The writing group meets tonight, Wednesday, May 23, at 6:30 p.m. If you want to be encouraged and motivated to write, just come. All are welcome. The first picture from the new program, “Pictures and Pens,” is available to look at and begin getting story ideas. Stories for the first picture are due at the library or via electronic submission to Diane by June 29. Congratulations to Deb Larson for being the first photographer selected. Photographers, don’t forget, June 10 will be the next deadline for pictures. We will carryover the pictures that didn’t win this month into next month’s judging as well.
I hope you were able to join us this past Saturday for the gardening program here at the library. But if not and you are looking for some additional gardening information, here are few books that might help. Choosing Plant Combinations by Cathy Barash is a lush book of color and form, designed to help gardeners mix and match color and form in the garden. Grow Plants in Pots by Martyn Cox provides assistance whether you want to grow houseplants, outdoor plants, container-grown fruits, vegetables or herbs.
The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables by Marie Iannotti is your guide to the 100 easiest-to-grow, tastiest vegetables for your garden. And given the little rain we’ve had this spring, you might want to borrow Water-Efficient Gardening by John Marder.
One of the presenters, Joanne Kellner, a master gardener in Lake of the Woods County, talked about rain gardens. If you’d like more information about setting up your own rain garden, then try one of these books. The Rain Garden Planner by Terry Wallace, The Blue Thumb Guide to Raingardens: design and installation for homeowners in the Upper Midwest by Rusty Schmidt, Dan Shaw and David Dods and Rain Gardens: a how-to manual for homeowners put out by the University of Minnesota Extension Service.
And if you just want to curl up with a good book then try Or the Bull Kills You by Jason Webster, for a mystery set in Valencia, Spain, among the world of bullfighting. Travel to space and read the Hugo Award winner for best novel, A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. Esi Edugyan has written an award winner in Half-Blood Blues, a novel set in Berlin in 1939 and 1992 about music, race, love, and loyalty. Newlyweds, by Nell Freudenberger, is a stunning achievement by the author of The Inheritance of Loss.
A new exhibit is up in the library lobby, come and enjoy. Artist Katherine Fluke is displaying some of her marvelous sky pictures, everything from sunrise to sunset and then to the Northern Lights. Katherine is on a journey to paint a ‘perfect’ picture of the Northern Lights and hope you will be motivated to try your own painting or other creative endeavor. And be sure and vote for your favorite pictures.
The library is now closed on Saturdays until after Labor Day, all other hours remain the same.
