As I mentioned in this earlier post, I’ve been meaning to tighten up the overall organization here, as well as finally see some unfinished bits to completion over time.
In this post I hope to clearly explain why I made some changes I did, as well as what to expect ahead. I also purposefully over-explain and overemphasize some bits because not everyone knows the inner workings and terminology of WP blogs.
This post will be pinned until March 19th to try to alleviate confusion for folks that wander back here later on this year because they’re still recovering from the holly days and/or have not yet begun thinking about this year’s garden.
Before I forget, I apologize to anyone that prefers fair warning before changes are made. I honestly did not think I would be this far along so soon. Blame automation!
Since the first stage went a lot quicker than feared, some of what is below is already different than what I stated in that same earlier post. Given those big changes, I collated the first Weekly Site Changes Update post to help folks adjust that might need more info.
The much abridged Categories list you can see in the right hand column (or below the Comments Section if using a tablet or phone) at this point pretty broadly covers everything I have posted or hope to post in the near future. There are still some last few minor tweaks I may make as to name or placement, but I want to give myself a bit of time to mull over what might still be needed, and how to handle such best.
As to any Subcategory that was outright eliminated (as opposed to being renamed or moved) in the Categories list (such as “beneficial” under “Creatures”), what will happen as time allows is some may be replaced by Tags (the “TAGGED:” list of words/short phrases you find grouped above the Comments Section in a post, as with the example below). 
The Tags will be adjusted much more slowly than the Categories were. First I need to do some housecleaning, as typos and poor choices slid in over time. Then I will start adding in what is missing. They may have been a former Subcategory (such as the recently added Tags “The Mighty R’s” and “Pests“), or something needed that I had not yet made a Tag (like “propagation” and “Sugar Maple” which will be early additions).
As I fill in the Tags, I will start fleshing out some of the long languishing top Menu Links with an easier across platforms navigation method. Some will be similar to the tiered drop downs you currently see for Pages such as “About”. As I get closer to building that method, I’ll post another update showing a clear example you will be able to live compare from this site against what will be pictured in the update post at that time. This later step of creating that tiered based navigation will be a slower process, but I hope to have at least the example ready sometime in February.
Alternately, while I’m working on this change, there are three other methods you can use to search within the right hand column (or found below the Comments Section if on a tablet or phone) to try to find posts you want to see. You can either:
- use the new pared down Categories list available which may take some time to scroll for what you seek, depending on how old it is;
- or if you have a rough idea of when it was posted, use either the Calendar for more recent posts or the Archives for older ones;
- or you can use the Search box, especially if you know I definitely posted about something in the past you want to view again. Depending on whether you recall the exact word/phrase or not, this might still be hit or miss until I finish building the overall Tag list.
As I also mentioned in the same post linked initially, I will be posting weekly site change updates on Friday mornings (Eastern Time) of what I’ve changed that week. So if you haven’t been able to find something you’re looking for, you can check the most recent update to see if I’ve finished that Tag yet.
Because this sort of indexing can be a bit monotonous (I know I zone out after a while, giving higher chance of error), I will be breaking the process up when needed by posting Office Window Views that I never got around to posting last year as they are the quickest posts to finish. Those will also be link listed in the weekly updates as they are added to help ease the navigation changes because they will be backdated to the date they were taken–not the actual day I post them.
If I post all the past due Office Window Views, but I’m still not done with the Tag updates, I will then move to other unfinished posts to break up the work. Those will also be link listed once posted in the weekly updates as the Office Window Views were.
I honestly have no idea how long the remainder of this transition will take. Although the Category downsize was much quicker than I feared, the rest is a lot more work overall. If the transition bleeds into early spring, I will default to any still needed breaks from Tags with current updates. I hope it doesn’t go that long, but life doesn’t always work out as we’d like.
If there is something I described above you still need cleared up, or if you have other questions or suggestions, feel free to either leave a comment below or use my Contact form.
[Edit: This post has been edited because the first Weekly Site Change Update is now live.]
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