Grace, Marie & Eliza wanted to get out for a bit. Yesterday, I took them with me to Price Chopper to help get supplies for a picnic. I told them they needed to wear masks and to behave!
I’ll put a description with each picture. I think they had a good time!
Our building is still closed but we will be allowed to start curbside delivery next week!
You may pre-order up to five items by leaving a detailed message on the library answering machine or send an email to pember.library @gmail.com with Your Name, Your phone Number, A list of requested items
Our delivery hours this week will be Wednesday through Friday 2-4 PM and Saturday 10:30 AM to Noon. We will call you to arrange a time for pick-up and get more details.
The adventures of the Dahl family continues…..
Grace, Jennie and Alice were very excited to learn about animal skulls at the Pember Nature Preserve. They stopped in for a quick program before heading down the trails. Yes, the trails are open! Grace is a big fan of skulls and educated Jennie and Alice on the woodchuck skull. Did you know that their teeth never stop growing and will grow up to 1/16th of an inch each week? That’s why they have to chew, chew, chew on everything! However, they don’t chuck wood.
The girls also learned about the gray squirrel, raccoon and white-tailed deer too.
What’s next? Bones!
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
There’s a lot of work to do before we can plant this garden. We’re waiting for the plow and harrows to arrive. There will probably be beans, tomatoes and cucumbers here. We might even add a few squash. At the front of the building, Ella is trying to decide if the geranium and the spike will be enough (Thanks to Van Ripers Gardens for providing these.). Then she and Grace are working on a plan to get the weeds taken out of here. Looks like we probably won’t have to worry about snow for a little while!
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
(overheard at the campfire)
I love camping out. There’s just something about the smell of a campfire!
Yes, and it’s definitely the best way to cook a steak or a few burgers.
I’m not so thrilled by the black flies we encountered while we were hiking.
Do you think we packed enough sunscreen? I want to take the kayaks out on the water tomorrow.
I’ll check, I need to figure out how we’re going to store the leftover food away from bears and other hungry critters.
When you come back, can you bring the star guide? I can figure out the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper but I wonder what that constellation is that looks like a “W” over to the east.
It’s so relaxing here. And we’ll have great stories to tell the cousins when we get back.
The adventures of the Dahl family continues…
Jennie, Alice and Grace decided to head to the Pember Nature Preserve for a program on Bird’s Nests. It seems Jennie knows all about birds and their nests and even educated Alice and Grace. The Nature Center and the Pember’s loan kit has many nests to investigate. Please remember that people cannot collect eggs, nests or feathers of migratory birds. The Pember has a special federal and state license to collect these items for education.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it began in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
The girls are disappointed there is no parade today but love to show their patriotism.
Ella and Hannah traveled up to North Street to see the clock that is described in Michelle Yauger’s book “We gave our best.” Eliza, Ruth and Marie are reading about Sullivan Fringi, one of the soldiers for whom VFW post 1653 is named.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
The Dahls wanted to get out in the beautiful sunshine before the day gets too hot. We have lovely benches and a pretty garden behind the Pember. This overlooks the beautiful Mettowee River. They can also see the walking bridge over the river and behind those trees, the Slate Valley Museum.
Jennie wonders, “Why is it called the ‘Slate Valley’ ?”
Slate was discovered in this area in the 1830s. There is an area about 6 miles wide and 24 miles long that has many slate deposits. Someone discovered that the thin pieces make great roof coverings and an industry was born. This area is also called “the colored slate capital of the world” because the chemical and mineral composition of the vein of slate produces a variety of colors. More information can be found by visiting www.slatevalleymuseum.org/ and of course the Slate Museum itself when they are able to reopen.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
Ruth celebrated in style yesterday when the gang threw her a birthday party. She shares her birthday with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (b. 22 May 1859). She couldn’t wait to curl up with some of her favorite Sherlock Holmes mysteries after the party.
The adventures of the Dahl family continues…
David and Ella thought they would check out the Museum’s gift shop. Wow, look at these cool shells, said David. And they are free, said Ella. There are a lot of items in the gift shop which help support the Museum.
Did you know that seashells are old homes of sea animals? The animals that live in shells are called invertebrates because they don’t have a backbone. Clams, snails, scallops and other mollusks will find a new home when they outgrow their current one. The museum has an exhibit full of invertebrates.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
We finally talked Elvis into doing a concert for us!
Marie Davis and Jennie Kent roomed together in college. Jennie told us about taking naps before her afternoon psychology class and the music was on a constant loop of “Elvis at Madison Square Garden.” She knows all the words even after all these years. She confesses that she tried grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches but it didn’t really appeal to her.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
People have been asking “what do the Dahls do at night?”
Well, sometimes they order in pizza: “Hey guys, hurry up! The pizza’s almost gone!”
Occasionally, they get together on Bernie’s desk in the Museum and hash over the events of the day around a “campfire.” There weren’t marshmallows the night we took this photo but Bernie has found bits of graham crackers and chocolate. (No eating in the museum!)
