Ready for Spring!

Are you feeling like me - that it’s time to say goodbye to the snow-filled, cold-filled ever-present season of winter on the Palouse?  Are you ready for the appearance of lemony daffodils, jellybean colored tulips and fluttery blossoms on tree branches? 

I’m ready.  So, ready.  I feel no sadness in giving my bedraggled windshield scraper, my over-used  mittens, and my trusty bag of ice-melting sand a much needed rest. I am so ready.

This isn’t my first, worst or longest winter. My childhood was spent in the snowy Midwest and as an adult I Iived several years in Minnesota, also known as the state of 10,000 frozen lakes. So, I know winter.  And while I appreciate its inherent beauty and endless possibilities, including skiing, ice fishing, sledding, snowman building and more, I am so very, very ready for a change of season. Spring can’t come soon enough for me because it’s all about new beginnings, warming temps and yes, gardening. 

So lucky me, to work at Neill Public Library where I am but a stone’s throw away from the shelves that hold the many, many gardening books and magazines.  And thanks to our Adult Services Librarian Dan Owens, there are many brand spankin’ new gardening titles to enjoy as well.

If you’re like me, I also try and include a young person in the process of planning, planting and harvesting. So, I’ve already gathered some gardening books from the library’s nonfiction collection for children. I can’t wait to read, share and plan for springtime activities with a little one.  We all know the more we encourage children to get their hands in the earth, the more connected they are to the cycle of life.  And the more connected they (and we) are, it becomes clear why it’s so important to take good care of this precious planet we all call “home.”

So, let’s all celebrate the seasonal shift that is hopefully, just around the snow-packed corner. Grab your hoe, buckets of compost, seeds, tomato cages and library card.  Whether you check out your gardening books in person or download them from the library’s website, there is an abundance of propagating possibilities.  So many books, so little time.  So many seeds and only so much soil.  Not bad dilemmas to have.

You’re welcome to sing, shout and rejoice with me:  “Goodbye to snow, sleet and slush and hello to seeds, soil and spring.” Happy reading!  Happy gardening!

Kathleen Ahern

Children's Librarian