Passed the Semester Hump!

Welcome back from spring break! Hope y’all had a grand time sunning, catching up on school work, visiting family and friends, or just hangin’. With spring break now behind us, we’re in the final stretch of the semester. There’s a hum in the air as the entire community–faculty, staff, students–hunker down and push onward to get through these final weeks.

However, here in the NEK, spring is turning up everywhere. The crocuses have bloomed, and the daffodils and tulips won’t be far behind. The robins have been here for a few weeks now, as have the male red-winged blackbirds. The deer are wandering far and wide for food. And, the skunks…the skunks…are out and about at all times of the day.

To me, this is quite surprising. I’ve never seen or smelled a skunk in broad daylight. However, in the past week, a skunk as sprayed twice in our neighborhood just around dinner time, and this morning, I saw one in the field walking toward me. What time was that? 7 a.m.! I had two dogs with me, thankfully the wild one was on the leash already, and I had to grab the other one by the collar and drag. And, despite having the two dogs, the ol’ skunk just kept walking towards me! I can do without that kind of excitment in the morning.

Another sign of spring? Wanderlust! I used to get spring fever  (April Fool’s–a bit late) so badly when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I’d just want to get in the car and drive south or west to warm sunshine, warm breezes, and water that you can swim in. Thankfully I haven’t experienced that in a very long time. It was just too darned uncomfortable. However, on nice days, I’d take a pay cut to be able to just be outside in the warm sun and air. I crave it.

So,  are you finding it hard to concentrate? Have you seen any moose? What signs of spring are you seeing or experiencing now?  LET’S HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and don’t forget to check out these library resources:

Birding in Vermont (’Tis the season)
The outside story: local writers explore the nature of Vermont and New Hampshire
A year of the stars: a month-by-month journey of skywatching
The spring equinox: celebrating the greening of the earth
Baseball: a literary anthology containing that famous piece “Casey at the bat”
Wandering home: a long walk across America’s most hopeful landscape, Vermont’s Champlain Valley and New York’s Adirondacks
The hobbit, or, There and back again
Sally goes to the beach

We can get the call numbers for you if you need help. Finally, get out there and enjoy the coming warm weather, all creatures great and small, but get that work done!

Let’s Hear it for the Animals!

As usual, I was driving to work this morning, listening to VPR, when I heard a story that just made me want to blog about it. The story was about a horse sanctuary in Georgia. As an animal lover, I can rarely listen to heart wrenching stories about animals because I just get too involved. However, this story was most interesting.

As you probably know, the south is in the throes of a three-year drought. Many family farms have been sold, grain is going up in price as is fuel. This means that farmers, and even the folks who have a “just a few animals” on their land, can no longer afford to feed them. Further, since there’s no grass left for to graze on, many animals, including horses, are being abandoned.

If you were to Google “horse sanctuary” you find so many hits, that it quite overwhelming. For that matter, Google any animal, pig, cow, dog, wolf, llama, and add the word sanctuary, and there are just too many hits to count.

If you’re interested in sanctuaries, we’ve got one just over the ridge from the College called Mountain View Farm Animal Sanctuary. If you visit the web site, you’ll find that they’ve been in business since 2003 and why they got started. Then, there’s the Hooved Animal Sanctuary in Chelsea, VT.

If you want to travel a little bit further, a place that’s very close to my heart is Wolf Hollow in Ipswich, MA. This is an amazing gray wolf sanctuary where you can get darned close to the animals to see them and hear them. The educational experience is worth a visit for adults and children. The presenters equate wolf pack relationships to family relationships, illustrate communication patterns, and pack roles.

Some books in the Library that you just might want to check out are–Beyond Wolves: the politics of wolf recovery and management, and The Scalpel and the Butterfly: the war between animal research and animal protection. The call numbers for these books, as well as others, can be found the in the VSC Online Catalog. Or, stop by the information desk to ask for assistance.

Kewl ALERT!!!!!

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Library staff member, Pat Webster, can be heard on VPR this Friday, between 7:45 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., to discuss a treasure she found in the LSC Library archives! How kewl is that?!

Remember, I’d really like to hear from you, so feel free to post your comments! -v-

Today is DARWIN DAY!

