Looking around at all of the fully green trees and feeling the heat and humidity returning, it feels like we have taken a rapid
A Leap Into Summer
seemingly overnight. Today I packed up a small picnic lunch, a book, and my camera and headed to West Medicine Lake Park for a shady picnic and a bit of walking around with camera. Despite the fact that it was full sun at noon I made some photographs that I like.
As I sat in the shady shelter beside the lake the breeze felt pleasant on my bare arms. I saw an oriole flitting about in the tree in front of me and a cheeky red winged blackbird on the ground near me. Lots of people were out jogging and walking, sunning, and simply sitting in the shade beside the lake.
Though I ended up not opening my book to read, perhaps I’ll return on another day with a blanket and sit in the shade with a good book.
Counting Blessings
On days like this when I can be at the lake 10 minutes from home, spend some time enjoying the beauty of it all, and then return home in another short 10 minutes I am counting my blessings to live in this beautiful state of 10,000 (plus) lakes. Growing up in Iowa, going to the lake was a very infrequent activity that required traveling much further.
Book Talk
Last night I finished reading the book, The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes. It was a beautiful book and a powerful reminder of what happens when we start banning books and trying to control how people think.
“There are bigger things in this world than politics,” Althea continued. “There are bigger things in this world than scoring a win for your side just to score a win for your side. This might seem like a melodramatic overreaction for some of you, maybe you scoff at the notion that there should be so much brouhaha over books. There were plenty of people who felt that way in May 1933, as well. And I promise you, if I’ve learned anything from my time in Berlin, it’s this: an attack on books, on rationality, on knowledge isn’t a tempest in a teacup, but rather a canary dead in a coal mine. There are moments in life when you have to put what is right over what party you vote for. And if you can’t recognize those moments when the stakes are low—let me assure you, you won’t recognize them when the stakes are high.”
― The Librarian of Burned Books
I’ve read many books that were set in Europe before or during WWII. This one was different than most of them. Though it recounted some of the events of that time, it dealt more with ideas and ideals. I found it very apt for the times we are living in with more and more communities banning books in schools and libraries. If you are a book lover I highly recommend this book to you.
“I can tell you that banning books, burning books, blocking books is often used as a way to erase people, a belief system, or culture.”
― The Librarian of Burned Books
Have a beautiful day.
May you walk in beauty.
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