Hankering for garden time? Check out the library

March came in like a lion this year, with nearly a foot of snow covering the landscape. If you’re hankering for some garden time despite the weather, there are a host of programs for you, starting with a garden chat on Friday, March 10.

If you need a bouquet to brighten your day, pick up a flower-button craft kit at the circulation desk for a burst of spring.

Children’s programs

Young children’s story time
Tuesdays, 10 a.m.
No registration required.

Kindergarten/first grade story time
Tuesdays, 3 p.m., starts March 14
Please contact youth services librarian Cheryl Sloan for information about this session.

Preschool free play
Wednesdays, 10 a.m.
Exploring the sensory table, sorting, playing with blocks, play dough — these are a few of the open-ended projects planned for Wednesday morning play-based learning at the Charlotte Library. Ages 2-4. No registration required.

Programs for adults

Book Chat
Wednesdays, 3 p.m.
Meet each week to discuss new books, old books and books we might have missed. Each week, Woodruff selects a theme and highlights related titles from the library collection. No registration necessary.

Stillwater Meditation
Saturdays, 10 a.m.
Beginning and experienced meditators are welcome. Come to one, many or all meetings. No registration necessary. Stillwater Meditation is an offering of Rain Elizabeth Healing Arts.

Garden chat: getting started
Friday, March 10, 11:30 a.m
Join seed library coordinators Karen Tuininga and Linda Hamilton to share questions and ideas for how to get ready for your food garden this year. Very brief review of garden guidelines and then open discussion related to planning your space, deciding what to grow, choosing seeds, maybe starting some inside, and lessons learned in past gardens. Whether experienced or just getting started, come share your dreams, schemes and concerns, gardener-to-gardener. Registration required for the Zoom link.

Art opening
Sunday, March 12, 2-4 p.m.
Join Theresa Petrow for an informal gallery review of her paintings, currently on display at the Charlotte Library.

“Gaia’s Garden” book study
Mondays, March 13-April 3, 7-8 p.m.
Back by popular demand. Join Karen Tuning and Linda Hamilton for this four-part study of Toby Hemingway’s classic on home-scale permaculture. New and experienced gardeners are welcome. Expect interesting reading (about 70 pages in preparation for each session) and lively discussions. Whether you missed our first Gaia’s Garden discussion series in 2020, or want to come back for more conversation and a deeper dive revisiting this wonderful book, we hope you will join us. Registration is required. Copies of the book are available at the library. Note: Meet in-person at the Charlotte Library, but with the option to use Zoom in bad weather.

Short story selections
Wednesdays, March 15, April 15 & 19, 1 p.m.
Join library director Margaret Woodruff to discuss short stories old and new. The reading list will include a variety of authors and two to three stories will be featured. Copies of the stories are available at the circulation desk or via email. Register.

Charlotte water quality & McCabe’s Brook
Wednesday, March 15, 7 p.m.
Join the Lewis Creek Association and the Charlotte Conservation Commission for a presentation and discussion about water quality in Charlotte and how it affects Lake Champlain. What causes our stream’s and lake’s poor water quality? What can you do as a landowner to help improve water quality? Learn about some potential projects along McCabe’s Brook that could help improve water quality in Charlotte and downstream in Shelburne and Lake Champlain. Brought to you by tactical basin planning funding from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Join online or in register to join person in-person.

The Most Costly Journey
Wednesday, March 15, 7:30 p.m.
This non-fiction comics anthology presents stories of survival and healing told by Latin American migrant farm workers in Vermont and drawn by New England cartoonists as part of the El Viaje Más Caro Project, a health care outreach effort addressing their overlooked mental health needs. Originally distributed to farm workers as individual Spanish language comic books, this collected edition brings the lives and voices of these workers to an English-language audience, granting insight into the lives of the people vital to producing the food we eat. Come to the library or on Zoom.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
Saturday, March 18, 10:30 a.m.-noon
Traditional Irish music and tunes in the Celtic genre on harp, fiddle, flute and box, played in the informal style of Irish house sessions by Mary’s Lane. Come for the good “craic” (Irish for good company and entertaining conversation. For all ages.

Braver Angels Common
Ground Workshop
Sunday, March 19, 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Join us for the Common Ground workshop, an event that brings together people with differing opinions on land use and development, a topic on the minds of many Charlotters. Participants on each side of the issue will talk about their views on land use (to be further defined) and their thoughts about possible solutions, assisted by Shana Ratner, who will co-moderate the event with Vermont Braver Angels chair, Lincoln Earle-Centers.

Billy Boyle
Monday, March 20, 10 a.m.
Join book group to discuss this World War II mystery. Copies available at the circulation desk. Billy, who had never left Boston before he enlisted and was sent to Officer Candidate School, is not sure how good a detective he really is. But when Eisenhower asks Billy to undertake this task, he dutifully sets off for Beardsley Hall, where the Norwegian government in exile is in residence. His mission is to catch a spy who may have been planted there.

Backyard biodiversity
Wednesday, March 22, 7 p.m.
You’ve heard about the plight of the honeybee — a real concern. Our native bees are in serious trouble and the biodiversity so essential to a healthy ecosystem in general is at great risk. You can make a difference right in your own backyard. Join local master gardeners Julie Parker Dickerson and Karen Tuininga. Register for Zoom.

The Hummingbird’s Gift
Thursday, March 23, 7:30 p.m.
Hummingbirds fascinate people. Miraculous creatures who are also very vulnerable when they emerge from their eggs. That’s where Brenda Sherburn comes in. With tenderness and patience, she rescues abandoned hummingbirds and nurses them until they can fly away and live in the wild. In “The Hummingbird’s Gift,” Sherburn shows us how amazing hummingbirds are. Copies available at the circulation desk. Register in advance for the Zoom link.

Library contact information:
Margaret Woodruff, director
Cheryl Sloan, youth services librarian
Susanna Kahn, tech librarian
Phone: 802-425-3864. Email

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The Charlotte Library Board of Trustees meets regularly on the first Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. The next meeting takes place tonight, this Thursday, March 9, online and in-person. Please contact the library for additional information.