Category: Websites

Iowa Wildflowers

- Ann 1 Comment

Iowa\'s Wild PlacesAt one time, Iowa had more prairie for it’s size than any other state in the union. Within ten years of the arrival of the pioneers (mid-1800s) nearly all of it was gone. Less than one tenth of one percent remains. Fortunately, there has been a movement lately to not only preserve what is left, but to restore unused land to native prairie.

Prairies are a diverse and complex ecosystem, supporting a wide range of birds and wildlife. They are also very beautiful, ranging from spring ephermals to an explosion of summer color to the drama of the tall grasses (growing taller than a man)

One of the best places to see prairie being restored is at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City, Iowa (just this side of Des Moines) They have an excellent, kid-friendly museum and interpretive center, walking trails, and a driving tour. As well as the amazing number of grasses and wildflowers that are being restored, there is an elk herd and a buffalo herd. Several native birds that were believed shooting star wildflowerto be extinct or rarely seen in Iowa have again been sighted here.

Closer to home, Rochester Cemetery near Tipton, Iowa offers a unique and memorable experience. Tucked between farms on a hilly site, it is considered one of the best examples of Oak Savanna in the Midwest and is known for it’s huge white oaks and it’s wildflowers. Growing on land that has never been disturbed, the variety and sheer quantity of flowers is astounding, especially in the spring. Especially the shooting stars. There are, literally, thousands of them, blanketing the ground in every direction, an amazing sight. (Please note: if you do visit, remember that this is still an active cemetery; please be respectful of the gravesites and stay on the mown paths)

For a beautiful guide to the prairies and wildflowers of Iowa, take a look at Iowa’s Wild Places by Carl Kurtz, or visit the Iowa Prairie Network for a listing of the remaining Iowa prairies, information on prairies, a calendar of events and volunteer opportunities. Help keep Iowa’s wild places wild.

Bike to Work Week

- Ann Leave a comment

Miles from NowhereGas prices making you cringe? Gained a few pounds over the winter? Try riding your bike to work. It’s a great way to get and stay in shape, requires no expensive trips to the gas station and it’s better for the environment. Plus, biking is fun! We’re lucky to have one of the best recreational trail systems in the country right here in Davenport and the Quad Cities. In addition, all Citibuses have bike racks; there is no extra fee to use them and they can expand your options for getting around on two wheels.

Bike to Work Week is May 10-16 to both encourage people to commute to work and to raise awareness of bicycles on the road. Bike Iowa can give you lots of tips on how to commute and lots of reasons why it’s a good idea.

Need a little inspiration? Miles From Nowhere by Barbara Savage is about the round-the-world bicycle trip Savage and her husband made. This is a great book – funny, exciting, sometimes tense (attacked by rock throwing men in Egypt), always interesting, Savage and her husband quit their jobs and spent two years on their adventure. Their story makes for can’t-put-down reading and may inspire you to dust off your own bike for a trip around the neighborhood.

Let the Shopping Begin!

- IT 4 Comments

Farmer’s Market season is upon us! Despite the flood, The Davenport Freight House Farmer’s Market will be open bright and early Saturday morning. Check out the Radish for a comprehensive list of all the area markets. Besides the great produce, there well be other fun events in which to partake while shopping. The Davenport Public Library will be there for storytelling on the third Wednesday of each month. Cooking demonstrations are scheduled later in the season. Support our local farmers and feel good about helping to reduce the amount of fossil fuelPlenty it takes to get produce from field to fork. Here are a couple of books that helped inspire me to be a locavore.

In Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally, a Vancouver couple recount their experiment of living on a diet of foods grown within 100 miles of their home. They went so far as to not use salt or oil since these staples were not locally produced. They also experience the joys of growing some of their own food as well as getting to know local producers of the items they purchase. The authors learn a lot about nutrition, uncommon varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs, as well as share their experiences in canning tomatoes and making jam. While not everyone will want to take such a radical approach to being a locavore, this book offers an eye-opening account of what it means to step outside Animal, Vegetable, Miracleof the industrial food system.

