The birds are singing, spring flowers are popping up, and the grass is turning green. You probably have been getting a lot of catalogs from the nursery and seed companies. You can't wait to get the old lawn mower out, get the oil changed, and the blades sharpened. You probably have a flower garden all planned out.
A few years ago, I began growing some of my own vegetables during the summer. Around Mother’s Day, I would plant my first tomatoes, peppers, and herbs in the hope we would have fresh produce all summer. I learned some lessons along the way:
When I was younger, we had an assignment to look up what our name meant. "Which one?" I asked, because I have a lot of names coming from a Hispanic background. "Why don't you do all of them?" the teacher replied. Great, now I was stuck doing extra homework since my parents endowed me with a long name. It was like they couldn't make up their minds, so they decided to give me every name they could find. I over exaggerate, but that was how it felt for a kid in the fourth grade.
Baaahhh! What a great way to spend storytime. The Dearborn Branch group traveled to a farm where they fed and pet three baby lambs. Kids and lambs ran around the pasture, while their mamas (sheep and human) watched the antics of everyone. They played with the dog, bounced on a trampoline, and bottle-nursed the lambs. Everyone was tuckered out by the end, but a good time was had by all! Kids and sheep had a blast.
Share lambs with your little one by checking out these books:
Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that contains only 17 syllables in three lines. Haiku often captures a feeling or thought and is often about nature. For National Haiku Day in late December, we set up a Haiku station at the Dearborn Branch and invited people to come and leave their haikus on the table:
Spinning with the wind, Crystal flakes descend to Earth – Painting our world white. -Amaranth Ebony, Novelist/Otaku
Every year around this time, I make new promises to myself - to lose weight, to get organized, to jump out of airplane, skydive, and volunteer. A lot of those good intentions go by the wayside as I find myself at the end of January, eating bon-bons on the couch while watching a workout video. Instead of setting myself up for failure, I should commit to doing something I LOVE—yes, read more romance novels! Now this I can do.
When it's cold outside, I love to snuggle up with a cup of hot cocoa and my dog, Truman, under the glow of my Nook. Wait, there's something wrong with this picture! Where's the book?
