THE DAY THE EASTER BUNNY CAME TO OUR LIBRARY

     They want me to tell you that the Easter bunny came to visit the library on Tuesday.
     When I came to work this morning, several staff members were talking about a cute little bunny that caused quite a commotion here yesterday.  Elois said, "You need to write about the Easter bunny coming to visit our library."  So I grabbed my pen and paper, and here's the story.
     Carolyn was leaving for lunch and as she headed toward her car in the staff parking at the back of the library, that's when she saw it.  This little white and grey bunny (mostly all white, she said).  He was running in and out from under Nancy's car.  With great concern that it might run out in the road and get hit, Carolyn headed back inside the library to our director's office and said to Holly, "You're an animal lover.  Come see if you can catch this little bunny."
     Everyone sort of got involved in one way or another.  Holly and Nancy and Aileen ran outside to check things out.  Monique and Cray were backups to help.  And Carolyn was there to make sure everything worked out right for the bunny.
     After they chased the bunny back and forth under the car trying to catch it, Nancy went to retrieve a net they use as a prop in the Children's Library.  With some effort, Holly was able to trap the bunny in the net and put it in a box someone had brought out.
     Apparently, the bunny was a pet of Nancy's eleven-year-old brother and had escaped its cage at home, only to hitch a ride somewhere under Nancy's car, all the way from her home in the Sunset area of Moultrie to the library, which is close to downtown.  Holly figured the bunny must have ridden near the engine and tire for the long ride, but she said it didn't seem traumatized, not stressed in the least.  In fact, she said the bunny was friendly and really "cool."
     I talked with the "rabbit rasslers" or "bunny wranglers," as they have been called, to see what they had to say about the whole event.
     Monique said it was an interesting time and fun.  She had helped chase the bunny from one end of the car to the other.  Holly said she had been sprawled on the ground, trying to get the bunny out from under the car, when a big SUV pulled into the parking space near where she was sprawled.  That would have made things even more interesting.
     But I think Aileen gave the best comments.  "It was definitely fun, totally different from what we expect and do all the time, and everyone was very concerned about the bunny.  It just shows the wonderful humanitarian side of everyone involved."
     Well, that's the story.  And because it happened right before Easter Sunday, we just have to believe (or really want to) that the Easter bunny came to visit us here at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library.
     Pretty cool, huh?

WE'RE ALL ABOUT JOURNALING OUTSIDE...IN NATURE

     That's right...outside in nature.
     We've talked about gardening secrets and plant sales, and now today we're talking nature journaling.  For some reason,we're all about things outside lately.  It's this gorgeous Spring-time weather we're having that keeps taking us outside into nature.
     If you've never tried nature jounaling, this is the time to learn about it.
     On Saturday, April 13th, a workshop about nature journaling will be taught at our library by author Helen Scott Correll.  "The Joys of Nature Journaling" will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, 204 5th Street SE in Moultrie, GA.  And if the weather is permitting, we will take our little group into the Bert Harsh Park adjacent to the library.
     I wish I could say it better, but I can't say it better than Helen's website does, so I'm sharing that with you:
     "Slow down and take a walk with Helen.  For over a decade Helen has been giving talks and workshops on nature journaling, an art she loved so much she started a blog for her own.  That blog, 'Middlewood Journal,' is now a book by the same name from Hub City Press.
     "Let Helen guide you down the different paths of nature journaling and start you on your own path to knowing the world around you.
     "Slowing down and seeing the amazing world around you can reduce stress and lower blood pressure.  In this workshop Helen will discuss nature journaling, including writing and drawing in nature.  She will show different approaches to journaling through sharing of her own journaling entries.  If weather permits, the class will go outside to draw in their journals."
     You can check out her website by clicking on http://middlewoodjournal.blogspot.com and see some of the beautiful drawings she has on her blog.
     I have to tell you today that there is an April 1st deadline to sign up for her workshop.  Registration is required since space is limited.  A minimum of 8 participants is required!  No more than 20 is the maximum.
     The two-hour workshop will cost $30, payable in full at the time of registration. All checks must be payable to Helen Correll.
     And for those of you joining us (I can hardly wait!!!), participants need to bring a blank-page journal and a pen for drawing.  (We were told that Helen uses 140-lb. watercolor paper and an extra fine Pigma pen, but you can bring whatever journal and pen you'd like.)
     If you need more information, call us at 229-985-6540 or email us at mccls@mccls.org.
     And I'll see you there...be sure to wear your comfortable clothes.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT GARDENING AGAIN?