Well known novelist, Barbara Kingsolver also took a year to drop out of the industrial food pipeline. In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, she chronicles her family’s move to rural Virginia where they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. The Kingsolver’s plant a huge garden and spend considerable time making pickles, canning tomatoes, and even making mozzarella. They even abandon their previous vegetarian ways and discover the pleasures of conscientious carnivory as they raise chickens and turkeys.

How Does Your Building Grow?

- Ann Leave a comment

Green Roofs and Living WallsWith the growing concern for the environment and its health, the relatively new (to the United States) practice of installing plants on roofs and walls is beginning to take off. Called green roofs, they provide several environmental benefits including:

-reducing pollution and water run-off

-insulating against heat and cold

-reducing the maintenance needs of buildings

You can see examples of green roofs in action right here in Davenport, including the new Davenport Police Department and and a demonstration garden on the roof of the pump station (located near the fountain) at Vander Veer Botanical Park. Pictures and descriptions of these roofs and others throughout Iowa can be found at Iowa Life Changing, a division of the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

To read up on how to add a green roof to your property, including how to install it and what to plant as well as lots of examples of successful green roofs, check out Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls by Nigel Dunnett, and Noel Kingsbury.

National Hanging Out Day

- Ann 3 Comments

The Clothesline

clothes·line [ klṓz ln, klṓz ln ]
noun (plural clothes·lines)
Definition: line for hanging laundry: a cord on which clean laundry is hung to dry,usually outdoors.
 

It is a simple word that is causing much discussion these days. The act of hanging out clothes in the fresh air brings back many memories for me. Days with my grandmother and mother, the smell of fresh sheets on the bed at night. I still hang out my clothes, rarely using a dryer. I read an article in the New York Times about a year ago about clotheslines and how some areas, mostly new house subdivisions, have banned the use of clotheslines. The article led me to Project Laundry List where founder Alexander Lee gives the top reasons why you should hang out your clothes, the first and foremost being to save money – about $100 per year on electricity for most households. The organization has designated April 19th as National Hanging Out Day to encourage everyone to hang out their laundry and save energy.

There is a beautiful book on the subject, The Clothesline by Irene Rawlings and Andrea VanSteenhouse, which discusses the history of drying laundry, types of clotheslines, laundry rooms, laundry collectibles and clotheslines as art. The illustrations alone make it worth a look.

Knitalong by Larissa Brown

- Ann Leave a comment

Knitalong by Larissa BrownMost everyone that knits learned the skill from someone – a grandmother or beloved aunt, a friend or a helpful clerk at the local yarn store. Knitting seems to invite gathering together. Knitalong: celebrating the tradition of knitting together by Larissa Brown shows the many ways that knitters (and crocheters and spinners) connect from meeting at a local coffee shop for an hour to creating lively online communities.

(And by the way, if you’re a knitter (or crocheter or spinner) and you’re not on Ravelry yet, why? Stop whatever you’re doing right now and get your name on the invitation list. It’s an amazing database/community/resource for fiber enthusiasts. If you’re already a member, you understand my enthusiasm)

Some of the wide-ranging examples of community knitting shown in Knitalong include the Knitting Olympics, an online knitting challenge held during the Winter Olympics, knit cafes (cafes that encourage people to bring their knitting), Stitch n’ Pitch, where knitters knit during major league baseball games (the White Sox host knitters on August 6, the Cardinals on May 28), World Wide Knit in Public Day which is just what it sounds like (and is on June 14 this year) and knitting for charities (afghans for Afghans is just one example). Knitalongs also take the form of a group of people knitting the same pattern (called KALs); everyone shares tips and progress reports and cheer you along. The internet has been a boon to this simple craft; besides the phenomenon of Ravelry, there has been an explosion of knitting blogs where people share their craft and develop friendships from around the world.

