Cinco de Mayo is a big deal in Mexico!
Image Source
So once again, it's time for #shoutoutsaturdays!! Or as the venerable senior citizen of Steemit, @sultnpapper puts it this week ... it's cinco de shout-out. As residents of the American Southwest know, Cinco de Mayo is kind of a big holiday in Hispanic culture. (Mostly it's an excuse to get drunk, like the people in this state needed that. But that's another story for another post.)
People say it's like Mexico's Independence Day ... but that's not accurate. Again -- another topic for another post ... on another day. (Hmmm. I better get busy.)
Time for food, folks and fun!!
Image Source
It's been an extremely busy week for me, and I'm getting a late start on this post. (Again!) But it's going to be the Cinco de Shout-out edition anyway, whenever it gets done. (Maybe somewhere in the world it will still be May 5. Let's hope so.)
Let me look through my "followed folks" list and see if I can come up with a theme. Last week we did the Geezers of Steemit. No way to rank these folks except on the same superior level -- so here they are in the order to which they come to mind. @lizelle, @shadowspub, @catweasel and ol' @sultnpapper. (If I do the name twice, maybe he'll get the notice. GinaBot has kind of fallen down on the job lately.)
Image Source
(Ok, Editor's Note:) It looks like what I've written this week is a post based around Primo Contributors to Steemit. These people do fabulous work to make Steemit more interesting. They help you find other great people. They live extraordinary lives of their own. They simply enrich your experience here -- just by being themselves.
I know there are plenty more who belong in this category, so it will come up again. Once I start writing I can't seem to stop though -- and you haven't got all day to spend reading this post.
Image Source
I guess I'll start here with @artemisnorth. She's @shadowspub's younger sister -- and if you don't know who @shadowspub is, hustle yourself over to her blog ... and her newest branch office at @steemitramble ... and find out. Anyway, @artemisnorth has recently returned to Steemit after some time away -- and is busy carving out her own niche in the field of curation.
She does two curation projects -- one on the fiber arts at @fiberartists and the other on nature-folks. (That's people who love the wilderness and outdoors ... not free-spirits who run around naked.) That one is @paddlingnature ... and if you're looking for more interesting people to follow or if those are interests of yours, check out her work. You won't be sorry.
She has great taste in people to feature and I have found some very worthwhile blogs by tagging along in her wake.
Image Source
The next one I'm going to mention is the guy who started this whole effort, that @crazybgadventure himself. The dude be more than a little bit nuts ... so if you need inspiration or something to brighten your day, see what he has to offer. He's into gardening and magickal herbs. He gets so carried away digging in his yard he gets sunburned.
He runs the @beyondtheveil blog and Discord -- which are dedicated to highlighting the strange, spiritual and supernatural topics in life. He runs his own radio show, too. (OMG, where does this man get his energy?)
Rumor has it he makes a mean lemon-drizzle cake ... but he didn't share the recipe with me. Just mentioned it over and over. And over.
However, he has promised to post a video if his partner ever lets him install a fireman's pole from the top floor of his house to the bottom. That prospect alone keeps me following him. That would be a sight worth seeing.
He has dogs. He's from England, but lives in Bulgaria. (Don't ask me why. Even he hasn't got a good answer for that.) And he heats his house with a stove he recycled and refurbished himself. (He wrote a post about that. My Lord, what a job.)
He also started the #shoutoutsaturdays tag, idea and project. So, if you're reading this, it's all due to him. He gets either the blame or the credit -- and you get to choose which.
For that alone, AFAIC he deserves a cyber-hug and some virtual cheesecake. He likes that, too ... and teases me with the image of him and his little hamster-cheeks just shoveling it in. Come to think of it, he's kind of a sadist. Maybe you shouldn't follow him after all.
Image Source
Next up in this theme is that sweet, lovely angel @goldendawne. (She's simply a powerhouse of industry. I don't know where she finds the time to do all she does. I need to take lessons.) She's a homesteader in Michigan. That's one full-time job right there. She's into canning and recipes and gardening and seed-stuff and making things out of sour milk. (I hope that wasn't an accident.)
She edits the Daily Qurator -- which you can find at @qurator. (That's two.) Like me, she seems to be perpetually on Steemit, so I don't know how she also manages to run a home and keep her husband fed, but she does. (That's three. Count them. Three full-time jobs.) I bet she has pets, too. People like her usually do.
She sleeps once in a while (I suppose) -- or she'd look even more frazzled than she already does. I'm not sure what's going on there with the hair, but I'm not going to hold it against her. She does even more than I do in a day, and believe me ... that's a recommendation. Go see what she's into. It's sure to be fun.
Image Source
The last one I'm going to mention feels very bittersweet. It's @ameliabartlett ... who for the last few months has headed the @ladiesofsteemit project. That was one fabulous idea -- 'cause I know those when I see them.
The melancholy is because she's taking some time away from Steemit, so you'll have to catch up on her work already in place -- and wait for her return. She says it's only for the month of May -- but I have a feeling it could be longer than that. No evidence. As I said -- just a feeling.
But she has created and left behind some terrific stuff for you to prowl through. I enjoy rummaging through her past issues when I have time. It's tough to find interesting blogs on Steemit (IMO.) So I really appreciate those who do most of the leg-work and searching for me -- like @ladiesofsteemit, and all the curators I've mentioned here, and of course #shoutoutsaturdays. God bless @crazybgadventure.
The visibility issue on Steemit is awful. The developers should be ashamed of themselves. But they're not. So we have to pick up the slack ourselves. (We're like pioneers -- who are a very special breed of human!) @ameliabartlett like all the others I've listed here and elsewhere is one enterprising enough to fill in the gap. We all need to follow her example as best we can.
Image Source
Now it's up to you. All of you I've showcased here already do your own #shoutoutsaturdays post, so keep up the great work. Next Saturday ... same time, same station. Anyone else reading this, you are cordially invited to join in the fun whether anyone has tagged you or not. Sometimes you need to blow your own horn. Get fired up. Just do it.
Talk about people you like. Talk about people who brighten your day. Talk about people who make life better -- here and elsewhere. Let them know they haven't just been taken for granted -- or lost in the crowd. Feeling invisible and unheard can be fatal. Become a solution -- not part of the problem. We are all counting on you.
Ok, that's it guys. I've met my requirements. Yeah, I know it's late, but it's better than nothing. And trust me, I could not have gotten it done any sooner. It's not like I slack off. As @catweasel says, chance would be a fine thing.
P.S. I invite anyone reading this post to leave me a link to someone you think is terrific. I am always looking for great new people to follow -- and great posts to read. I may do a New Friends edition of #shoutoutsaturdays soon -- featuring the latest fun people I've followed. You could be doing us all a favor it you take a minute to throw a name in the hat.
Love to you all!!
One last note. All the people featured here are members of @thesteemengine. (Not steemengineteam. That's totally different!!) If you have been on Steemit for at least four months and you think your work is excellent but undervalued, you might want to consider joining our group. If you and your work meet that description, you're a member we want to have. Click on The STEEM Engine banner below for more information.
Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.
The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.
Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.
So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.
The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.
Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.
.gif)
