Who Are You, Dear Readers?

In the two and a half years I've been writing this blog, I've seen a steady growth in readership and page views. During the past six months, I've averaged a little over 600 readers per month. SIte traffic in 2008 was more than twice what it was in 2007, and 2009 is showing further growth.

So where do you come from and what are you looking for here?

Well, 89% of my visitors are from the United States, but in the last thirty days I've also had multiple readers from the UK, Canada, Australia, France, and Turkey.

Of the US visitors, 27% of them live in New Mexico (probably not surprising!). 13% are in California, 7% in Texas, 5% in New York, and 4% in Massachusetts. In the last 30 days, I've had viewers from 40 states--the only states not to find me in that period were Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois, West Virginia, Maine, and New Hampshire.

83% of you visited for the first time in the last 30 days, while the remaining 17% were repeat viewers. (Welcome back to you!)

Many of you have this site bookmarked, or find it through links, but those of you who used search keywords to find it were looking for information on various Santa Fe topics. The top 11 keywords used in the last 30 days included:

Santa Fe blog (31)
Santa Fe 400 anniversary (29)
Acoma Pueblo (18)
Whole Foods/Wild Oats in Santa Fe (15)
Living in Santa Fe (12)
Madrid Chile Festival (12--and this is for an event that doesn't exist except in the movie Wild Hogs!)
Allan Houser (11)
College of Santa Fe (11)
Aspen Vista Trail (11)
Kevin Costner/Swing Vote movie (10)
Governor Lew Wallace (9)

So thanks for visiting, keep reading, and let me know what other Santa Fe topics you'd like to see explored here!

Illustration Credits

The photograph above is of a January seasonal display on the table in my foyer (taken by my brother).

Advocacy for College of Santa Fe

Today was "Advocacy Day" at the New Mexico state house (aka "The Roundhouse") and various groups set up tables, signage, slides, videos, press conferences, etc. in an attempt to advocate with the legislators in support of their various causes.

Students, faculty, and staff from The College of Santa Fe (CSF) were there in droves in an attempt to save their school, which has been hard hit by the economic downturn. New Mexico Highlands University (a state university) is willing to take over the school which can no longer afford to operate on its own. A bill has been submitted in the legislature to permit this to happen, and the college community has its collective fingers crossed. Without a state bailout, the school will be forced to close at the end of the current academic year.

CSF is primarily an art school--a perfect fit for an art city like Santa Fe. Degree programs in film, theatre, art, music, photography, and creative writing have enrolled enormously talented students. The students in these photos are junior and senior majors in the Performing Arts Department, dressed in costumes they wore in recent productions. It's worth noting that costume design students at the college sew all the costumes in the Performing Arts costume shop.

If you have an "in" with a New Mexico legislator, they ask you to support their cause.