The top ten TreeHugger posts of 2016

It is always a surprise, looking at the most popular posts of the year. We never quite know why they draw so much interest, but judging from this year's top ten posts based on the number of times viewed, we can draw a couple of lessons:
- Readers love how-to stories and lists, with information and research about products, like Katherine's posts on perfume and ethical shoes.
- Despite constant complaints about having to change the pages, readers love slideshows.
- Tiny houses still inspire; they are still the most popular design posts.
- Readers love strange animal stories; the most popular post written this year is about bees, and the most popular post of the year by far is a 2013 story about a missing tortoise.
- Managing editor Melissa is really a robot, not only running the show but producing six of the ten stop stories, including the top three. The rest of us just fill out the pages.
So in 2017 readers can look forward to lots more slideshows of strange animals in tiny houses filled with people wearing organic perfume and vegan footwear!
10: 2 beautiful ways to have plants inside
If you live in a climate where cool weather takes a firm grip on the landscape, you may miss greenery. Cool seasons are great for beautifully bleak wintry scenes, not so great for those who thrive on the beauty of vibrant plant life. The formidable absence of green can be a little disconcerting. Solution? Operation Houseplant! More in TreeHugger: 2 beautiful ways to have plants inside9: Alaskan mom builds lovely tiny house -- and is offering the plans for free (Video)

8: How a talented architect keeps refining the tiny house until he gets it right

7: 7 reasons mosquitoes bite some people more than others
Zika, West Nile, Malaria, Dengue … the disconcerting catalog of illnesses spread by the flying disease-delivery vehicles known as mosquitoes is an ever expanding thing. And along with vector-borne diseases, mosquitoes and their diabolic hypodermic mouthparts offer no shortage of itchy welts, meanwhile their crazy-making hum can keep the soundest of sleepers swatting at their faces all night. More in TreeHugger: 7 reasons mosquitoes bite some people more than others6: 9 brands that make ethical casual shoes and sneakers

5: Icelandic turf houses are old-school green with a Viking twist
Take it from animals that hibernate in dens surrounded by earth and roots, turf makes for a cozy home in cold climes – a fact not lost on Northern Europeans dating back to at least the Iron Age. Building from turf has been embraced in many places, over many spans of time – Norway, Scotland, Ireland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, the Netherlands and even in the American Great Plains. But while in these areas the practice was used to build dwellings for those with few means, the turf houses in Iceland differ. More in TreeHugger: Icelandic turf houses are old-school green with a Viking twist4: 12 companies that make luxurious all-natural perfumes

3: Self-sufficient Scottish island for sale; comes with broadband and post office
Stop the presses! The best escape fantasy ever is on the market and could be yours for a mere $2.3 million, or about the cost of a Manhattan condo. Tanera Mor is the main island of the Summer Isles, an idyllic archipelago a mile and a half off the northwest coast of Scotland near Ullapool. You want seven miles of rugged cliffs, sheltered coves and beaches? Make an offer! The island is 1.6 miles long and 1.2 miles wide, has spectacular views and sustains itself with generators and wind turbines for 24-hour electricity; plus, a freshwater treatment works. More in TreeHugger: Self-sufficient Scottish island for sale; comes with broadband and post office2: The strawberry full moon makes this summer solstice a super rare thing
The summer solstice isn’t a rare event, a full moon even less so. But they’re both special, and when they just so happen to occur on the same day, as they will this year? That’s once-in-a-lifetime special. More in TreeHugger: The strawberry full moon makes this summer solstice a super rare thing1: Swarm of bees follows car for 2 days to rescue queen trapped in back

The top ten TreeHugger posts of 2016
From tiny houses to busy bees