And that's 365

I did it.

I set out, on January 1, 2016, to take a photograph every day. I did take photos every day. Even though I often had to resort to posting them in batches, I did what I set out to do. I'm kind of amazed. In many ways, Natalie was the angel on my shoulder; she joined in on the project and seeing her stay steady helped me to not give up. Thank you, Natalie.

I'm struck by how our collective take on 2016 was that it was awful. The year that sucked, it seems. I see that -- I see all our horrible losses, I see a world gone wrong politically, I see the ravages of global climate change and the collapse of empathy. But I also saw joy, and reasons to hope, and reasons to believe. My beloved Cubs won the World Series, for goodness sake!

We are here. We have survived. We may have difficult work ahead of us, and particularly large obstacles to climb over and eradicate. But we will move forward. We will make progress. We will find the good things, the joys; we will hold hope and we will create hope for others. The problems, the evils that have come into sharp focus this year are not new, they are simply newly exposed.

So let's face them head on. Let us remember that every day, every action, every choice, is an important part of a collective whole -- and the energy and intent of those small parts will define the whole. Let's believe in what we know to be true: there is good in the world.

And, finally, let's share. Put yourself out there, share your ideas, add your voice. I'll be here.

A photo a day over at Chicken Blog, too.