Photos: Volunteers Install a Solar Water Heater

On May 22, volunteers from the Greenfield-based group Co-op Power installed a solar water heater near Brattleboro. Farmer Elizabeth Wood showed one of the volunteers her dairy goats. To enlarge a photo, click on it, then scroll down and click "See full-size image." More information is at www.CoopPower.coop photos by Eesha Williams

Native New Zealander Might Sing in Northampton

Jess Harlen, a new singer from Australia with a stunning voice, has performed in Europe and Japan. Her next stop could be Northampton.

“I’d love to play there,” Harlen told the Valley Post recently. Her most popular single on YouTube, “Watch the Water,” was inspired while she was swimming in the warm ocean waters of Mexico – not too far from the U.S., she noted. A brilliant video of her performing that song is at:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvBAXq2Vdhw

Harlen writes all her own lyrics and music.

Photo: Newborn Dairy Goats

These goats were born on May 10 at the New Leaf CSA farm near Brattleboro. They are Nigerian Dwarf goats. They produce milk that makes excellent goat cheese. More information is at www.NewLeafCSA.com photo by Elizabeth Wood

Photos: At Work in Greenfield

On May 6, union iron workers built an addition at Greenfield Community College and the owners of the Greenfield Music Store sold and installed home and car stereos, while also gathering signatures on a petition seeking to slow down city approval of a new Wal-Mart. The iron workers said they are proud members of the www.IronWorkers.org union which has given them a middle class standard of living.

Two Victories for Union Workers in Greenfield

Gael Wakefield is a public transit bus driver in Greenfield. In 2008, she was elected president of Local 274 of the UE union. She still serves as president, while also working as a bus driver. The UE’s web site is www.UEunion.org

On May 5, Wakefield sat down with Eesha Williams of MassLaborNews.com to talk about her union.

Photos: In Vermont, Thousands March for Single Payer Health Care

On May 1, thousands of people marched to the Vermont statehouse. "If Vermont passes single-payer health care, I will meet with President Obama and say, 'If Vermont can do this, so can the nation,'" U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders told the marchers. In the second photo, a blind man uses a cane while he marches.

Four of the five Democrats who are running for governor, including senate president Peter Shumlin of Putney (a few miles from Brattleboro) were at the march. Vermont votes Democratic more than almost any other state.

Photos: Brattleboro Farm Life

These photos were taken about one mile from Brattleboro on two farms on April 28 and April 29. They show Jersey dairy cows and a blossoming pear tree and azalea bush. When there isn't snow on the ground, these cows live on pasture. In the photo, the cows are waiting to enter their barn to be milked while they eat alfalfa pellets or grain. The closer cow is drooling. Click the photos, then scroll down, to enlarge.

Photos: Shaw's Workers on Strike

Here are two photos from Methuen, Massachusetts. They were taken on April 27 of striking Shaw's warehouse workers. The workers were excited because the company called the union on April 27 and asked to meet on April 28. On April 28, they were to bargain a new contract for the approximately 300 workers who have been on strike for weeks. More information is at www.jwj.org -- follow the links to the eastern Massachusetts coalition web site. There is a Shaw's store in Keene. Click the photos, then scroll down, to enlarge.

Photos: Crayfish, Redwing Blackbird, Painted Turtle

These photos were taken near Brattleboro on the Connecticut river on April 25. To enlarge a photo, please click on it, then scroll down and click "See full-size image." There is a kayak paddle in the photo of the crayfish. The average crayfish is seven inches long. A mink was too fast for the photographer. photos by Eesha Williams

You can hear the song of a redwing blackbird at:

www.AllAboutBirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/id

Day Trip: See Record Number of Whales Off Boston

Thanks to the environmental movement, there are now more whales in the ocean near Boston than there have been in at least the past hundred years, scientists say. On April 19, 2010 scientists saw a group of right whales in Block Island Sound. Researchers at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center saw 98 North Atlantic right whales. There are about 400 right whales on earth.

These photos were taken on a trip guided by scientists from the Whale Center of New England www.whalecenter.org on June 5, 2009.

photos by Eesha Williams