations Audrey! What a milestone! You have a remarkable talent for connecting with people. Your blog is always enjoyable to read and always interesting. A very good combination. I am so glad to have found your site!
Harriet
Thank you, Harriet. I feel the same about your barn photography, happy to have discovered your remarkable talent in photographing icons of our rural landscape.
I am just glad i found u. it makes the start of my day fun.
Thank you. Happy to make you happy.
The Lutheran Witness article about homelessness in Faribault is what really caught my attention. That is where we connected, and we have been having conversations ever since. The search for the Paul Gerhardt book for Pastor Freeman was quite an adventure. From there to the little black Schultz book. I love reading your blogs about Minnesota, especially the area where I am from, West Concord. Your photography is amazing, as in the Thrivent Calendar for 2011, crosses…
You are blessed with a special gift and you are sharing it with all of us.
Thank you!
Keep up the good work, you are an amazing writer.
Thank you, Donna. I’m glad to have you here all the way from Washington state.