Our Garden "Springhill"

These photos were taken during our Open Garden weekend in September 2005.

The woodland area has silver birches and crabapples,underplanted with azaelas,Japanese windflowers,daffodils,bluebells and hellebores.
We have a Japanese Garden and I love this photo taken by our son,as I feel it has a definite oriental look .
This kookaburra was most interested
in proceedings and spent most of the day sitting in our oak tree watching the people that passed through the garden.
This photo is of our son's partner admiring a beautiful flowering cherry tree
The kookaburra is still taking a great interest in what's going on .

No.23.Last Activity,What a Journey!

Wow!!what a challenge and an incredible experience.I truly doubted I could do this program but was determined to have a go.It was like setting sail into unknown waters.Apart from workflows I had only rudimentary computer skills when I began the journey.Now terms like blogs,wikis,RSS feeds,bloglines,zoho writer,tags,flickr,podcasts,youTube and much more have some meaning.I found the program utterly absorbing and enjoyed each activity,even when sometimes I had to try again and again.

I must thank management for its foresight in giving staff this wonderful opportunity to go forward with the latest technology and to learn about all the exciting and boundless information out there waiting to be explored and integrated into everyday use in the library or for our personal use.I love blogging and will continue to use my blog Springhillparklands as a Garden Journal,hopefully with some photos .

Week 9 No 22 NetLibrary/OverDrive trial.

Well this one took the longest time,five hours over the Christmas period trying to establish a NetLibrary account through the plcmc website.I kept going around in circles,so in desperation I joined the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County online,using my husband's Diners Club card,thinking maybe that was a way to get into NetLibrary.Maybe I will just have to plan a trip to America to use it.

Unfortunately I had not yet read the email relating to this activity.Have now tried to access OverDrive trial site through the Intranet,but the page could'nt be displayed.I tried the refresh button and all the other options sounded very compicated,so after trying to join NetLibrary think I'll give all that a miss and perhaps try again later,as I have already tried several times to access the site.I don't have a MP3 player so could'nt download material.

Never mind I guess the P.L.C.M.C.library card will be a great reminder of this wonderful Learning 2.0 program

No 21 Podcasts

After searching through all the podcast sites listed in activity 21,I decided to use the rss feed of a podcast site listed on the bloglines website.I accessed www.podder.org and was interested in Movies you should see.I subscribed to their website and copied the rss feed onto my bloglines account.Sounds simple ,well let me tell you it took a bit of perservence and several attempts before much to my delight the feed appeared on my bloglines.

No 21 Podcasts

After several hours immersed in the to date unknown world of podcasts,I hope I now have more idea of what podcasts can offer.I explored podcast.net,which I found to be the most exciting and interesting to me.I chose Recreation and Hobbies and was able to click on Gardening in Melbourne at the top of the page,where I found a comprehensive list of Nurseries and Garden Suppliers.This linked to melbourneandvictoria.com websites,with an alphabetical list off all things garden related.What a find!,after all the American based material.

podcastalley.com was a show for teens by teens,a bit out of my league.

Yahoo podcasts produced some sites for libraries and librarians.libvibe,the library
news podcast seemed to be the most informative.

I must organise some speakers for our computer,so I can actually listen to some podcasts.

No 2 0 Discover youTube

I found youTube fascinating.Trawling through some sites,I came across the page for the Australian OPen Garden Scheme,it was like meeting an old friend,as we have opened our garden in the past and hope to do so again in September next year.I then did a search for gardens in the video section,there were no matches,but I has sucess with a search for flowers.I found youTube an area where you can have fun,some of the videos are very clever,this is definitely a site I will return to and explore furter.

After much clicking on icons and some trial and error,hey presto,what a surprise!the video image of a flower below,suddenly appeared on my blog.It was like hitting the jackpot at the pokies.

youTube-flower-mi...

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Week 8 Web 2.0 Awards

I read several of the nominees for the Web 2.0 Awards.Although there were no actual award winners in the Travel category,only honorable mentions,I found travbuddy.com.very interesting,this would be a great site to meet people travelling to the same destination.get travel tips and share travel experiences.A feature of this site would be that it would be much more up to date than any travel book.Any political unrest,terrorist threats or dangerous situations would be likely to be discussed on the site.I can see a useful purpose for this web site in a library setting.Rather than try to find a book on a particular country,accessing the travbuddy.com site would be quicker and give first hand experiences.

I also found myspace.com,the 3rd placegetter in the category of Social Networking an eye opener,as my 17 year old niece spends hours a week on the site,as do many of her school friends.This site seems like a great idea as people with common interests can share ideas and experiences,and no young person ,or any person need be lonely.

No 18 Zoho Writer

Well all this is completely new to me ,as I have never done any word processing whatsoever.All the seemingly never ending symbols seem quite daunting,never mind I suppose getting to know them is all part of the Learning 2.0 progam.I would love to learn word processing as I do scrapbooking and often have to ask our daughter to print out labels for me.

I have managed to sign up for zoho writer,and had a good look at the site and tried writing documents.I have found trying to untangle the mysteries of modern technology frustrating.exciting and challenging.I have had several attempts to publish a document to my blog,but maybe I'm being a bit ambitious,I got as far as publish to blog,but then everything seemed to come to a halt.I think some help is required if I'm to achieve this.

Springhill

Still no rain in sight,the garden looks like it usually does at the end of summer,dusty,dry and drooping;and summer has just begun.I read in the paper today that stage 3 water restrictions will be in force,from January Ist '07.So it looks like a hard fought battle to keep plants alive is in store.

