Michigan Notable Author Highlights May Offerings at FADL
The Fremont Area District Library is planning to host several fun and educational events in May for the whole family. These events are FREE, as always. Live @ the Library, a series of events including author visits and special presentations is welcoming Michigan Notable Author Anne-Marie Oomen. Follow Anne-Marie’s journey to finally knowing her mother as well as the heartbreaking loss of her mother’s immense capacities in her Michigan Notable Book, As Long As I Know You: The Mom Book. It explores how humor and compassion grow belatedly between a mother and daughter who don’t much like each other, all while navigating the stress and family decisions brought about by a parent with dementia. As Long as I Know You is a personal map to find a mother who may have been there all along—only to lose her again. Copies of the book will be available to purchase at this event on Monday, May 15th at 7:00 p.m. The 2023 Michigan Notable Books program and Author Tour are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Library of Michigan, the Library of Michigan, Library of Michigan Foundation, Michigan Humanities, Michigan Center for the Book, EBSCO, and MSU Federal Credit Union. For additional sponsors, please visit the Library of Michigan Foundation’s website. The Wednesday Readers Book Group will meet on Monday, May 8th at 7:00 p.m. to discuss As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner, and the Daytime Book Group will meet on Thursday, May 25th at 12:30 p.m. (title TBD). Anyone is welcome to join these book groups. Books for these groups are available at the library’s front desk ahead of the meeting if you’d like to check out a copy and join the group. For Movie Monday we will be showing Jesus Revolution on May 8th at 2:00 p.m. Snacks will be provided free. (Rated PG-13; 120 min) Junk Journaling for ages 10 and up will take place on May 11th between 6:00-8:00 p.m. This is a scrapbooking and journal hybrid. Use up what you have and supplement with found, recycled, repurposed and thrifted items. Materials provided. Children will have the chance to Read to a Dog (REGISTRATION REQUIRED) on Saturday, May 13th between 1:00-5:00 p.m. We’ll have a furry friend from Geno Dog Adventures for kids to read to! Get some fun, relaxed reading practice and share a story with a dog! Call 231-928-0249 or come in to the library to sign up for a time slot. Saturday Storytime will take place on May 20th at 11:00 a.m. For children birth to age 5. Featuring songs, rhymes, lapsits, fingerplays, stories, movies, and crafts. Siblings and parents can share this fun storytime together! A children’s Afternoon Movie will be shown on May 25th at 3:30 p.m. Check back for details on the title, but snacks will be served, and all are welcome! Other dates to note: Beginning Sunday, May 28th our summer hours will resume and we will be closed on Sundays. Also, Summer Reading kicks off on Friday, June 2nd! There will be a kickoff party for children in the Children’s Department from 1:00-3:00 p.m. All ages can sign up for Summer Reading and earn prizes. More info to come soon! For more information about any of these events, please contact the library at 231-924-3480 or visit www.fremontlibrary.net.
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 Photo and article by Donna Iverson Wild violets may be small, barely noticeable, and overlooked in favor of the larger more colorful spring flowers. but they have a lot going for them. First, they are native to the United States, which tulips and daffodils are not. They require no maintenance. They are edible. They provide nectar for many bees and butterflies. They are perennials that spread in a number of different ways. And if you are wanting to replace part of your lawn with a native plant, wild violets may fit the bill. There are two violets native to the Midwest. Both are perennials. The more common one is Viola sororia, a purple-flowered species that prefers shady, moist, fertile soil. The second native violet is Viola pubescent, which is also called Downy Yellow Violet. Both are hardy to Zone 3 and bloom from April to July. Both go dormant in the summer but their leaves remain green. Our native violets spread in a number of ways. Some spread by underground rhizomes. Their seeds can be sown by ants and the seeds are also able to self pollinate, exploding when they are dry to a distance of three feet. And of course you can buy the wild seeds from nurseries, like the Vermont Wildflower Farm. As I have an aspiration to transition from a community gardener to a guerilla gardener, I have purchased wild violet seeds to spread in barren spots in my neighborhood. If you buy seeds, you will need to learn patience. The seeds don’t produce flowers till the fourth year. It might surprise you to learn that there are two types of violets: stemmed and stemless. The Downy Yellow Violet is stemmed and the Wild Blue Violet is stemless. In other words, the yellow flower grows from a stem and the flower grows out of a leaf axel. Both violets have heart shaped leaves, and are easily identified and not mistaken for anything else. So if you are a beginning forager, you will have no trouble identifying this common spring wildflower. Its culinary uses are many. The flowers can be used to decorate salads or frozen into ice cubes. The leaves are also edible but only when they are young and in early bloom. Although not toxic, avoid eating the seeds and rhizomes, as it can cause gastric distress.  Birder Extraordinaire Terry Grabill Long time birder and Fremont science teacher (ret.) Terry Grabill and his wife Andrea have graced the pages of N3 with their articles on birding and as a bonus he allowed us to cover his Big Year in 2021. For the non-birders among you, a Big Year is a personal challenge to identify as many species of birds as possible within a single calendar year and within a specific geographic area. And Terry i.ded a boatload of birds. On Thursday at 6pm he will deliver a presentation for the Newaygo District Library at the Newaygo City Council room. We caught up with him for a little info. “Andrea and I have never before been involved in "chasing " rarities. Our birding has been more location-oriented, meaning we go to places and see what we see. Kind of serendipitous birding. “After sharing my birding obsession with my students for years and them goading me into considering a Big Year, I finally decided a Michigan Big Year would be my mission in 2021. “Andrea was onboard, fully aware that most things other than racing after rare birds would take a backseat for 365 days. Having not been mentored as a youth by a seasoned birder, I had no illusions of being competitive in the species count so I made a secondary goal of birding in all 83 of Michigan's counties. At least THAT goal was directly in my control.” By the end of January, Terry was listed in the top 50 of Michigan's 26,000 ebird users. After running hard for four months, he stood at #1 in the state. All told, by December 31, Terry finished the race #1 in Michigan with a total of 323 species observed! Since September 2022, he’s been busy sharing his Big Year story with several MI Audubon groups as far north as Sault Ste. Marie and south to the Michiana club near the Indiana border. Additionally, Terry has also teamed with occasional N3 contributor Charles Chandler to develop a Newaygo County Birding Trail that they hope to launch this fall. Whether you are already an avid birder, developing an increasing interest in the ever growing activity or just someone who enjoys spotting the scavengers at your feeder Terry’s presentation will provide an entertaining and informative evening. 
Arboretum Poetry Contest for Newaygo County Residents
The Fremont Area District Library is partnering with the Fremont Area Community Foundation to host the Arboretum Poetry Contest. We invite anyone of any age who lives in Newaygo County to compose and share an original poem related to humanity and our natural world. Winners: Awards will be announced at the Arboretum Poetry Event on Friday, May 19th, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Arboretum Park. A winner from each age group will receive a cash prize: $250 for ages 0-10 and $500 each for ages 11-17 and 18+. If there is inclement weather, the event will take place at Fremont Area District Library. How to enter: Limit of one entry per person. The two-page entry form may be mailed or brought to the library, or emailed to [email protected] no later than May 1, 2023. Entry forms and more info can be picked up at the library's front desk or printed from the library's website: https://www.fremontlibrary.net/about-us/arboretum-poetry-contest |
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