Happy 4th Birthday!

May 31, 2026 was the birthday of the blog, but since it fell on a Sunday during my regular Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical posting, I am posting it today instead. As in past years, I will give some statistics and give a countdown of the top ten most popular posts. Viewership has climbed dramatically in the past few months thanks to resolving issues with search engines. In the past year, I receive around 60,400 views, which is about double the number of views I received in the previous three years combined. This month marks the highest number of views in a month to date at 11,182. Here are the top ten most popular posts from this year, along with an explanation on their popularity.

  1. Museum of the Bible, Part 3 | 66 Views
    Posted on November 12, 2025, this post covers a popular, niche museum receives a few views a week, steadily adding to its number. Part 1 received 61 views, while Part 2 received 63 views.
    The National Mall & Memorial Parks, Part 1 | 66 Views
    Posted on December 10, 2025, this post covers a popular, wildly known historic site and receives a few views each week. Part 2 received 46 views.
  2. LOTRAM The Road Goes Ever On | 73 Views
    Posted on September 21, 2025, its connection to an essay series allows it to not only receive several views per week but also small spikes of views from visitors reading multiple essays.
  3. LOTRAM Musicians of the Shire | 77 Views
    Posted on July 27, its connection to an essay series allows it to not only receive several views per week but also small spikes of views from visitors reading multiple essays.
  4. The Great Elephant Migration & Newport Cliff Walk | 84 Views
    Posted on January 17, 2025, the previous blog year, the Newport mansions and art exhibit have continuing popularity, making this the fourth most popular all-time posts on the blog at 222 views.
  5. Quick History Stops: Ipswich, MA, Part 1 | 85 Views
    Posted on June 27, 2025, the stops are located on the North Shore, an area known for tourism, encouraging regular views from curious visitors. Part 2 received 72 views.
  6. The Trustees: Appleton Farms | 86 Views
    Posted on June 4, 2025, the farm is located on the North Shore, an area known for tourism, encouraging regular views from curious visitors.
  7. LOTRAM Architecture: Bag End | 91 Views
    Posted on January 19, 2025, the previous blog year, its connection to an essay series allows it to not only receive several views per week but also small spikes of views from visitors reading multiple essays.
  8. LOTRAM Rules of the Shire | 99 views
    Posted on June 29, 2025, its connection to an essay series allows it to not only receive several views per week but also small spikes of views from visitors reading multiple essays.
  9. LOTRAM Races: Orcs | 106 views
    Posted all the way back on September 15, 2024, this post has become more popular recently than when it was first released, with 139 total views, likely due to its connection to the essay series.
  10. LOTRAM Instrumental: Gandalf Warns about the Ring | 121 Views
    Posted on October 5, 2025, its connection to an essay series allows it to not only receive several views per week but also small spikes of views from visitors reading multiple essays. Plus, this post includes and embedded music video to encourage returns to listen again.

It is worth noting that the three most popular all-time posts have seen fewer views in the past year. LOTRAM Introduction to the Appendix is at 258 views, LOTRAM Prologue, 2 Concerning Pipe-weed is at 328 views, and LOTRAM Prologue, 3 On the Ordering of the Shire is at 423 views.

I am also interest in seeing what days have high numbers. Here are the top five days from this year and an explanation for their popularity, which may create more questions than answers.

  1. April 9 | 705 Views
    I had recently added a pair of posts about popular sites on the North Shore managed by the Trustees: Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens and Weir Hill. This likely encouraged exploration to other Trustees and North Shore sites covered on the blog.
  2. May 15 | 836 Views
    A trio of posts on the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Michigan may have encouraged a new demographic of visitors to explore the blog.
  3. March 24 | 892 Views
    In The Lord of the Rings, the One Ring was destroyed on March 25, and LOTR fans may have been preparing for a celebration. Simultaneously, I had recently posted a 5-part series on Old Sturbridge Village and a review of the BBC podcast Witch, encouraging two other unique demographics to visit the blog.
  4. May 9 | 982 Views
    I had posted about sites in Essex County on the North Shore and added an update to LOTRAM, which may have triggered viewers to visit multiple posts across the blogs deep catalogue. However, I could not determine a specific reason for so many views.
  5. April 27 | 1194 Views
    In Middle-earth as told in The Hobbit, the thirteen dwarves and Gandalf visit Bilbo in Bag End on this date, perhaps encouraging viewers to read LOTRAM essays. Otherwise, there is no clear explanation as to why this day received an enormous number of views relative to other days.

While I do not entirely understand the reasoning behind spikes in viewership, the viewers are certainly coming more frequently than in the past. I look forward to a fifth year of the blog and hope to continue to grow in the next twelve months.