“August rushes by like desert rainfall,
A flood of frenzied upheaval,
Expected,
But still catching me unprepared.
Like a matchflame
Bursting on the scene,
Heat and haze of crimson sunsets.
Like a dream
Of moon and dark barely recalled,
A moment,
Shadows caught in a blink.
Like a quick kiss;
One wishes for more
But it suddenly turns to leave,
Dragging summer away.”
- Elizabeth Maua Taylor

August: Adj. – Inspiring awe or admiration; majestic; grand

August is the height of the summer time in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. The longest day of the year is passed, but the hot days remain. In the northern regions and mountains — cool nights and early frosts lets one know that the summer is about to come to an end. In the Southern Hemisphere, August means the winter will soon be over

The birds are already planning to fly south for the winter. The insects are noisier and more numerous than in any other month. This is perhaps the busiest month for businesses, since most people take their vacations in August.

The sardonyx and peridot are the gems for August
The poppy and gladiolus are the flowers for the month of August, and they symbolize beauty, strength of character, love, marriage, and family.

Sister’s Day is observed in the United States on the first Sunday of August (August 7th this year)

Book Lover’s Day is on August 9th! Show your appreciation for the holiday by coming to the library or curling up at home with a good book!

August is “Admit You’re Happy Month,” as well as National Golf Month, Romance Awareness Month and National Picnic Month.

Then let us, one and all, be contented with our lot;
The June is here this morning, and the sun is shining hot;
Oh! let us fill our hearts up with the glory of the day,
And banish ev’ry doubt and care and sorrow far away.

~ James Whitcomb Riley

Spring Ends and Summer Begins this year on the 21st of June! the flowers are beautiful, and it’s a great month for roses. It’s time to bid spring adieu and welcome 3 months of summer!

Flag Day is observed in theUnited States on June 14. It commemorates the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as our flag. It then had only 13 stars, to match its 13 stripes.

Father’s Day (June 19, 2011), in theUnited States, is a holiday (third Sunday in June) to honor fathers. Credit for originating the holiday is generally given to Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, whose father, a Civil War veteran, raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. She is said to have had the idea in 1909 while listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day, which at the time was becoming established as a holiday. Local religious leaders supported the idea, and the first Father’s Day was celebrated onJune 19, 1910, the month of the birthday of Dodd’s father. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge gave his support to the observance, and in 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson officially proclaimed it a national holiday. Observance on the third Sunday of June was decreed by law in 1972.

The June Bug also known as June beetle, is the name for several large beetles seen in theUnited States during May and June. They are usually seen at night, when the light attracts them.

June bugs eat the young leaves of trees and plants. They deposit their eggs in the ground. The young larvae bury themselves in the soil in the autumn and stay there two years. They then come out in May or June as adult beetles.

June is Men’s Health Month – The purpose of Men’s Health Month is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys

http://www.menshealthmonth.org/

June is also National Safety Month – Each week carries a theme that brings attention to critical safety issues

http://www.nsc.org/nsc_events/Nat_Safe_Month/Pages/home.aspx

May Quotation

Then came fair May, the fairest maid on ground,
Deck’d all with dainties of the season’s pride,
And throwing flowers out of her lap around.

~Edmund Spenster

Mother’s Day – May 8

~ History of Mother’s Day from the National Women’s History project ~ http://www.nwhp.org/news/history_of_mothersday.php

May Day

InBritain, as in most parts ofWestern Europe, May Day marked the end of the harsh winter months, welcomed the beginning of Summer, and optimistically looked forward to the bright and productive months. For our ancestors, largely in rural areas, it was a major annual festival and was celebrated through out the country, especially on the first of May with music, dancing and games.

Oak Apple Day

This is the day that traditionally people wear oak apples or oak leaves pinned to them to remember that on May 29 King Charles ll returned triumphantly toLondonafter the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.  The reason for the wearing of oak apples or oak leaves was to celebrate the King’s narrow escape from capture by Cromwell’s soldiers by hiding in an oak tree.  Until well into the twentieth century, anyone caught not wearing an oak leaf or oak apple on May 29 could be pinched, kicked, or otherwise abused.  Whipping with nettles was a favorite punishment, hence the name Nettle Day in some areas

Mental Health Month – 2011 Theme is Do More for 1 in 4 go to: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/may

National Bike Month—check out the League of American Bicyclists at: http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/

National Stroke Awareness Month – Educate—Participate—Advocate–Nominate http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=awareness

Check out these wonderful sites:

~ http://poems.com/

~ http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

~ http://teacher.scholastic.com/poetry/index.htm

Everyday Poetry: Poetry Tag Game! http://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=4704225

APRIL IS AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH!

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD’s) are among the fastest-growing developmental disabilities in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in every 110 children in the US now has a diagnosis of an ASD.  The autism spectrum includes a continuum of conditions including autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified, and Asperger’s syndrome. People with an ASD handle information differently than other people and may talk, interact, behave, and learn in different ways. Symptoms can range from mild to severe.

APRIL IS ALSO THE MONTH OF:

International Guitar

Keep America Beautiful

National Child Abuse Prevention

National Garden

National Humor

National Parkinson’s Awareness

National Volunteer

National Mathematics Education

Stress awareness

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And a happy April from us at the GPL!!

This month is:

Women’s History Month

http://womenshistorymonth.gov/

National Nutrition Month — “Eat Right with Color”

http://www.eatright.org/nnm/

Youth Art Month

http://www.crayola.com/calendar/detail.cfm?event_id=127&year=2011

Music in Our Schools Month

http://www.menc.org/events/view/music-in-our-schools-month

Special Days in March:

Fat Tuesday also known as Mardi Gras – March 8

International Women’s Day – March 8

Ash Wednesday – March 9

Daylight Savings – March 13

Pie (π) Day – March 14

St. Patrick’s Day – March 17

Full Moon – March 19

First day of Spring / Equinox – March 20

And we at the Groton Library wish you a happy thaw this month!

