Spring is in the Air

Spring is definitely here.  The frogs and toads sing us to sleep at night.  Hummingbirds sipping nectar and various finches, grosbeaks, and other seed eaters entertain us during the day.  All of the activity makes me want to get out and DO things.

A bike repair book at VPL

As with many people, I started the year with a resolution to become more fit.  It was tough during the colder months to get outside much.  Now, however, I have no excuse not to get on my bike and ride!  If your bicycle hasn't been out for a while and you prefer the DIY method of repair, Fred Milson's Complete Bike Maintenance: for Road, Mountain, and Commuter Bicycles is the newest of several repair books you can borrow from the library.

Well-Behaved Dog

Another of my favorite activities, and one that gets me outside and moving, is working with my dogs.   Though there are many training books at the library, I focus on hunting with my bird dogs and choose books that will help with that.  One of my favorite books is Positive Gun Dogs:  Clicker Training for Sporting Breeds, by Jim Barry, Mary Emmen, and Susan Smith.  A good book for training a well-behaved family dog is Imagine Life With a Well-Behaved Dog: a 3-Step Positive Dog-Training Program, by Julie A. Bjelland. 

Square Foot Gardening

Bicycling and dog training help with my goal of becoming more fit and active.  Something else that is going to help me with that is gardening.  This year we have installed two raised beds.  Due to the nature of our gardens, we have decided to follow the Square Foot Gardening method.  Don't know what that is?  Take a look at All New Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew.  In addition to this title, we have books for container gardens, hanging gardens, traditional gardens, and many more to get your garden started and to keep it growing.

Deep Dish

Lest you get the idea that I only do outdoorsy-things in the spring, I will confess that spring is when I read more chick lit than any other time of the year.  This year I have discovered, for me, a new author--Mary Kay Andrews, a Georgia author who bases her delightfully funny novels in the South.  I have now read most of the titles our library owns by her and will say that I have found them all just as delightful as the first one.  I am currently reading Deep Dish, which is a hilarious look at what happens when The Cooking Channel is pits hunky "kill it and grill it" chef Tate Moody against former runner-up Miss Teen Vidalia Onion Gina Foxton against each other to determine who will be the next TCC star.

Not into chick lit or gardening?  Don't have a dog or a bike?  No problem!  Your library has books on hundreds of different topics, so we are sure to have something for you here.  Even if we don't have what you need, we can find something for you in a different library and bring it right here, just for you!

Susan Hoppe -- Reference Services Librarian