As I am writing about scavenger hunts, I want to mention one of my favorite movies. “My Man Godfrey,” is a 1936 comedy starring William Powell and Carole Lombard, a comedic, witty film about social inequities of the Great Depression. The opening scenes introduces us to Godfrey, a forgotten man, who is persuaded by Irene, a bored socialite, to be a found object in a scavenger hunt. Godfrey finds himself in a lavish ballroom where people are noisily dragging goats and lamps about and who look appalled at a man dressed in dirt and tattered clothes.
Why am I thinking about scavenger hunts? The Columbia Public Library is offering our own scavenger hunt on Saturday, June 28. You won’t be looking for goats but you will be looking for a murderer! Location clues will take you through the library where you will find clues (hints) to help you determine the murderer, how they did it and where the deed was done.
Remembering, celebrating and reflecting on Juneteenth and the end of slavery in the U.S. is done by differently by different people. Many of the traditions associated with Juneteenth trace back to original events when people first learned they were free of enslavement.
Let me tell you about a happy accident: I was helping someone find a book in the nonfiction section and was doing the sideways-head-thing, eyeing the call numbers. Not purposely looking at titles because I was seeking the general area of the call number in question and I moving at a pretty quick pace. And yet I was stopped in my tracks by an author’s name — it was someone I follow on Substack! Someone who writes about farming and quirky situations and whom I would love to sit down and have a good conversation.
Doppler radar isn’t just for weather. The radar systems pick up anything in the sky, including birds and planes. Researchers at BirdCast use past data and weather reports to predict areas of high migration. Radar also allows them to monitor the number, location and direction of travel of birds in the sky. Credit: BirdCast.info
With its mix of rivers, wetlands, forests and prairies, Missouri plays travel host to a dazzling number and variety of migrating birds. Peak spring migration in Missouri is happening right now, and you can join in on the spectacle by getting outside, looking and listening for birds.
To help you appreciate the number of birds migrating, consider that in just one night, April 27, nearly 52 million birds crossed the state of Missouri, according to
BirdCast an interactive online tool created by The Cornell Ornithology Lab. BirdCast uses weather radar to detect and study migrating birds. At BirdCast you can track migration activity in your area, sign up for alerts and see forecasts for the next few days. One of the startling things you’ll notice is that most birds migrate at night.
There are a number of tools to help you enjoy this annual spectacle. If you’re new to birding (or even if you’re not) the Merlin Bird ID app can help you identify birds by sight or sound. It’s an eye-opening experience to turn on the ‘sound ID’ and see how many kinds of birds are singing in a location.
“The Atlas of Bird Migration,” by Jonathan Elphick, has maps and text to illustrate the variety of migration strategies used by different species. Many of our local ruby-throated hummingbirds make a marathon flight over the Gulf of Mexico followed by low-altitude, day-time flights that allow them to eat as they fly. In contrast, snow geese travel mostly at night in the familiar v-shaped flocks at altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet and have been recorded as high as 29,000 feet!
The Audubon Society has compiled years of banding studies and live tracking data to build the Bird Migration Explorer. At this site, you can explore dynamic maps of migration routes for over 200 species.
Bright lights at night can be disorienting to birds. To protect birds, turn outside lights off at night or provide shielding from above.
All of these migrants need safe places to rest and refuel on their way north. We can take some simple steps to help birds have a safe trip north:
Turn off exterior lights at night. Birds use stars to navigate. Lights and reflections confuse them causing disorientation and leading to deadly collisions with buildings and windows.
Prevent bird strikes by putting bird-safe films or decals on the outside of windows and turning off bright indoor lights after 11:00 pm.
Only use bird feeders or bird baths if you can clean them regularly to prevent the spread of diseases.
Make your property an oasis for birds by planting (or keeping) native plants to naturally provide food and shelter for wildlife. Refrain from using insecticides so there will be plenty of insects for birds to eat. Don’t be afraid to let your yard be untidy; fallen leaves and last year’s flower stems provide shelter for insects over the winter.
Keep unattended pets inside. Unfortunately, domestic cats kill a lot of birds.
Whenever you can, speak up for birds and protect habitat.
Recently a colleague gave me a thorough and informative lesson on how to ride this ebike (pictured below) with its attached trailer. Although I’d never tried an ebike before, I discovered that the ease and speed that it offered were magical. Additionally, this ebike and trailer look simply delightful; festive colorful, tiny lights even frame the tire rims!
Where you go camping isn’t always as important as how you go camping. While everyone needs to follow the same rules within our shared natural resources, your personal experiences should feed your soul and make you happy. Think outside the box a bit as you review a few of our books about backpacking, tent camping and glamping. And while all of these contain information, some are also good reads, sharing personal experiences of people who put their own spin on their visit to nature.
