I started this blog on March 3, 2010 with a picture of a baby Painted Turtle. It was simple, a picture and quote by Stephen Jay Gould: “We must tackle and grasp the larger, encompassing themes of our universe, but we make our best approach through small curiosities that rivet our attention — all those pretty pebbles on the shoreline of knowledge.”
A little later that day, I launched a meatier post, more of a statement of purpose, a manifesto. Another quote, from Thoreau: “Nature will bare the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect’s view of its plain.”
I keep thinking I should put up some kind of fundraising to pay for the WordPress upkeep and maintenance, now, with ten years of archives, substantially more than when I started. But the Patreon model doesn’t seem right.
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This work by Matthew Wills is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Backyard and Beyond 
My morning would be incomplete and far less bright without your daily post. I definitely think you should have a donation option.
Happy Anniversary on this blog! I love seeing it every day and appreciate so much that you are so faithful to it. And amazing photos! I will chime in and say I would love to support via a fundraiser rather than a subscription. I feel kind of overloaded on monthly fees already. But totally understand that you put a lot into this and should have some help with the cost.
Your photos add beauty to my day and I’m grateful for that. If you wish to ask subscribers to pay a little to help you on the way that is up to you. It’s not a terrible thing.
I agree. There are WP plugins that you could probably use to put a PayPal button on the blog.
Congratulations! Your nature-inspired blog is my first read every morning.🐦