Digital Storytelling (MToaS 39)

Another fun one. I can definitely see how this would be applicable to library work. I loved the history pages about Laura Wilson on escrapbooking. What a great way to make history come alive and feel accessible to kids! Hooray! 

Just yesterday I was talking with my supervisor about how exciting the non-fiction publishing world is right now. More and more, non-fiction writers are jumping clear of the restraints of academia and bringing the layperson fun, intriguing, exasperating, amazing and generally fantastic stories about what has brought us ~ as people, communities, societies ~ to this crazy place we are today. I think these tools (MToaS 38, 39, etc) can be part of that trend. Very, very cool.

For many of us, I suspect that the biggest obstacle to embracing these tools in the workplace will be getting our respective organizations ~ schools, public and private libraries, etc. ~ on board. It's not as simple as getting a great idea about how we, as individuals with a techy-geeky bent (okay, maybe I'm just speaking for myself) could utilize Web 2.0 tools to advertise/celebrate programs and the work we're doing, it's also a matter of having our respective administrations jump on board and say "Yes! Go for it!" Even if they want to encourage us, there may be a whole gamut of obstacles that need to be overcome first, as well as issues of politics/funding/staffing/etc. that may take priority for their attention.

I ended up using Scrapblog [note: the link on MToaS page doesn't work]. It was ridiculously easy to figure out. I used a video that I made a while ago on my sweet iMac. It was already uploaded on YouTube, so a very simple matter to go grab it, add some funness and then easy-peasy posting onto Blogger. The way these tools are integrating makes it very easy to manipulate data of whatever format and spend the precious brain cells on creativity rather than figuring out the logistics of specific programs. Nice.

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Oh, and lastly: I'm really enjoying Skitch. (My apologies to the Windows users out there.) I took a pic of a robin who's built a nest on the gutters just outside our porch window. She's gotten used to us gazing at her. Doesn't even do more than glare when Rosie starts chattering at her. (We do pull a curtain across the window to give her more privacy.) We can't wait to see the little robin-lings that will hopefully be coming.

Fishers and films

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've blogged. Life jumped up and smacked me, what can I say? There's been good, bad and the ugly, and the sublimely beautiful too. And, as always, I've drafted the blog entries in my head, then the days and weekends end and I'm too exhausted from the busy, distracting work of living to actually take the time to sit and write. It's too bad. There have been some really good drafts in my head.

The weekend of April 10 when we decided to go south in search of open water -- the lakes up here were still frozen over and the rivers running too wild to float. So we took the weekend off of work, we threw the kayaks in the back of the truck, and we headed to Red Wing. It was fabulous. We floated on the Vermillion Slough, the water so high that we parked a half a mile before the parking lot and then floated the rest of the way. The picture of Gabi above is in the parking lot -- and about three feet of water. While there we saw several Bald Eagles, one in a nest, as well as a fisher (aka North American marten) which was quite fun. We feel very fortunate for that, since they are supposed to be very shy animals.

I first saw the fisher in the water, trolling around some fallen logs that were swamped with high water. Then, he saw me and skedaddled, running for the nearest standing tree. He climbed up it very quickly, looking both awkward and elegant (and noisier than I would have expected) and then stopped about twenty-five feet up, in the vee of some branches. From there he peeked out watching us, and seemed to be as curious about us as we were about him.

Then, two weekends ago was the 8th Annual St. Cloud GLBTA Film Festival, and like every year before it was nail-biting mayhem at times and nerve wracking, sit and wait to see who shows up at others. The films were awesome. We had a great film-screening committee and they did a great job. Unfortunately, the turnout was much lower than we'd hoped.

This is the second year that our turnout has been down. This year was the lowest we've had. I can't help wondering if, in an era of Logo network, Brokeback Mountain, and Ellen with not only a highly rated talk show but also her full-page Covergirl spreads, that maybe GLBT film fests just aren't needed as much anymore. We're not starved for lack of mainstream images of ourselves. The popular culture and media landscape is so phenomenally different than it was even ten years ago. It's good, but I'm starting to wonder how and if our little film festival will survive.

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Pic info: Gabi in the kayak taken by me. The fisher is from the wikipedia entry on fishers, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal).

The Perfect Glass of Iced Sun Tea

A recipe in honor of the last day of summer vacation.

1) Sleep late, taking extra time to snuggle with your sweetie.

2) Once you get up, do it slowly. Listen to the birds singing outside, pet the cats (don’t forget to feed them too). When you get dressed, make sure comfort is more important than style. But wear cute shoes.

3) Start the sun tea: fill a one-gallon glass jar with filtered water. Add 8 bags of Nestea, regular or decaf, and 4 bags of Constant Comment, also regular or decaf.

4) Place the tea jar in the sunniest place in the garden, next to the basil and garlic chives. Talk to the chickadees while you take down the feeders to refill them, and enjoy when they talk back when you return with full feeders. Be sure to put out some peanuts and sunflowers for the chipmunks and squirrels, and pass through the garden looking at the new blooms, encouraging the recent transplants, and enjoying the very last daylilies of the summer.

5) Pull a few weeds with your sweetie. Water any dry garden beds and all transplants. Putz around the yard before having a light lunch.

6) Load up the kayaks in the back of the truck and go to a favorite lake or gentle river. Enjoy time in the sunshine, counting eagles and kingfishers and turtles. Stop and rest if you get tired. Eat a snack if you get hungry. Talk about anything that pops into your minds, or just enjoy the silence.

7) Head back home. Take in the tea. Remove the tea bags and refrigerate.

8) Do one productive thing from the to-do list that’s still too long.

9) Get a book and sit on the porch or the patio, reading out loud to each other. Or talk about what a great summer it’s been. Call each other Mrs. Laugh. Smile a lot.

