Crab apple blossoms change from fuchsia to blush pink along one of three Tree Trails on Mizzou’s campus
Getting outside in this spring air is grounding, refreshing and stimulating to all our senses. Budding trees, aromatic blossoms and brilliant shades of green abound. Raptors soar above us in stark contrast to the pastel sky. The creeks and streams babble terrifically cold water. There is so much life to witness and be among.
We are truly lucky in central Missouri to have a number of quality trails and natural areas where we can do just that. But keeping track of all the options can be tricky, as there are many distinct jurisdictions. There’s municipal parks, college grounds, state parks, conservation areas and even a national forest on the southwest border of Boone and Callaway counties. These trails run the gamut of accessibility and activities. Some are paved and centrally located while others are rugged, faintly developed and remote. Use the links below to discover your next local trail.
“Its landscape of entrenched creek valleys, massive limestone bluffs and caves, and rolling grassy uplands intrigues and charms…Listen for spring peepers, watch for Virginia bluebells, and catch the fragrance of wild plum.”
Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 by Jason Delpire
Ingredient flexibility. What is that?! It’s a term I use to describe being comfortable changing a recipe as needed. Maybe you’ve watched a competitive cooking show and were amazed at the contestants making a complicated component, seemingly on a whim. How often have you found a recipe that you want to make, but you’re missing ingredients? Or, are you cooking for someone with allergies? Do you feel comfortable substituting or omitting ingredients? If you’ve not reached this type of kitchen freedom, this post (and a few planned for the future) is for you. Continue reading “Read the Recipe Vol. ∞”
Like a reasonable response to climate change, Charlotte McConaghy’s two adult literary fiction novels are a blend of cataclysmic sadness and rage garnished with a dash of hope.
The first, “Migrations,” is about an emotionally devastated woman going to extravagant lengths to track the last birds on the planet on what may be their final migration. To follow the Arctic tern from Greenland to Antarctica, she talks her way aboard a commercial fishing vessel just before such vessels are outlawed. (The vessels are outlawed because the ocean is almost dead.) Having persuaded the crew that fish-eating birds will lead them to fish, they embark on their epic quest. Slowly and satisfyingly, the mysteries in her past are solved. Among other things, you’ll learn why she’s sad and why she was in prison. Continue reading “The Gentleman Recommends: Charlotte McConaghy”
Working at the library happily puts me in the path of books that I might not have otherwise discovered. The most recent example is “Treaty Words: As Long As the River Flows,” by Aimee Craft. This book is shelved in the juvenile (middle grades) section, but don’t let this classification fool you. Continue reading “Treaty Words”
Posted on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 by Decimal Diver
Lynn Rossy is a Columbia, MO author whose latest book is “Savor Every Bite.” The book provides daily tips and tools for whole-body healing — including how to eat mindfully, move your body in ways that feel delicious, and live with greater ease and joy. She gave an author talk about the book through our library last year. Rossy is a health psychologist who has developed Eat for Life, a research-based mindful eating program. She is the author of one previous book, “The Mindfulness-Based Eating Solution.” Lynn was kind enough to take the time to be interviewed via email. Continue reading “Q&A With Lynn Rossy, Author of “Savor Every Bite””
I could throw out the oft-given opinion that society is more divided than ever. I’m not sure I completely agree with that, but I do know that mending division often happens face-to-face and at the individual level. Continue reading “Human Library: Unjudge Someone”
Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.
“West Side Story” Website / Reviews
Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner, this musical tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love. Love at first sight strikes when young Tony spots Maria at a high school dance in 1957 New York City. Their burgeoning romance helps to fuel the fire between the warring Jets and Sharks — two rival gangs vying for control of the streets. Continue reading “New DVD List: West Side Story & More”
Lots of events are coming up: Easter, graduations, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays and many more. And what do we usually do at these events? Take pictures, loads of pictures. Our kit this month shows how to make a photo wall hanging of these pictures in black and white. You can certainly do this in color, but we wanted to highlight the black and white photo look.
These kits will be available while they last in all of our branches on Friday, April 15. You may pick them up at the reference desk at the Columbia library and near the service desks at our other branches. For other photo craft ideas, try this list.
Join us on May 5 at 12 p.m. for “The Dutch House” by Anne Patchett. Patchett, the New York Times bestselling author of “Commonwealth” and “State of Wonder,” returns with her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood and a past that will not let them go. “The Dutch House” is the story of a paradise lost, a tour de force that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness, of how we want to see ourselves and who we really are. For a list of similarly themed books, try this list.
This zoom discussion is for adults: register here.
Unlike climate change itself, the propensity for writers to gravitate to the subject is natural. Among the seemingly endless range of problems the world must address, it is the one that towers over all others, the one that will, barring dramatic changes in how the world operates, render all others insignificant in the face of rising seas, prolific wet-bulb temperatures (a combination of temperature and humidity that renders the body unable to cool down and therefore unable to not die), mass extinction, food chain collapse, etc.
It’s easy to understand why so many writers are compelled to address the subject, but perhaps it’s not as intuitive why a reader would want to read fiction about it. Perhaps reading such novels will inspire action, and perhaps those actions will help. But also, most of us read fiction for pleasure, and these books, while often horrifying, are also massively entertaining. If something’s going to render massive swaths of our planet uninhabitable, the least it could do is inspire some entertaining fiction. Continue reading “Literary Links: Climate Lit”
Lots of events are coming up: Easter, graduations, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays and many more. And what do we usually do at these events? Take pictures, loads of pictures. Our kit this month shows how to make a photo wall hanging of these pictures in black and white. You can certainly do this in color, but we wanted to highlight the black and white photo look.