Maximizing Summer with the Public Library
Summer in Minnesota is a short but glorious season, and finding ways to maximize time outdoors each day is always my goal. Lawn work and gardening can keep a person busy for a fair percentage of each day, but a little recreation goes a long way. Each June, I ask my husband to set up my hammock, and come fall, I ask him to put it away. He always asks how many times I lay in the hammock that summer. I might be lucky to answer twice, but just seeing it sway in a gentle breeze gives me hope that there may actually be time to enjoy a book and the hammock.
Filling those summer days with meaningful and affordable activities can be a challenge. The library can be a great partner for maximizing summer without spending much, if any, money.
Visit a state park! The library continues to check out Minnesota State Park Passes. Passes are good for one week and can be reserved in advance. You don’t even have to return the pass; just recycle the pass after you leave the park.
The library will be checking out pool passes again this summer. There will be a few modifications to our pool pass process. Thanks to the Friends of the Library, we will have 4 pool passes available this summer. Some pool passes will be reservable. Pool passes are valid for one day and allow one household to use the pool.
Whether you are at a state park, visiting family, camping, or hanging out in your own backyard, consider making it an adventure. Check out a book on identifying flowers, plants, insects, fossils, rocks, mammals, or fish. Children and adults enjoy a scavenger hunt, and there is plenty to discover in the great outdoors. The library has a number of identification books to help you learn about the plants, reptiles or other treasures you may encounter. “The Illustrated Guide to Fossils & Fossil Collection” by Steve Parker, “Fish of Minnesota Field Guide,” by Dave Bosanko, and “Peterson Field Guides to Reptiles and Amphibians” by Robert C. Stebbins are just a small sample of our collection of identification books. Younger children will enjoy books such as “Rhoda’s Rock Hunt” by Molly Beth Griffin, a delightful book that also serves as a reminder that carrying a rock collection is heavy work. The book, “Secrets of the Loon” by Laura Purdie Salas & Chuck Dayton includes beautiful photographs of loons and might foster an interest in birding, or observing waterfowl on the lake.
The library also has the 5-volume nature craft series; titles include “Wild Imagination,” “Wild Child,” “Wild Projects for Children,” Wild Craft Clubs,” and “Wild Imagination.” Each of these books is full of nature craft projects that are low-cost, featuring materials found in nature. The books and related activities will encourage imaginative play and creativity in the outdoors. The library also has books on creating fairy gardens, which is a project that can grow all summer long.
Of course, there are some things in nature that on the surface annoy us, but the more you learn about them, the more fascinating they are: “Ants: A Visual Guide” by Heather Campbell and Benjamin Blanchard has amazing photos of ants. I assure you that you will have a whole new appreciation for ants. Any title by O.W. Wilson on the subject of ants will be an enjoyable read.
Of course, no summer in Minnesota would be complete without mosquitos. While I am not sure you will have a greater appreciation for the mosquito, the information you glean from reading “The Mosquito: A Human History of our Deadliest Predator” by Timothy C. Winegard will allow for some very interesting conversations.
Gail Hedstrom is the Library Director at the Fergus Falls Public Library.