Interested in joining other knitters for camaraderie and encouragement? Local knitters meet every Tuesday evening at 6:30pm at the Fairmount Street Library, next to the fireplace. Newcomers are always welcome!

April Showers Bring …. ??

- Ann 1 Comment

umbrellaWell, of course, they bring May flowers, or we hope they will anyway! But April is also a popular month for other kinds of showers — particularly wedding and baby showers. Since June is still a favorite time for many North American weddings, April is the perfect choice — not too close to the wedding date, and yet not too early. As for baby showers, they can be anytime, but springtime seems an especially appropriate time to celebrate new life.

If you’re thinking about hosting a shower, you might want to check out some of our library books on the subject. One title I found especially appealing was Simple Stunning Wedding Showers by Karen Bussen. Beautifully photographed, the book not only has many theme ideas, but easy, elegant recipes and thoughtful planning and organizational suggestions. And as all of you Martha Stewart wannabees already know, early preparation and planning is key to any successful party.

Speaking of Martha Stewart, Baby Showers: Ideas & Recipes for the Perfect Party was written by two former editors for Martha Stewart Living, Gia Russo and Michele Adams. They obviously learned well under her tutelage (though they don’t mention if they worked for her before or after her prison stint) as this book also has inviting photographs and clever decorating ideas. I recently gave a baby shower and used some of their ideas from the “Daisy Brunch” chapter. They recommended cutting the stems off and setting the daisy tops all around the buffet table. I adapted this idea by simply putting daisies (plus a few other small flowers) in small votive candle jars all around the house. This served a dual-purpose –they made for relatively inexpensive decorations, but they also served as favors for the guests to take home at the end of the party.

Games are something else you might want to consider for your shower. In the past, some games got a bad rap for being too cutesy or boring, but they can serve an important function by involving your guests and making them feel important. One game that works for both kinds of showers is bingo. Simply print out blank cards available online for free. Have guests fill in the empty blanks with the names of gifts they think the bride or mother-to-be will receive. As she opens her presents, they can cross off any applicable items. This helps everyone pay attention, plus they just might get a chance to open a gift of their own!

Besides the bingo website, preggiepeggy.com is another one I found that had a wealth of ideas for baby showers. Giving a shower can be fun, but it’s also a great way to show someone special that you care.

A Librarian in the Land of Totem Poles

- IT Leave a comment

tlingit-totem-pole.jpgAs a librarian I always enjoy it when a patron asks a question about something that relates to my own personal interests. Recently I helped a patron with a question about totem poles. In 2004 I accepted a an interim library job at a small college in Sitka, located on the coast of Alaska, a decision that turned out to be a tremendous adventure. One unique Alaskan adventure I was able to experience was the placement of a new totem pole. Carved in Sitka National Park, the entire town was invited to the totem pole raising ceremony, where, after several ceremonial rites including a formal naming ceremony, adults manned the ropes on the sidelines which helped to guide the pole as children from the town tugged on the two long ropes which pulled it up and into place.

It is said that the most important person or object on a totem pole is the one that is at the base. This is an important distinction between Western and Native culture (since we usually think that “low man on the totem pole” designates a low status). There is a pole in a main square in downtown Sitka which illustrates this cultural difference. At the time this pole was constructed, the govenor insisted that he be placed at the top. Since the object of ridicule is always at the top the carvers were happy to grant the governor his wish!

The University of Alaska at Anchorage has an excellent website including an authoritative article on totem poles as well as a wealth of information about Alaskan history and culture. A trip to Alaska is always unforgettable; check the library for travel guides (917.98) and information on it’s colorful history (979.8) as well as the dvd aisle for a taste of the state’s spectacular beauty. And for more pictures of totem poles, look for The Most Striking of Objects: Totem Poles of Sitka National Park in our Government documents collection.