And this is a great time to support and promote books to young children.

Whether you read online, on an electronic device or the old-fashioned way, why not curl up with your favorite book and read it cover-to-cover today?  What a great way to stay warm. 

Some interesting sites to explore or come in and visit with us today!
Oprah’s Book Club – ‘Nuff said!

The Best Reading Websites for Kids – Mom and Dad – Check ‘em out!

Swap Tree – Trade your books online for free.
WattPad – Registered users can read stories written by others and share their own essays, novels, plays stories or jokes on mobile devices at no cost.

Book Cover Archive – Check out this archive for a cover for your book! 

LibraryThing – This social cataloging networking site has over 700,000 book lovers just like you!

Blippr – Kind of like Twitter but for books – discuss and review books, as well as other media, in 160 characters or less.

GoodReads – Keep track of all those books you’ve read, start your own book club or read recommendations from others at GoodReads.

Thanks, and have a lovely February!

The search for a new director continues.  We are in the middle of our search process.  The board hopes to be able to announce the new director of the library by the time next month’s blog post is produced.  You can check back here in February to see who is selected.  It should be known that there are many qualified applicants and I’m sure a great new director will be appointed.

Due to staff availability this month, Toddler Storytime will be returning on the 8th of February rather than in January.  You can come in to the library soon to sign your children up for this program; sign up will probably go out the week of the 17th.

We are trying something new at the Library this year, our aides – local high school students – will be taking over some of our electronic media chores, such as updating this website.  Hopefully this will mean a better experience and more frequent updates of our web site, facebook account, etc.

Our planned January art exhibit fell apart at the last minute, which means that the quilts will be up a little longer.  However, if you are a local artist interested in displaying at the library, please contact us.

As always, if you have any suggestions or concerns about the library, feel free to discuss them with us!  Thanks!

Its shaping up to be a snowy winter, so make sure you always have a stock of books on hand to read if you get snowed in at your house.  There’s lots of good books at the library at any time – new works and old classics.  We have our holiday books on display, Sharon Stroud’s quilts on display as we do every holiday season, and our tree decorated by the girl scouts.  The library is gorgeous and worth seeing.

I think this might be the last update I write, if not, its certainly close to the last one.  I’m going to miss this place, I really am.  Hopefully, in the next month, we’ll be able to announce the new director of the library and you can see what he or she has planned.  I think Groton Library has a great New Year ahead of it, and I hope you’ll enjoy your library as things move forward.

We had a great booksale and we’d really like to thank everyone who volunteered and everyone who came and supported the library.  We had a successful year and I saw a lot of good books finding new homes in the community.  I hope you all enjoy your new reads.

With fall starting its time once again to resume our children’s story times.  Mrs. Radford will read to young kids on Tuesday mornings from 10 to 11.  These story times will start on September 21st with a Butterfly story time.  Other sessions will include such themes as reptiles, apples, cats, gingerbread men, geese, and dogs.  All our story times include stories and crafts and are a great time for children and their parents.

I said above its time to grab something to read.  Fall brings new books from many favorites such as Mary Higgins Clark, Debra Macomber, Nora Roberts and Suzanne Collins, as well as many, many more.  If you can’t find a title you like, let the library staff know and we will try to special order it from another library for you or purchase it ourselves.

One specific book you may think about reading this fall is “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”.  This novel was the basis of the movie “Blade Runner”, is a seminal work of Science Fiction and was this year’s pick for the Community Read project in Tompkins County.  We have a number of copies at the library if you’d like one.  Of course, if Sci-fi isn’t your thing, we have many, many other books at the library as well, so come on over!

Lastly, very shortly I will participate in this years MDA Lockup to raise money to fight children’s nuerological disorders.  I’ll be locked up in “jail” and hoping people can raise my “bail” to let me out.  All the money raised goes to develop treatments, provide equipment, or send suffering kids to camp.  If you can not donate, that is fine, but if you can, you can do so at this link: http://tinyurl.com/mdagroton

The library’s next big event is the booksale.  This event coincides with Old Home Days so it is the 21st of August from 9 to 2.  Come and buy books at low prices to expand your collection.  All the proceeds help the library buy new items to share with the community.  We could also use some help with various aspects of the sale, especially if anyone with a large vehicle would care to help us move any leftover books down in to Ithaca.  You can contact John at the library for more info.

We also have a couple of programs this month.  The first is on August 19th at 7pm.  Pat Curran, the Horticulture Educator from Cornell Cooperative Extension will be providing answers to any questions the community may have about gardening in the area.  Whether you are an advanced gardener or a beginner, she will do her best to help.  She can even do a limited number of pH tests on soil samples if you bring one in.  This event is free and open to the public.

The second is on the 26th, also at 7pm.  The presentation is called “Runaway Realities” and it is being presented by Bridges for Youth and Families.  This presentation will discuss the truths of being young and homeless in America and in Tompkins County in an effort to keep families together or reunite youth and their families.  This event is also free and open to the public.

One more item – I have been asked as library director to participate in this years MDA Lockup to raise money to fight children’s nuerological disorders.  I’ll be locked up in “jail” and hoping people can raise my “bail” to let me out.  All the money raised goes to develop treatments, provide equipment, or send suffering kids to camp.  If you can not donate, that is fine, but if you can, you can do so at this link: https://www.joinmda.org/MyLockup/MyHomepage/tabid/167237/Participant/director/Default.aspxand

Lastly, I just wanted to mention that this year’s community read is “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” by Philip K. Dick.  This is an honored piece of science-fiction and the basis of the movie “Blade Runner”.  You can grab a copy to read at the library!