10) Pour a glass of tea over ice. Add a slice of lemon or a little sugar if desired. Watch goldfinches eating sunflowers that the sparrows planted in the spring. Watch chipmunks run through the yard with perfectly peanut-shaped cheeks. Talk about school plans, weeding the library, and projects that need to be completed before fall. Feel completely happy and right with the world.

Photo credits: this is a picture of Crimson Shadows, the last great bloomer of the season. I purchased the plant from Oakes Daylilies a few years ago. Highly recommended.

The nursery in our garden

It's that time of year.

Newly fledged starlings have been hopping around the yard screeching at their parents for food. These little guys, who remind me of Einstein the way their juvenile feathers stick out in a crown over their heads, are noisy, ridiculous, stubborn and oddly endearing. On Sunday I had to get right down next to a particularly petulant little guy to shoo him off the lawn so that we could mow (Gabi was so sad not to have a camera for that one!).

This morning as I went out to water transplants I saw a baby bunny dash into the hostas in the corner bed. They're so cute when they're tiny! The momma looks lean and a little worse for wear (it was a hard winter for everyone), but the baby's adorable.


Somewhere in there lurks the cutest baby bunny.

Then, as I continued on, I found a young mourning dove crouched behind a planter in obvious distress. I caught him and saw immediately that his feathers were matted with pine-tips, the resinous, flaky brown bits that get pushed off the tips of the pine by new growth. So I sat down and took a few moments to clean him up. Then I noticed that he still wasn't looking good, so I inspected further. I found a whole sunflower seed ~ shell and all ~ lodged in the little guy's throat. So I brought him inside and used tweezers to get it out. From the smell of it, he'd been gagging on that seed for a while, poor little fool.


Fuzzy pic, I know, but he wouldn't exactly pose for me.

Now he's in a cat carrier on the back porch with fresh water and chipped sunflower nuts. Fortunately no cat found him, and there is no sign of external injury, so hopefully he'll survive. I just adore the doves that hang out in our yard. They and the chickadees are my favorites.

Update, 6/6/08: The little guy was looking alert when I left for
work yesterday but was dead when I got home. No sign of cat attack,
so I think there was just more wrong on Tuesday than I could see.

Another splendid Sunday

We could not have ordered nicer weather today. It's been sunny, with just a light breeze, and temps up to about 80. Perfect. So, yes, of course we took the kayaks out.



Today we went out on the Mississippi. We put in at Little Rock Lake, near Rice. The lake had a severe algae problem last year, and it looks like it might develop the same stinky problem this year. However, right now it's lovely, with just the occasional green glaze. It's a very populated area, yet full of little hidden coves too shallow for the pontoons and larger boats to get into.



Near the edge of the lake, where it merges with the river, we were exploring a shallow area that will be soon be choked with water lilies. Behind us, just hidden behind cottonwood, pine and willow trees, were several large houses. Someone was playing, of all things, a Sousa march at speaker-breaking volume. Then a train went by, sounding its whistle as it approached a nearby bridge. And a speedboat throttled up somewhere not too distant.

And amidst all this noise, we discovered a patient heron, standing quietly on a log while a couple of red-wing blackbirds busied themselves in the underbrush nearby. Herons are normally very shy, but this one let Gabi drift close enough for a great picture.



This is what I love about exploring the Mississippi as it flows past Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud. The river is wide and deep enough for powerful boats to cruise up and down, but then you can also find these shallow, "secret" areas where the big boys can't get to. And in these places, the wild essence of the river remains. There are still unspoiled areas of great beauty, they're just small and infrequent, and you have to pay attention so that you don't miss them.

But, if you do pay attention, the beauty and wildness is there, surprising and remarkable in its tenacious, willful exuberance.

Joy, bliss and lots of water

It was, as my lovely Gabi said, a weekend largely devoted to water. First, we hooked up the four rainbarrels purchased last week to the gutters installed two years ago...

We may not get our chores done speedily, but we do get them done, eventually.

First off, I must say how happy we were on Saturday morning to look outside and see sunshine instead of snow! Yes, the weather predictors had been saying, "The snow is coming the snow is coming" all week, and we were believers. Instead, we we were greeted by sunshine and temperatures speeding all the way up to the high fifties... yes, there's some sarcasm there. Still, a lovely day. We spent the afternoon fixing up the rainbarrels, and all was well and good in the world.

Sunday was simply beautiful. The first miniature iris were budding, lots of sun, the lawns turning malachite green. New growth is such a stunning color this time of year. It takes your breath away.

I bought some pansies and potted them up for the front and back steps. So cheerful to come home to.

In the afternoon we were took the kayaks out to St. John's University and Lake Saga-somethingunpronouncable. It was great. The wind was up a little, but not enough for whitecaps. Just some fun waves to bounce over the front of the boats. The water was frigid, but with our big, strange-looking skirts on the kayaks we stayed dry and warm.

Best was venturing into the little pond-like areas around the lake that are inaccessible for most of the year. However, yesterday the water lilies were still a foot below the surface and the water is still high enough that we explored further than we ever have before. We found a second beaver dam (old and abandoned, by the look of it). We saw dozens of turtles sunning themselves -- they're very easy to spot this time of year because they are a deep dark green but the watergrasses are still brown. In a month they'll be virtually invisible.

As always, we saw many varieties of birds at Lake Sag. Common loons, two kinds of chickadees, ducks, geese, goldfinches, kingfishers... and an eagle on our way home.

We also saw (and heard) a herd of 15 deer, does and fawns. They were incredibly noisy running across last year's dropped leaves.

So, yes, proof positive that winter is over.