LIVING IN NOW

Youth Books

A STONE SAT STILL

by Brendan Wenzel

The stone seems like an ordinary rock--but to the animals that use it, it is a resting place, a kitchen, a safe haven.

BEAR CAME ALONG

by Richard T. Morris ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham

An assortment of animals living separate lives discover they need each other when they have a chance encounter on a river.

PEEP AND EGG: I'M NOT HATCHING

By Laura Gehl ; pictures by Joyce Wan

If only Egg would just hatch already! But Egg thinks the outside world is too dangerous.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A FLOWER?

by Shawn Harris

Looking at a ower teaches us to look at everything around us, to expand our perception, and to question what it means to see and be.

LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET WORDS

by Matt de la Peña ; pictures Christian Robinson

A young boy, CJ, rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

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Adult Books

DUCKS, NEWBURYPORT

by Lucy Ellman

What could be more “living in the now” than a single sentence stretching over 1000 pages documenting the stream-of-consciousness thoughts of an unnamed woman as she stands in a room.

PEACE IS EVERY STEP

by Thich Nhat Hahn

The Zen master teaches us how to turn di cult, antagonizing moments into positive experiences.

PIRANESI

by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi (who suspects his name is not actually Piranesi) lives in an endless statue- lled house with the sea ooding the rst oor and clouds ooding the top oor. The less you know about this beautiful, weird, haunting novel before reading it, the better.

CATALOG OF UNABASHED GRATITUDE

by Ross Gay

This collection of poetry (available through the Libby app) is a meditation on the natural cycles of life and death and the wisdom of the garden and orchard.

FAITH, HOPE, AND CARNAGE

By Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan

“The luminous and shocking beauty of the everyday is something I try to remain alert to, if only as an antidote to the chronic cynicism and disenchantment that seem to surround everything, these days.” Nick Cave, the iconoclastic rock legend, spent 40 hours of interviews interrogating his devastating grief after the accidental death of his 15-year-old son and how he’s found a way to survive his loss.

DRIFTLESS QUIZ ANSWERS:

1. C - The Cherrystone drop is a brownishred, diminutive (smaller than Lincoln’s head on a penny) land snail that inhabitants cool, moist, shaded banks and bluffs in the Driftless Area and along the Lake Michigan shore.

2. D – Also known as Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot is a member of the mint family found in prairies, fields, and along woodland edges. A favorite of butterflies and bees, this hardy perennial is a must for backyard pollinator gardens because it’s a superfood, packed with nectar, pollen, and nutrients that build pollinator’s immune systems.

3. B – Algific talus slopes are rare habitats found only the Driftless Area and the Alleghenies of West Virginia. They often support assemblages of unusual plants. Algific refers to “cold air,” while talus is a pile of broken rocks at the base of a bluff or cliff.

4. A, B, C, & D – The Prothonotary Warbler is one of more than 50 species of North American wood warblers, but is the only warbler that breeds in tree cavities. They are typically found in Driftless area floodplain forests but spend the winter in Latin America’s mangrove forests. They are known as the butterflies of the bird world due to their brightly colored plumage. They got their name from the bright yellow robes of prothonotaries, papal clerks in the Roman Catholic Church.

5. A – One of the earliest-blooming species of the many Driftless spring wildflowers (also known as spring ephemerals), the white flowers of Dutchman’s Breeches dapple leafless Driftless woodlands in April.

6. A – The green frog sounds like a plucked banjo string. In fact, each of the nine species of frogs inhabiting Driftless marshes and waterways is recognizable by its own unique vocalization. Technically, the same is true for Kermit the Frog.

7. B – Halloween Pennant, Autumn Meadowhawk, and Blue Dasher are names for dragonflies that can be found in the Driftless. The beauty of dragonflies belies their ferocity. They are among the most efficient predators in the insect world. Agile adults consume significant quantities of flies, gnats, and mosquitos.

8. C – Goat prairies, also known as bluff or hill prairies, are treeless, grassy areas on the edges of otherwise forested bluffs. They are a signature feature of the Driftless landscape. These formerly common plant communities are being lost to encroachment by trees and shrubs. Conservation efforts are restoring many goat prairies to their former glory.

9. D – Crickets create a late summer Driftless serenade through a process known as stridulation. Male crickets stridulate by rubbing their wings together. The chirp is intended to attract females. Grasshoppers and Katydids also stridulate.

10. A – The Viceroy butterfly is a mimic that looks almost exactly like a monarch. While lovely, monarchs are toxic to potential predators due to chemicals acquired when monarch caterpillars eat milkweed. Viceroys, on the other hand, are tasty but fool wouldbe predators by looking like monarchs.

Mary Thompson has degrees in Fine Arts and Education. She has delighted in the creative arts since her first box of crayons. She loves watching dragonflies while sipping a good cup of bergamot tea.

Craig Thompson is a professional biologist with a penchant for birds dating back to a time when gas was $0.86 cents a gallon. He’s working on his Kermit the Frog impression.