Winding down June: ALA and wildflowers

 My One Monthly Goal for June was to decide on the block and design for the wedding quilt. I have many ideas but I don't have a decision.  I'm close. I think.

The ALA virtual conference ended on Tuesday. Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian (and former president of the Chicago History Museum) interviewed Pres. Barack Obama. In 2005 I was in the third row when then-Sen. Obama was the featured speaker at the opening session of the ALA Annual Conference. Sixteen years I had a front row seat in my studio and my husband was in the audience.

https://youtu.be/p-qSfk5SYsc   "I do believe that libraries are citadels of knowledge and empathy, and they’ve been extraordinarily important in my life. And I want to thank all the librarians out there, whether you’re in a small town, big city, you opening up the world for our children, giving them access to possibilities that they might not otherwise have, creating safe spaces where reading is cool, you mean a lot to not just those individuals who benefit from your work, but you mean a lot to our democracy and our country. We appreciate you. Keep it up."

Patty Wong is ALA president for 2021-22. She is the first Asian-American to hold the office. I've known her for many years. (The president-elect, Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada, will be the second.) 

Lucia Gonzalez, the new president of ALSC (Assn. of Library Services to Children) had a quilt backdrop when she gave her inaugural greetings. I don't know her. I sent her an email to ask about the quilt but I haven't heard back from her yet.

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There was a lot of rain in the Chicago area this past week -- but the operative word is "area." Though 6" fall to the south here in northeasternmost Illinois got about 1.5". Still it was enough to make everything green up again.

Birdsfoot trefoil carpets the field next to our junior high school.

Compass plant, wild bergamot, daisy fleabane, Queen Anne's Lace, wild parsnip, nodding thistle, American elder.

American elder of the human species, showing how tall the compass plant grows. Beaver lodge. Sterling Lake in Van Patten Woods is a reclaimed gravel pit.