Eliza really wants you to know that even though this brown bear looks ferocious, he’s really a cuddly teddy bear (rug).
When they get tired, they curl up with their blankets and pillows on the bear and get some sleep.
The adventures of the Dahl family continues…
At present over 700 different species of dinosaurs have been identified and named. However paleontologists believe that there are many more new and different dinosaur species still to be discovered. The Dahl family discovered the Museum’s play dinosaurs.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
OK, I’ve never played scrabble in French before.
Ami
Amour
Baguette
Bonheur
Bonjour
Chat
Chien
Merci
Oui
Do you think Spanish would be easier ?
Uno
Dos
Tres
Quatro
Cinco
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
Grace: “What is the 518 Rainbow hunt?”
Eliza: “Why are you painting a rainbow?”
Ella: “It gives people something to do, being outdoors, being with family while we are being socially distant during this CO-VID19 Outbreak.”
The creator of the group “saw a similar idea on Facebook from the Italian communities as they were hit hard by this devastating virus in their country.”
She says, “we could all use rainbows and cheer in our lives on a daily basis…bring people together in this time that we have to remain apart; it shows us all the good that is happening and being done, as opposed to all the devastation that we all must witness on the news each day.“
Grace: “So rainbows are a way for us to do something together while we aren’t allowed to be together?”
Ella: “That’s right, but if you want to paint a mountain, that’s ok too. “
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
Well, David, I know you told Mary you would help her with the book processing, but I’m not sure you’re doing it right.
The adventures of the Dahl family continues…
Hannah decided to sneak away from the family for a much-needed outdoor break. She decided to visit the Pember Nature Preserve for a bird walk. Anyone can do this using a bird book and binoculars. She had a lot of fun and enjoyed the spring air.
If you would like to see what birds have been spotted at the Preserve, visit Cornell’s Ebird website at https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2689047?yr=all&m&rank=mrec
There is no business to come before the board for this month. This month’s meeting is cancelled. We plan to meet at our regular scheduled time in June.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
Jo-Ann & Jennie are doing research on pandemics. They found this info from the 1915-16 Pember Library reports that discusses the effect the scarlet fever epidemic had on library circulation and use.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
We just L♥ve Lucy! She let us groom her and then we had story time. Dewey was our favorite. Another library cat!
The adventures of the Dahl family continues…
It’s story time in the Museum which offers a small table with children’s book for reading. Marie and Ella joined up with a Scarlet Macaw puppet to read Help the Animals of South America. They both agree that Spider Monkeys are cute.
What other monkeys can be found in South America? Visit our online collection to view this primate – https://pember.pastperfectonline.com/…/4199F7CF-FE88-4FDC-A…
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
This is Alice Merrill. She’s still in high school back in Grinnell. She works part-time at “Lil’ Miss Chic Boutique” and is saving her money to go to college to become a journalist. She belongs to the newspaper club at school, likes to go camping and is teaching herself to crochet.
She tells me that all her life people have been saying she looks just like Ariel. She doesn’t see the resemblance.
What do you think?
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
The Dahl family and their cousins wish they could be home to celebrate Mother’s Day as they usually do but, with the many social limitations of this pandemic, they decided to do a Zoom call to their moms in Iowa.
Many of us will need to do the same and plan times in the future when we get together safely with our families. In the meantime, share here what you plan to do that’s special for your mom even if you can only be with her virtually.
Maybe you can play her this Beatles’ song, “Your Mother Should Know.”
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
Ruth and David have been playing chess against each other for years. They are pretty evenly matched. They really like our glass chess set but wonder why we don’t have a 3D set.
Marie is very proud of the little bench she built using our Keva Planks.
Grace and Eliza never get tired of playing Connect 4. These are just some of the games available at the Pember.
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family
Look guys! These books are written by Roald Dahl. Didn’t Grammy say we were related somehow to this guy? Like fourth cousin two times removed, whatever that means? I just love Charlie & the Chocolate Factory!
Did you know that you can access genealogy information on Ancestry.com from the computers here in the library? I’ll show you how when we are able to reopen.
HeritageQuest is available from home using your library card. See this link: https://www.heritagequestonline.com/…/lib…/do/login/barcode…
The continuing adventures of the Dahl family…
Marie visited the Museum today and exclaimed “Oh my, what big teeth you have!” Wait Marie, It’s NOT the Big Bad Wolf, it’s a Grizzly Bear! (skull and fur) What is a Grizzly Bear? Well, the Grizzly (Ursus arctos horribilis) is a subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. It is also known as the North American brown bear. Brown bears have a muscular hump on their shoulders while the black bear doesn’t. They are western bears, so you won’t find them in NY state! There is lots of information on the Net about the Grizzly. Perhaps Marie might do some research.
and Kodiak Bear – https://pember.pastperfectonline.com/…/5FE46439-267B-4022-9…
