27 Comments

Things I noticed today thanks to Rob Walker

One neighbor gave me iris bulbs

The other mowed my lawn

The other daughter weeded

The others youngest cries “Hey Dan!”

I took a rose cutting from McDonald’s parking lot

Asked for a million dollars to restore the courthouse

Drew some pencil sketches

Planted poppies (I want the opium)

Hung my clothes outside to dry

Mistook crab apple petals falling for snow

Smelled the fragrance of spring

Chatted with geneticist about pancreatic cancer

Played scratch cards in Fagins pub

And won

Sent my ski pass refund to Maria to pay her doctors and buy watercolors

Walked the river trail and thought Kingsolved is a genius

Met a young man to do some tile

Debated politics with the roofer

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Christine’s book & your addition to the idea resonated with me. I notice lots of interesting things whilst walking my dogs but rarely do I photograph them & if I do I don’t share them. I always thought no one else would be interested, but maybe I’m wrong 🤔

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May 26Liked by Rob Walker

You have so much good free content that people might not feel the need to subscribe ... but I did become a paid subscriber because I found myself book marking so many of your ideas so I'm not sure what advice to give. Some projects I've started inspired by your prompts. A monthly photo documentation of my garden, overview and close ups, inspired by TAoN No. 92. I'm also trying to walk all the streets in my new neighbourhood and visit every National Park in my state (There's 43). I also love the prompt "Imagine your world is your museum"

Anyway I think you get the picture that I am a fan of your work. I love especially the prompts relating to noticing what's happening in your local space. Also I don't know whether you put me onto the Urban Field Naturalist Project: https://www.urbanfieldnaturalist.org/ but their book is delightful.

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Congrats on the mega organic growth! I have no wisdom on the paid front, but kudos for grabbing our attention ☺️

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Thanks for the shout out for Lou Reed's Nephew, Rob! I too want to figure out how to use all the new tools here and am going to start by checking the "Also share to Notes" option below the post. No idea what will happen. Wish me luck!

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Wow congrats on your huge growth! And I feel your frustration re: paids. My request is that you try some wild experiments on that front and report on the results!

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May 24Liked by Rob Walker

It's hilarious now to think that American Graffiti was looking back only 11 years, but things had changed a lot in that short time!

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May 24Liked by Rob Walker

Hi Rob, I'm so pleased you enjoyed Things I Notice When I Walk The Dog ... thank you for sharing it.

One of the most important things about noticing it seems is learning to slow down. I have a small notebook near my comfy chair and at the end of the day, I sometimes list a few good things from the day. Even if it was a stressful day, I can always come up with something ... like how good that first sip of coffee was, and these days, how sweet the lilacs smell when we walk around the neighborhood.

I really like your post about Every Single X and want to give it a try.

There really is so much to notice, thank you for reminding us. - Christine

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Thank you, really enjoyed the link to the WP article about birdsong!

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May 24Liked by Rob Walker

Hi, just a little note to say that I love your newsletter so much. As a noticer with a love of the small things, I resonate with so much of what you write. I also wanted to say I'm a free subscriber, and it's because I live in the Phlippines and can't pay via credit card, so I wish there was a Paypal option! I'll figure it out, but in the meantime, much love and keep doing you.

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Look... some of us are just poor because of circumstances. We can only afford one or maybe two subscriptions. We may rotate these between favourites from time to time. So, we appreciate any creative and inspiring content that is free!

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I recommend checking out Wendy MacNaughton’s Draw Together newsletter. She’s used the chat feature as a way to allow subscribers to share photos of their responses to weekly prompts. It’s created a nice little community. I can only afford so many paid subscriptions, but I’ll never drop that one because I’m engaged with the chat community.

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Rob: what’s your paid audience %? Substack say anything between 5-10% can be expected, but I’ve sat stubbornly around 2.5% ever since turning on paid subs, and it doesn’t seem to shift much.

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