Sustainability – A special program at Furman

Sustainability explores the dynamic relationships among social, economic, and environmental systems so as to enhance the long-term quality of life.

Furman University is one of a very small group of universities that is now offering a degree in sustainability.  

Last week I toured the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability on campus and I was really impressed. It is a beautiful demonstration home with gorgeous landscaping and a pretty good sized garden/vegetable farm all sitting right on the lake.   I look forward to getting some produce from their farmers market.  David Shi was Furman’s president up until a few months ago. 

OLLI had a class last year on sustainability ideas and practices for individuals.   I didn’t get to take the class but I heard it was very good.   Hope they offer it again.

MISSION 

The core mission of the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability at Furman University is to promote the study of sustainability both on campus and in the greater community.  By working as a connector across disciplines and facilitator across divisions, the Center supports the integration of themes and topics related to sustainability into Furman’s academic program through curriculum development and research.

 VISION

The David E. Shi Center for Sustainability will continue to be a national leader in fostering innovative academic experiences related to sustainability.

 

PHILOSOPHY

Sustainability explores the dynamic relationships among social, economic, and environmental systems so as to enhance the long-term quality of life.

Values:

• Incorporating topics and themes related to sustainability into the liberal arts and sciences
• Examining sustainability in a holistic way at the intersection of systems
• Studying sustainability using various methodologies and at a variety of scales
• Creating replicable, scalable programs and projects
• Promoting and facilitating collaboration across communities and disciplines
• Encouraging constituent well-being 
• Measuring, assessing, and improving Furman’s efforts to become a more sustainable enterprise

Remembering those who serve their country

Today I am remembering all those military people who gave there life to keep me safe.  My heart aches for their families.  War is a horrible thing and you would have thought over thousands of years we as a society would have found a better solution to working out our problems.

Thanks to all the military people who currently serve this country.  I know you are making a great sacrifice to serve. 

Here is a little Memorial day history from http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee

I rescued a human today

I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY
  
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.  I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn’t be afraid. 
  
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.  I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t been walked today.  Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them. 
  
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn’t feel sad about my past.  I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life. 
  
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.  I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.  Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. 
  
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.  I would promise to keep her safe.  I would promise to always be by her side.  I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.  

I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.   
So many more are out there who haven’t walked the corridors.   

So many more to be saved.  At least I could save one. 
  
I rescued a human today.

Vinos Etc. wine tasting in Simpsonville

Thanks to a Living Social coupon I found a very fun place here in Simpsonville.   Yesterday afternoon Bob and I used our $15 coupon for a flight of wine and cheese.   My expectation was we would get three tastes of wine and some cheese and it wouldn’t take very long.   Well, this little place really exceeded expectations.  http://www.vinosetc.com/  It’s a wine store with a little something extra.

First of all it is really cute space.  Wine bottles like two sides of the room and there are half a dozen tables where you can sit and do a wine tasting.   The owner Tony greeted us and brought us our wine and cheese but more important he spent so much time talking with us about food, wine, wine glasses, European wine vs other wine,  etc.  We tried at least half a dozen wines and enjoyed them with our cheese.  It was so much fun and we learned a lot.   Thanks to Tony and his wife Chris for a very enjoyable afternoon.

Attracting Butterflies

I am doing my best to attact butterflies again this year, without doing a real true butterfly garden.   I think I have the right plants and water.  At a craft show in Winston Salem NC I saw really cute butterfly houses and thought they would make a nice project for Bob and a fun addition to my garden but I wondered if they really worked or were just something cute. 

Here is an example:

I posted that question on our Greenville Newcomers message board and got this very helpful reply.  I had never heard of  “puddling tray” but will try it.  We have a big piece of flat log that would be a perfect spot for this.

Fay,
I am a Greenville Master Gardener and as of June 30th I will be the overseer of the Roper Mountain Science Center Butterfly Garden.
Butterfly houses do not work.  Most of the time spiders and wasp type insect use them and they would eat any butterfly caterpillars.
As for feeding butterflies healthy and natural is best. Plant nectar
plants like butterfly bush, cone flower, “Miss Huff Lantana, Zinnias, phlox, sedum, milkweeds( Monarchs use this plant as their host plant, means the butterfly lays eggs on the plant and then the caterpillar eats the plant.) and Verbena Bonnariensis.

The other thing you can do to feed butterflies is to offer them a “puddling tray” This is a shallow dish with a mixture of top soil , sand and a little salt . Then just enough water to keep the mixture moist. Butterflies and bees will use this. It is a bit like offering Gatorade to the butterflies!

Sabrina the hunter

Doesn’t she look sweet?  This is also the pose of a very fine little hunter.

