Thanks for the suggestions! For now, I've solved my problem with a small piece of electrical tape over the lamp. As to software, I'm using Logitech QuickCam and Image Salsa. Am going to get Movie Salsa eventually so I can save daily sequences. Right now, I'm just happy to get an image on-line.
My only other problem at the moment is late afternoon when the sun hits the lens and I get a black spot plus a narrow vertical white line above and below the position of the sun. Have had suggestions to use some window film in front of the lens to cut down on brightness. Not sure that will help though and I'm wondering what the effect of the sun will be on the image chip...