Which Moon and Other Musings

- IT Leave a comment

easter-lily.jpgDid you know that Easter will be celebrated on April 14th this year? It will be by those who observe Eastern Orthodox Easter, but Western Christians will celebrate it on March 23rd. Why the difference? Most Orthodox congregations observe Easter according to the Julian calendar; all others observe it according to the Gregorian calendar.

Many of us have learned that Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon which occurs upon or after the vernal equinox. This was true when it was established by the Council of Nicea in 325; however, calendars and calculations have changed since then and so this is not technically correct.

First of all, it’s not the astronomical full moon that is used to calculate Easter, but rather, the fourteenth day of a lunar month, calculated by an ancient ecclesiastical computation, which gives us the Paschal Full Moon (which can vary as much as two days from the astronomical full moon).

Secondly, since 326 A.D., the Easter Sunday date for any given year has not been determined by the March Equinox date (which can be either the 20th or the 21st), but by March 20th only.

Each year it is the intention of Christian churches to celebrate Christ’s resurrection on a Sunday that would correlate with the exact day of the astronomical full moon on which his resurrection was said to have taken place; however, solar and lunar months don’t match, hence the development of a method of calculation and its various revisions which have taken it from its basis in the old Jewish calendar to the Julian, and then the Gregorian calendars.

Most Christian scholars have placed the Last Supper on Passover (the 14th day of Nisan), the crucifixion on the 15th, and the resurrection three days later on the 17th. Three days in the grave – from the 15th to the 17th appears to be a discrepancy until we take into consideration that WE count the days from midnight to midnight, but ancients considered the new day as beginning at sundown the day before; hence the day of what we consider to be the 15th was considered by them to be a continuation of the 14th.

Is your head spinning yet? There are ever so many more technicalities and intricacies to the method of calculating Easter, and those of you who enjoy debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin may enjoy pursuing more information about the Golden Number, the Metanomic Lunar Cycle, and the Epact on the Catholic Encyclopedia website.

And this site not only gives a great explanation of the calculation of Easter, but also provides information about Jewish, Islamic, Chinese and Indian calendars that are in use (and some others that are not)

So, how do we answer the question “how is Easter calculated?” As you can see, a technically correct answer could be incredibly complex; how about we all continue to say “it’s after the first full moon which occurs on or after the vernal equinox” and let’s just leave it at that!

6 Reasons to Take a Walk

- Ann 1 Comment

Walking shoesSpring officially arrived at 5:48am this morning and it didn’t get here a minute too soon. After being cooped up inside during the Winter that Would Not End, spring is the perfect time to get outside and take a walk. Here are 6 reasons to inspire you.

1. It’s good for you! Lower stress, increase cardiovascular health, soak up some vitamin D – you’re bound to feel better. The Mayo Clinic has some great tips to get you started.

2. The Quad City area is blessed with one of the best urban recreational trail systems in the country, and they’re right outside your back door (in a manner of speaking) Duck Creek Parkway, Ben Butterworth Recreational Trail and the recently opened Sunderbruch Park all feature great walks and trails with a view.

3. Walking is cheap. All you need is a supportive pair of walking shoes and you’re ready to go. No fancy club memberships, no special equipment, just you and your feet. (Please also wear appropriate clothing!)

4. Birdwatching. Located in the midst of the Mississippi Valley flyway gives us many unique opportunities to observe birds of all kinds, from bald eagles to native songbirds. Be sure to grab a birdwatching book from the library (598 call number) so you know what your seeing.

5. Get in touch with nature. Walking gets you out of your automobile/house cocoon and connects you to the outdoors. Walking also slows you down, making it easy to observe and notice the details that rush by most of us during our busy daily life.

6. Connect with your friends and family. There’s something about taking a walk with someone that makes it easier to talk. Put down that cell phone, set the video game aside, turn off the tv and talk to a real person!

Want to get involved with an organized group? Check out the Mississippi River Ramblers, the local chapter of the American Volkssport Association. Volkssport offers non-competitive, family-oriented participatory sports events.

Now, no more excuses – get out there and take a walk!