Helpful Reflection

I love mirrors and reflections. This one made me laugh because it looked so incongruous stuck right up next to this tree. The image reflected is the university's new parking garage in the Fort Sanders neighborhood. The mirror is supposed to help you see oncoming traffic coming down the hill.

Game On

I've been tagged by Jacob of Ocala Daily Photo to list six things that make me happy. The audacity! OK, Jacob, I'll play, starting with today's photo: this fellow is a service dog for the blind, still in training. Such a noble profile!

So, in no particular order, here are six things that make me happier than I can say:

Dogs - life would be too dull without them
Tai chi - good for the body and the mind
Travel - the world is my oyster, and it's always in season
Hiking and being outdoors - cures the cubicle crazies
Reading - but you might expect that from a librarian
Family and friends - I am blessed with abundance

And because I can't follow rules and don't play well with others, here is number seven:
Cheese steaks!

Generally, I don't tag others for a meme. So, participate if the mood strikes you.

Them Bones

This is not someone's art project. These are teaching tools used in anatomy and physiology lab at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. The color-coding helps students learn what bones look like in different mammals: bovine, canine, and equine.

Dog and Pony Show, Part 2

Well, it's not really a pony. It's a big ol' draft horse named Gracie who used to work on an Amish farm, but is now retired to East Tennessee. She was one of the stars of the Equine Parade at the University of Tennessee School of Veterinary Medicine's open house on Saturday. The audience, especially the horse-crazy little girls, were delighted to see Gracie. We all snapped our fingers in approval, because horses don't like loud clapping noises.

And as a city girl born and bred who has never ridden a horse, I just have to ask the equestrians out there on the Internet: how do you get up to ride something that big? A stepladder? Levitation?

Dog and Pony Show, Part 1

Saturday was the day for the annual open house at the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine, one of my favorite yearly events. I posted a few photos of this last year, and if I'm still hanging around the blogosphere next year, I'll be posting more.

The Canine Parade teaches the audience about all kinds of dog breeds, but the real fun for me is after the parade, when you can meet and greet the dogs and their owners. This beautiful greyhound was a rescue dog. Greyhounds are so low-key friendly, and as you can see, not camera-shy at all. This little girl now lives a life of leisure and has the run of her owner's farm.

Tomorrow: the pony part of the show.

Bucolic

Here is yet another outpost of the University of Tennessee's agriculture research, right outside of downtown Knoxville. Isn't it bucolic? I was told this used to be a low security prison before it was closed and UT reused it for its ag research programs.

Why does UT have such a large agriculture program? It all has to do with the land. After the Civil War, UT became a Land Grant institution. These institutions were given federal land in exchange for teaching agriculture and providing military training to students. UT was officially designated a Land Grant institution in 1879.

Curtain of Wood

I took this image with my zoom lens from the other end of Circle Park on the University of Tennessee campus. It's the southbound end of the northbound Torchbearer statue. I just like the way the leafless branches create a delicate gauzy curtain. What's behind the curtain? It's Hodges Library.

Buying the Farm

This is not just any farm. It's Cherokee Farm, part of the University of Tennessee's agriculture program. And it's about to change.

The University has plans to build a technology center in place of the dairy farm, partnering with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to bring research in sustainable energy, neutron science, biomedical and other technologies to the school. Students will be able to conduct research projects in partnership with ORNL scientists.

During site preparation, archaeologists found evidence of prehistoric American Indian villages along the banks of the Tennessee River that date from 1300 to possibly 5000 B.C. This area will be preserved as an historic site.

The project is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2011. The University plans to attract private technology companies and more jobs to the region because of the research that will go on here.

And if you're wondering where the cows will go, they've been moved to another UT agriculture campus.

Ziggurat

Hodges Library at the University of Tennessee makes a very good Escher-esque photo. It's built like a huge ziggurat; look at all those cubes of knowledge. Architecturally rewarding as it is, the inside is quite challenging for students who are looking for materials in the zig-zagging stacks. The library provides maps to find its buried treasures.

Torchbearer

Yesterday I showed you the long arm of the Torchbearer on the University of Tennessee campus at the entrance to Circle Park. Designed in 1931 by Theodore Andrew Beck, this statue was the contest winner that captured the "spirit of University youth and its ideal of service."

Unfortunately, the Great Depression and World War II intruded on the university scene, so the statue was not cast until 1967, after a major campus expansion and successful fund drive for the sculpture.

