I was crawling through my archives this morning and came across this little rant that I wrote years ago, during my first, horrible, post-grad school job at the Cornell University Library. I know several of you Gentle Readers are in school right now, and I thought you might enjoy the…

This morning as I was driving to work I became embroiled in local Farm Drama. Let me back up. Photo by Cryptia 30 Apr 07, 10.59PM EDT. I live, at least for the next week or so, in upstate New York. Among other things, such as a dearth of decent…

Bowing to the demands of my own powerful curiosity, I have agreed to a give an exclusive interview to myself. My publicist disagrees with my decision, but I believe I have a strong connection with myself and I think I can be trusted to report my answers fairly. Q: Hello…

Driving home through rural Ithaca I saw, within 30 seconds: A snapping turtle crossing the road, long prehistoric tail dragging behind her. The turtles are laying eggs this week wherever they can, including parking lots, trails, and ditches. A great blue heron A vole running across the road. Voles are…

Maggie and I visited the bees this weekend. She’s five and wants her own hive. No one ever told her that she’s supposed to be afraid. We cleaned the hive, inspected for mites, and took out some honey frames. Her family watched proudly from a safe distance, and took this…

Today was big and full. I’m tired, so here’s a list for you. Bullet points are less intimidating. I crashed our application today by accidentally deploying to Production rather than my localhost. Oops. But then I fixed it and felt all cool with my mad Linux skillz. I’m staying out…

Even nature sancturary libraries have problems with unruly teenagers hanging around in the parking lot. These geese are at the awkward stage between being yellow fuzzy poofballs and tall feathery adults. As a result, they listen to emo music and wear heavy eyeliner. Someday they will grow up to be…

Dear Deer, You may not remember me, but we met one evening after dinner. You had hopped into my backyard and were chewing on my rhododendrons. I had stepped outside to refill the bird feeder when our eyes met. I’ve always admired your grace and fortitude. Your ability to leap…