DID YOU KNOW that hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards, that hummingbirds are only found in the western hemisphere and that there are over 330 species of them –or that they have no sense of smell but find our bright colored feeders or flowers by being able to see in the ultraviolet light spectrum. I didn’t know all that, that is, until Saturday, May 1, when I attended the Friends of the Library sponsored Here’s to the Hummingbirds program presented by author Steve Betchkal. Not only is Steve a published author but he is also an excellent photographer. He used his breath-taking pictures to illustrate the talk. Audience participants had lots of questions about attracting and feeding the birds in our own backyards and because of his vast birding experience he was able to answer them all. At the end he had his books on display and available for purchase.
The event, held at the Lion’s Hall, (THANK YOU LIONS!) had things of interest for gardeners as well. High school student Isaiah Waggoner talked about the community garden that he is coordinating. (If you love gardening and would like to volunteer, I’m sure librarian Stacey would give you the information to contact Isaiah.) And typical of Friends of the Library events, no one went home empty-handed. Area gardeners–Shelly Stensen, Iva Peck, Karen Winter-Norris, Laura Herrick, Kathy Olson and Stacey Brown–generously donated plant divisions that were available for free. Everyone that attended could take a pair of gardening gloves, seed packets and gardening guides. Out on the back porch children made chia pet heads with nylons, potting soil and seeds.
The thirteen adults, six teens and 3 children that attended the event had their names entered to win $20 gift certificates purchased by the Friends of the Library group .The winners were: Isaiah Waggoner–Mike’s Meats, Rebecca Whitebody–Lance’s Foods, Shirley Grunewald–The Hot Spot Cafe, Wendy Richards–Augusta Hardware and Sage Whitebody–Tugger’s Cafe.
A big thank you to all the volunteers that made this event possible: Kris Crowe, Griffin Gartzke, Shirley Grunewalk, Wayne Norris, Kathy Olson, Wendy Richards, Kris Sell, Margie Stauft, Rebecca Whitebody, Sage Whitebody, Felicity Wiese, Karen Winter-Norris, and Rebecca Zank. And a special thank you to our librarian, Stacey Brown, for booking our guest speaker and volunteering on her day off. (Please forgive me if I missed anyone who donated or volunteered.)
See what you missed? Good stuff! I’m always amazed by all the variety of interesting things that are offered in our small town in our small library. –And keep your eyes and ears open because I’m positive there is more good stuff to come!
Marty Rugotzke
Friends of the Library President
P.S. I love learning new words or new definitions for words and the old librarian blood in my veins just has to disperse information–so here is my tidbit of hummingbird trivia: A flock of hummingbirds can be referred to as a bouquet, a glittering, a hover, a shimmer, or a tune. Put that in your soap bubble pipe and toot it!