So there he stands in fair weather and foul, with Winged Victory perched on his left hand, and his eternal torch flaming to "standeth in shadow to give light to others."

But I still think it looks like karaoke.

Mighty Arm

Oh my. Who or what do you think this is? Elvis singing karaoke in Hades perhaps?

Big picture tomorrow.

And Knoxvillians and Tennesseans, Y'ALL HUSH! I know you know what it is. Let's give the rest of the world a chance to imagine. Or research, depending on people's left- or right-brained proclivities. Deal?

Iguana in the Mist

All kinds of creatures live at the University of Tennessee School of Veterinary Medicine. This is an archive shot of an iguana doing his level best to ignore me.

We Really Mean It

This little sign along Neyland Drive by the stadium still has me laughing. I guess there must be some football fans who think the parking rules are suspended during the game.

It's an away game today at Auburn University, and Virginia at Birmingham Daily Photo can dodge the traffic while I'm running errands unfettered by game day. (and happy 100th post, V, you absolutely rock!)

In the Navy

In the Navy, you can sail the seven seas. Or so the Village People proclaimed in their 1970s hit song. But in the Vol Navy, you can sail right up the Tennessee River and dock near the stadium.

The flotilla of orange and white rests peacefully at anchor in the early morning before the game, framed by the arch of the Henley Street bridge. 

And so as not to deprive you of all that orange-and-whiteness, here's a close-up of some UT football fans and their boats:
I'm telling you, this stuff just boggles my mind.

Addendum: a gracious thank you to Leedra, who gave me a blog award. I'd pass it on to five other blogs that I enjoy, except that there are many more than five!

Go Vols

It's football time in Tennessee. That means the University of Tennessee Volunteers have started their season.

What do you mean, you don't know what port-a-potties have to do with football? You're obviously not from around here. That bright orange with the white T are the university colors. And the enthusiasm for showing those colors is called Volmania. You'll see orange and white on everything from clothing to cars to ... well, port-a- potties like these.

East Tennesseans are passionate UT football fans, and football is big business. Well, those forty thousand people crammed into Neyland Stadium have to eat. And buy more orange and white souvenirs. Did you know that that particular shade of bright orange is trademarked by the University, and you must be licensed by them to sell anything colored with that orange? 

I'll admit, I'm not a football fan, and I often roll my eyes when I know I'll have to plan my comings and goings around game day traffic. On the other hand, it's fun to watch the absolute Spectacle of it all.

So, good luck Vols and Vol fans. All I ask of you is to let me through to get my grocery shopping done.

For Your Health

The Blooms Days festival is an annual fundraiser for the University of Tennessee Gardens, the outdoor laboratory for the UT Department of Plant Sciences. There's food, bluegrass music, gardening lectures, plants for sale, and demonstrations of taijiquan by the Knoxville Chapter of the Taoist Tai Chi Society, of which I am a member. Taijiquan is a "low impact" form of martial arts used for its health benefits. Here, members are going through a "set" of 108 movements. (You won't see me in this set of course, because I was behind the camera!). The aims of the Taoist Tai Chi Society are very simple: to make tai chi available to all, to promote the health-improving qualities of tai chi, to promote cultural exchange, and to help others. I've been practicing tai chi for two years now, and can say that I have better balance and flexibility than when I started - and also get to enjoy good company.

Seats

Have a seat at the Brehm Animal Science building's indoor arena on the agriculture campus of the University of Tennessee while you can; I hear the building is going to be renovated this summer. I didn't photoshop this - the colors are from the natural light of the overhead spotlights, which always look a bit orange. 

College Town

Well, I didn't get home quite in time to post for Friday, but hey, it's fairly close. So today I give you not only the dangers of swallowing gasoline (not to mention the dangers of gasoline prices  swallowing the contents of our wallets), but also the dangers of grammar. So glad I live near a university that's up to the challenge of guarding against these grammatical errors. This photo was taken on Cumberland Avenue near the university.

Dog Lovers

This is another photo I took during the UT Vet School Open House the weekend before last. It's a little blurry, but I liked the interaction between the girl and the bearded collie. This was a "meet the dogs and owners" session held after the Dog Parade, where different breeds were introduced to the audience.  This photo has been on my mind to publish, and I was inspired to do so after seeing Ming's absolutely adorable dog portrait on his blog recently.

Strolling

It's a perfect day for a stroll around the agriculture campus at the University of Tennessee. This path is near the Animal Sciences building. I love how the light shines through the spring leaves on the trees - it's so serene. I hope your path today is sunny and serene, wherever you are.