Darwin Day - an international celebration of reason and humanity! Darwin Day is an official program of the Institute for Humanist Studies, a think tank, in Albany, New York.

Why Darwin Day? First, it’s his birthday. Today recognizes the 199th year since Darwin was born. Also, it’s the day to honor the discoveries and life of the man who described biological evolution through natural selection.

Whether you agree or disagree with this theory, it has certainly given us a lot to think about, learn about, and most passionately, discuss!

Want to know more about Charles Darwin, theory of evolution or the controversies surrounding his theory? Check out these resources:

AboutDarwin.com

All About Science, Charles Darwin

BBC Historic Figures, Charles Darwin

Creationists Seek Foothold in Europe

Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: the Evolution Controversy

The Idea Center

Intelligent Design?

However, if you decide you’d prefer to read a book or find some articles on the topic, come on in and ask the library staff for assistance. Let’s keep talking!

60+ of You Visited the Site Yesterday!

That is very exciting to see! So, what did you think? Did you appreciate the topic for the day? Does it make sense to match library and web resources to the topic? Do you have suggestions for future topics? If so, let me know by adding a comment to a post. I’d really like to hear from you?

Today, it’s all about snow! Who’s tired of winter? I am as of yesterday when the snowblower broke. The blower makes a horribly loud screeching noise and the auger doesn’t turn. So, I’m thinking it’s a bad belt.

Usually I love the snow. I go out snowshoeing a lot with the dog. However, if the snow gets much deeper, Topper won’t want to go. When it gets up to his belly, he just looks at me as if, “What do you expect me to do in this? Swim? I’m not goin’ through that, it’s too much work!”

So, today is a fun day. In honor of snow, and dogs, I’ve put some links below to some fun and interesting sites. Enjoy!

Bailey the Unknown Reindeer A little dated because of the Christmas thing, but very cute and funny!

Looking for something fun to do, and different, maybe with your sweetie for some Valentine’s Day fun? If so, check out Vermont dog sledding information.

Interesting perspective from the dog’s point-of-view.

And finally, a banana loving dog in the snow.

It’s Super Tuesday!

I know what many of you are thinking, “So what?! It doesn’t have anything to do with me.” Ah, but it does. In the 60s and 70s, feminists proclaimed the personal is political.

The phrase was used to emphasize what was happening in women’s personal lives: access to health care, domestic violence, rape, work outside of the home and still primarily responsible for the home and children, access to sports opportunities, and more.

Do some of these issues sound familiar? They should because they are still just as important to women. However, they are also important to women’s families, their husbands, fathers, sons, daughters, and friends.

What is going on in your life, or a friend’s life, that could be made easier, healthier, or more financially secure if there was better support at the state or federal levels? Today, only 26 states mandate that insurance companies provide equitable coverage for contraceptives. Just today, the New York Times has a story in the health section about contraception not being covered by insurance plans, yet, yet, Viagra is. And this is just one issue in health care. What about rising costs, companies cutting back on coverage, and insurance companies denying coverage?  The personal is political!

And, what about education? Many of you students expect to leave Lyndon State and teach? Or, what about the quality of education that your students, children, nieces and nephews will receive? Are our schools underfunded? Are teachers fully prepared to teach? Are teachers expected to address issues in the classroom for which they are not prepared such as behavioral problems? Are our community tax dollars being well spent at our schools? What is the community’s obligation, or what are parental obligations toward educating students? The personal is political!

Even though today is Super Tuesday, when decisions could be made about who continues the race for the White House or not, Vermont’s primary is not until March 4, a long 4 weeks away. You still have time to think about what is important to you, learn about the candidates that support your values and beliefs, and go vote!

You might want to check out some of these sites:

NY Times “Election Guide”
Compare the candidates on various election 2008 issues. 

Vote 411
A non-partisan site providing information at the state level for absentee voting, election dates, voter registration, voting machines, eligibility requirements, and mroe.

Campaign U.
Links to articles focusing on the 2008 elections as they affect students, colleges, and higher education policy.

Indecision 2008
From Comedy Central, find video clips, interviews, a political news blog, and other campaign coverage.

FactCheck
Evaluates the accuracy of campaign claims.

There are also books in the library that are by or about some of the candidates. Stop and ask the reference staff for assistance to locate these books or other resources to help you make a decision during the next few weeks!

GO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!