     When I got up this morning and looked at my calendar to see what day it actually is, I saw it's the "First Day of Spring."  And when I looked outside from my bedroom window, across the yard to the tall pine trees and hedge of red tips, I said, "Yep, looks like Spring."  That's Spring with a capital S.
     Of course, we've been feeling Spring here in our library since the first of March.  Anticipation after several dreary days brought forth displays of bright yellow daffodils, old watering cans, and all sorts of gardening implements.  We were hungry for bright greens and blazing colors of orange, pink, and purples.  We were just hungry for sunshine and warmer weather.
     If you are in the throes of  planning your Spring garden, you need to know this:  If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
     We are here to help you with all kinds of information for your garden planning and maintenance.  Of course, our last blog was about our upcoming gardening program by Matt Roberts from the Colquitt County Extension Office and members of the Colquitt County High School FFA/Horticulture class.
     That might make you curious about what you can check out to take home, sit in your favorite easy chair or that back porch swing, and read about your favorite plants.
     One of our displays shows a sign with those words in bold above...about the garden and the library.  It also shows the covers of several books you are able to check out and gather more information for your knowledge storage box on plants of all kinds.
     For instance:

• The Everblooming Garden by Norman Taylor
• New Plants from Old by Charles M. Evans
• Garden Irises published by The American Iris Society
• Rose Growing Simplified by John Melton
• Windowbox and Balcony Plants by Norman Simpson

     As you can see from that very small list, we have information to cover every plant from gardens to windowboxes, from new plants to old plants, from irises to roses.
     If your Springtime itch to dig your fingers in the fresh soil hasn't struck yet, beware!  It will.  And even if you don't garden, before long, when the flowers are blooming and smelling like perfume, you will be out somewhere taking in all the wonderful Spring sights and smells.
     Ah!  It's just a favorite time of the year, isn't it?

HOW ABOUT SOME GARDENING SECRETS?

     I didn't realize it has been so long since I last talked with you.  We've had so much going on here at our library that time just seems to get away from us occasionally.
     But I do want to know...would you like some gardening secrets?  Here it is, time for us to start those veggie gardens, when the ground is warming up, the sun is shining brightly, and the rains are here to water our little seeds.
     We are going to have a really great program next Tuesday, March 26th, starting at 6:30 p.m. in our auditorium.  Matt Roberts, Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent with the Colquitt County Extension Office, will talk about spring gardening and be available to answer questions on gardening secrets.
     Matt grew up in Milledgeville, Georgia, and has lived most of the last seven years in Tifton.  He attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College where he received an Associate's Degree in business administration in 2008.  After receiving his degree, he attended Georgia College & State University, where in 2010 he received in BS in biology.
     In January of 2010, he moved back to Tifton where he began work at the University of Georgia experiment station.  He was accepted to graduate school and graduated in December 2012 with his MS in plant pathology. 
     Matt's background is in vegetable diseases with experience in weed science and entomology of both horticultural and agronomic crops. 
     In other words, he's well rounded.  He really knows his business.  He loves veggies and says he would have a big garden if he didn't already have an abundant supply from his father-in-law, who is a big gardner, and the farmers he knows.
     Now that's not all of the program!  Also attending the evening event will be members of the Colquitt County High School FFA/Horticulture Class and their teacher Adrianne Smith.  They will be talking about their upcoming plant sale at the high school beginning March 28 (and they might even bring some of their sale plants as an enticement for you to check them out).
     The date again:  Tuesday, March 26th.
     The time again:  6:30 p.m.
     Where:  The Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, 204 5th Street SE, Moultrie, GA.
We'll be looking for you!