You’ve already heard about the first mouse, small rat and lizard.  She is really perfecting her skills.   Sunday morning she brought home another live mouse but we saw it before it got in the house.   Monday I was sitting in the screen porch when I heard this racket at the bird feeder.   I thought it was a squirrel trying to get over our BIG squirrel guard.   Nope.  Sabrina had leaped from the ground, over the squirrel feeder and snatched a little yellow bird off the bird feeder.   She ran under the shed so we don’t know what happened to the poor little bird. Monday afternoon when I came home from some Newcomer events there were about a dozen little gray feathers in the screen porch.   Never found anything else.

Tuesday Sabrina and Smoky  cornered a little chipmunk.  I disrupted that and the chipmunk escaped.  Today I had been finishing my planting of my deck planters and I walked into the family room and there was a little brown lizard scooting behind the bookcase.   I didn’t see any cat but I’m pretty sure the lizard didn’t climb up 20 steps and get in the house and Smoky and Sabrina came home right after we caught it.   I called Bob and he caught it in our trusty tupperware bowl creature trap.  Then there is the steady stream of dead bugs on the screen porch.   Smoky and Sabrina both like bugs.   Beats me how they don’t get stung by the wasps and bees, except for Sabrina’s emergency room bite a few weeks ago.

Such is the life with animals.   They are so proud when they catch something and get so confused when there catch is gone.

Comments made by South Carolina Troopers

I thought this was pretty funny.

These are actual comments made by South Carolina Troopers that were taken off their car videos:

1. “You know, stop lights don’t come any redder than the one you just went through.”

2. “Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch after you wear them a while.”

3. “If you take your hands off the car, I’ll make your birth certificate a worthless document.”   (My Favorite)

4. “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”

5. “Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that’s the speed of the bullet that’ll be chasing you.” (LOVE IT)

6. “You don’t know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?”

7. “Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I’m the shift supervisor?”

8. “Warning! You want a warning? O.K, I’m warning you not to do that again or I’ll give you another ticket.”

9. “The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”

10. “Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy and corn dogs and step in monkey poop.”

11. “Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven.”

12. “In God we trust; all others we run through NCIC.” ( National Crime Information Center )

13. “Just how big were those ‘two beers’ you say you had?”

14. “No sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we can.”

15. “I’m glad to hear that the Chief (of Police) is a personal friend of yours. So you know someone who can post your bail.”

AND THE WINNER IS….

16. “You didn’t think we give pretty women tickets? You’re right, we don’t. Sign here.”

The Earth Market is coming May 19 from 2-6

The Earth Market is coming May 19 from 2-6 at the grounds of Michael McDunn Gallery, 741 Rutherford Rd., Greenville SC 29609

What is an Earth Market?

 Earth Markets are farmers’ markets that have been established according to guidelines that follow the Slow Food philosophy of Good Clean and Fair. These community-run markets are important social meeting points, where local producers offer healthy, quality food directly to consumers at fair prices and guarantee environmentally sustainable methods. In addition, they preserve the food culture of the local community and contribute to defending biodiversity.

In an  Earth market,  you will only find producers selling their own products.  In this way they have the opportunity to explain the quality of their goods and take personal responsibility for their work.

 Slow Food Upstate in Greenville, SC, has initiated the application to become one of the first Earth Markets in the USA.  Our official recognition is expected the summer of 2011.

 Earth Markets are a unique farmer’s market model, one which has never been established in the US, in that all of the food will have cultural ties to the community, and are established only by the Slow Food Foundation of Biodiversity Earth Markets project headquartered in the city of Bra, in northern Italy.  The products and farms at Earth Market Greenville, SC will revolve around the South Eastern US, and one which celebrates farmers and farms who make everyday commitments to preserving the earth, the soil, the air and water by their farming practices.

The British Royal Families are Cinderella and Disney fans?

Thanks Brenda H. for sharing this most interesting image with me.   I will let my readers draw their own conclusions.

A new book for the 8-12 years old group.

My neighbor back in Mn, Julie Tschida, has just published this  book.   It is so rewarding for me to tell you about this book because I was involved with Julie when she first had the idea and I read what was probably the very first draft of the book.   That was several years ago and now she has created it.  For those of you with grandkids, this would be a great gift and educational opportunity.   The book deals with some difficult things kids have to deal with.  It is based on a true story in Julie’s life.

Julie says:  “In my corporate and academic career, I met many people who were ill equipped to handle life’s challenges.  I  wrote this book to be a tool to aid those interested in helping kids develop skills to prepare them for life’s challenges.   A story appropriate for the age group of 8-12 is followed by a number of exercises and resources you can use to discuss life issues with a child or to coach and mentor him or her. ”

“I hope you find the story inspirational and that it helps you help kids develop into healthy and productive adults.”

 I have provided a link to the book here. Enjoy it!

 https://www.createspace.com/3511255

Professor Julie Tschida, SPHR
Faculty, Human Resources Management Program
College of Business and Organizational Leadership
Concordia University, St. Paul
651-603-6237
tschida@csp.edu