Such as “Every Dog Deserves an Adventure” by Camping With Dogs and L.J. Tracosas. This is an amazing book by an organization that believes “every dog has a story, and our community helps share those stories.” Enjoy stories about dogs going camping with their owners, with many images of those adventures together. It is broken up by seasons and are from all over the country — enjoy the stories! This is a nonfiction cozy read and may entice you to take your pup along on a camping trip. I am not a dog person but can appreciate the enjoyment people get from having their pets with them. Continue reading “Put a Personal Spin on Your Camping Adventure”
I’m excited to start planning a trip to Tibilisi, Georgia this summer, and I’m wanting to learn a bit of the country’s language before I travel. To study more popular languages, such as Spanish or French, Daniel Boone Regional Library provides materials in various formats to learn, such as books, eBooks and audiobooks. For Georgian, a less common language, I’ve decided to take a look at one of DBRL’s online resources — Bluebird Languages — to get started.
Bluebird Languages offers lessons in over 160 languages (yes, 160!) with a large selection of native language settings so that people can learn in their native tongues. Continue reading “Online Resource: Bluebird Languages”
Sourdough bread is a slightly sour type of bread risen by a fermentation process of yeast, water and flour. It is a very versatile process that produces quite a range of breads and cakes. What I bring to you in this article is a mixture of bread cookbooks, and a lot of them contain recipes and instructions about how to get started baking and enjoying your own sourdough.
My current “mother.” I had baked a loaf of bread and transferred my starter to a clean jar. The liquid to the right is my kombucha carboy.
If you want to read about a baker who fell in love with a 125-year-old starter, read the introduction to “Sourdough Culture: A History of Bread Making From Ancient to Modern Bakers” by Eric Pallent. This is a well-written history following the cultivation of grains, particularly wheat. The Egyptians may have been the first bakers to use sourdough, but archeological evidence doesn’t indicate if there was an established starter or if mixed ground grain and water was allowed to ferment for a time before being kneaded and baked. As of 2021, no Egyptian or earlier bread recipe has been found.
I have always wanted to bake with a generational sourdough but have been too shy to ask my friends if anyone has one to share. So earlier in the year I started my own by mixing 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of un-chlorinated water and 1 teaspoon of commercial dry yeast into a pint jar, and then set it out to pick up wild yeast that might be floating around in my kitchen. Yes, I cheated. Traditionally there is no commercial dry yeast. But I keep feeding it, dividing it and making bread and maybe it has gone wild. It’s certainly doing its own thing over there in the corner of my kitchen.
Posted on Monday, March 17, 2025 by The Biblio-Buckaroo
During a recent day of gorgeous spring-like weather, I had a surge of cleaning energy unlike any I experienced during the winter season. I don’t often have such impulses, truthfully, so it was a welcome change. The warmer weather made it possible to open the windows and let in some fresh air. I was inspired to tidy up my back deck, put in a load of laundry, shake out the rugs and do some vacuuming. Once at my library job, my mind was still occupied with the project(s) on my list, so I naturally decided to do my next blog post on the topic of spring cleaning. Surely, I am not the only person in town stricken with this urge. So I headed to the book collection!
Spring cleaning books fall under different categories. There are books that are strictly about cleaning(disinfecting, stain removal, etc.), books about organizing or downsizing, books about giving your home décor a mini-makeover and books with general life hacks (like putting a lazy Susan in your refrigerator!). I have arranged a sampling for you.
As a fan of the environmental aspect and low cost of sustainable living, I was drawn to the book, “The Modern Organic Home: 100+ DIY Cleaning Products, Organization Tips, and Household Hacks,” by Natalie Wise. It has tips like doing your own dry cleaning using homemade products with a king-size pillowcase and a dryer. It also has hacks like how to remove dents from your hardwood floor and how to clean a mattress. If you like to get your home clean and not just mask odors, this is the book for you. The author does, however, frequently turn to lemons, lavender or peppermint essential oils for natural scent, among other oils. Continue reading “Early Spring Cleaning”
Last year, a roughly a third of Americans took a road trip for their vacation. Of these, I peril to imagine how few had the foresight to stop by their public libraries on the way out of town. What a loss! Adventurous souls can find scores of resources and treats for their upcoming journeys. Find out how the Daniel Boone Regional Library can improve a car trip.
Streaming Audio Books
With a library card, readers can access thousands of books through apps like Libbyand Hoopla. Personally, I love to use a road trip for an audio book marathon. When else do I have eight hours of free time? In particular, heart pounding mysteries and thrillers cures any fatigue that sets in on a long stretch of highway. I recommend “Sorrowland” by Rivers Solomon or “Magic for Liars” by Sarah Gailey for some audiobook thrills. Continue reading “Roadtripper’s Resource Roundup”