However all is not negative,tonight while watering,I saw a white faced heron,standing sentinel beside a large pond in our garden.We have a bronze sculpture of a brolga by the pond and this
graceful grey bird was silhouetted beside this sculpture.It was a magical moment to see this rare and beautiful bird in our garden for the first time.

I believe the harsh,dry conditions have brought this bird from nearby wetlands that are drying up into our garden,where last seen it was knee deep in the pond and looking very happy.

Thing No.17 Sandbox

I found wikis very interesting.The concept of a wiki seems far more informal and unstructured than a blog.To me it seems that the disadvantage could be that there is no control over who can access the wiki,and what they can do once they have gained access.

On the other hand I can see great advantages in certain circumstanes.For instance we have formed a Book Club in our street.A wiki could be a great way to communicate,and for people unable to attend a meeting to add their thoughts about a book,and to join in the group discussion,although not actually present.

I had good fun playing around in the sandbox,and after exploring various aspects of favourites on the list,managed to add my blog to the list of favourite blogs.I also set up a listing for Montpelier Book Group.Where this will take me is another exercise waiting to be explored.

No.16 Week 7 Wikis

I have read through several articles about wikis,particularly their use in libraries and by librarians.I found the Book Lover Wiki,of great interest,and can see that this would be of great value to the public to keep in touch with the latest books,and to find new authors to read.

The Library Success and Best Practices Wiki,seems like a wonderful place for libraries and librarians ,to share their ideas and creative activities that have worked well,with others.Reading about other libraries successes will give incentive and encouragement,to others to try out new projects and to achieve new goals.

The wiki seems like a great place for community groups to work together towards a common goal,sharing ideas and discussing successes and failures,and adding the experiences and expertise to benefit all who visit the site.

No.15 Library 2.0

I have worked for Yarra Plenty for more than 20 years.During that time I have seen many changes and three different C.E.O's in charge.When I started,the reference collection was of paramount importance.A vertical file was kept up to date for students and reference librarians received many enquiries,with an extended search available from H.Q.for more complicated issues. Gradually the emergence of information technology began to creep into the system.Then on a seeming tidal wave came the internet and many more computers .Suddenly there were more people sitting at these than standing in line to borrow books. While I can see the need for change in this new era within libraries,I can relate to the sentiments of Michael Stephens,a librarian blogger."Into a New World ofLibrarianship 2.0.Where will it take Libraries".He makes to me a very valid point that "The Library is Human',because it is a social and emotionally engaging centre for learning experiences.He believes that honest conversations

No.15 Library 2.0 continued

need to take place within the library.I heartily agree,while I can see the need for R.F.I.D's to go forward with technology;I would hate to see the disappearence of a friendly smile,a familiar face and the personal touch.Many older and lonely people visit the library almost daily for a chat and companioship. Michael Stephens says that staff and borrowers needs are respected and staff should have time to play and learn.So Y.P.R.L. is right up there with Learning 2.0.He maintains the best Library Services are always the main goal. In "Away from The Icebergs",by Rick Anderson,Director of Resource Acquisitions,University of Nevada,Reno Library,the changing role of libraries is discussed,and the need to keep up with modern technology,and ultimately less use for printed matter.He sees the need to reach out to the public,whereas in the past,the public came to the library.He feels the need to educate the public to use the library facilities ,in the easiest possible way.

No.15 Library 2.0 Continued

Reading these articles has brought home to me ,exactly what the impact of modern technology is having on the library and librarians.I now have a much greater appreciation of how Y.P.R.L. is embracing these changes and rising to the challenge to meet the new needs required by the borrowers and staff alike. The Learning 2.0 program is so important for the staff to keep up to date with these new terms and technologies.The Library Worker 2.0 Training program.gives staff the opportunity to be right up there in the forefront of the new era in libraries.The Community Liason librarians are fulfilling the need to take the library to the public,and to bring the public back into the library;with new and exciting activities,with a community based emphasis. My journey of more than 20 years has been most interesting and rewarding,and I.m proud to be part of this challenging and exciting move into the next phase for libraries of the future.

springhill

This weekend has been a nightmare for gardeners,with temperatures of 39 and over 40 degrees.To step out into the garden was like opening an oven door,with great blasts of hot air.Needless to say lots of hand watering was needed later in the day,(yes using trigger nozzles and hand held hoses)

Two of the drawbacks were sharing the watering with tiger snakes,we sighted two this weekend,the third one we have seen this month.The other drawback was coming in to prepare the evening meal after 7 O'clock,after all the watering was done.

Please please rain,first of all for all the areas affected by bushfires,then the farmers and all the poor suffering plants in gardens around Australia.

Week 6,No.14,Technorati

I had great fun exploring Technorati.A gardening search brought up 734 items about gardening.I found some very interesting information on vegetable and kitchen gardening.There were 136 links and11 posts,were tagged landscaping.

Next I tried a search on my other wonderful pastime,golf using Technorati.Blog post brought up 29,224 posts from all blogs;tags,521 tags were posted and Blog Directory showed 23 blogs.

I had a happy hour or so,updating myself on the Top Movies,Top News and Top Books.Next I trawled through the 100 Top Blogs.I was delighted to see the Huffington Post mentioned.It was like meeting an old friend,as this is one of the sites,listed on my husband's list of favourites.

No.13 Tagging

I had an interesting and at times extremely challenging journey exploring del.icio.us.After several attempts and various prompts stating that the user name was incorrect,the password was not right and to try again the email address was invalid,I was absolutely delighted when finally my account was registered.

I tagged three sites pertaining to Organic Gardening.After several attempts ,and it seemed like several hours,don't ask me how I did it,but I managed to create a link to my blog,

organic gardening

Go to my del.icio.us