Flora of the week: Peony

Branch of White Peonies and Shears, Édouard Manet , 1864. Musée d"Orsay, Paris

 A flowering plant of the Paeonia family, peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Mostly herbaceous perennials (although there are some flowering shrubs), they have been cultivated in China since early history. They were widespread in the Mediterranean when their fragrant blooms honored the physician Paeon in Greek mythology. All peonies have five or more large outer petals called guard petals and a center of stamens. They are known, and perhaps even more highly valued, for their brief appearance in the late spring and early summer.

BOOK CLUB: “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid

Saturday, June 11, 4:00 p.m. in the Oak Room, Scoville Memorial Library, live and on zoom

Led by Claudia Cayne

Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.

Register Here

IN THE FOUNDERS’ FOOTSTEPS

A Walk Through History with Adam Van Doren

The Cornwall Library

Saturday, June 11, 5:00 - 8:00 pm

Book talk and signing at 5:00 pm

Reception, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Adam Van Doren will be discussing his newly published volume In the Founder's Footsteps: Landmarks of the American Revolution, which incorporates his essays and paintings of 32 historic sites of the War of Independence. Historian Nathaniel Philbrick wrote the preface of the book (Godine, 2022).

The artist’s reception features an exhibition of original watercolors and oils from the book and will be on display and for sale. The art exhibition runs till July 9th.

Friends of SML Book Sale

Saturday, June 18, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm, Scoville Memorial Library

A giant book sale to benefit the Scoville Memorial Library! Including a great selection of titles for all ages and interests.

UPCOMING AT SML

Smartphone Photography Workshop with Rebecca Lee: an outdoors photo walk

Saturday, June 25, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm, SML, Live

Please join us outside the Scoville Memorial Library, 38 Main Street, Salisbury, at the south entrance of the Library near the parking lot

This workshop, led by Rebecca Lee, will focus on best practices for using your smartphone camera. Lee will begin the meeting just outside the Library where she will show the group basic techniques to improve smartphone photographs. Hands-on help will be offered to individuals while the group walks and photographs plants and landscapes along the Rail Trail. In the event of rain, the class will be held inside SML and will focus on objects and interiors.

Rebecca Lee is an artist from California living in Connecticut. She earned her MFA in photography from Hartford Art School, University of Hartford. This workshop is primarily for adults and older teens. Registration is not required. Friendly dogs are welcome.

Readings

on Diplomacy Politics, Democracy, and Economic Opportunity

Books recommended by

Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovich (Ret.), author of Lessons From the Edge: a Memoir

Ambassador Yovanovitch's talk for the Salisbury Forum held on June 1, 2022, will soon be available online at https:

//www.salisburyforum.org/videos

There is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century by Fiona Hill, 2022

British-American foreign affairs specialist, Fiona Hill, weaves together stories from her background as an impoverished coal miner's daughter and as a Harvard-educated Russian and European expert serving under three Presidential administrations. Responding to a subpoena, she was a key impeachment witness in 2019. Observing similarities between Russian and American populism, she explains why an expanding economy is essential to saving democracy.

Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could by

Adam Schiff, 2021

An inside account, and a warning, from an American congressman who witnessed the rising autocratic interests that lead to the January 6 insurrection.

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder, 2017

A historian of 20th century Europe analyzes the conditions that enable democracies to transform into dictatorships. This bestselling book has been called a "guide for surviving and resisting America’s turn towards authoritarianism, from “a rising public intellectual unafraid to make bold connections between past and present” (The New York Times)

How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, 2018

A comparative politics book by Harvard University political scientists about how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic process to increase their power.

Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for is Renewal by William J. Burns

“The Back Channel shows how diplomacy works, why it matters, and why its recent demise is so tragic.”—Walter Isaacson

Meditation Kathy Voldstad

Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, 9:00 AM, Zoom

Open to everyone - no experience required. The group will sit for a period and there will be an opportunity to reflect on the practice.

Join here Password "peace"

Therapeutic Movement with Suzanne Mazzarelli

Thursdays, 10:30 AM, Zoom

A sampler of gentle somatic movement, Yoga, Qi Gong, and more! No experience is necessary. This class is easily adaptable for people of all ages and ability levels. Suzanne is a certified Yoga Therapist who believes strongly in the body’s innate ability to heal, and the power of mind-body practices to support wellness at any age.

Join here

Bridge with John Dippel at SML

Through the remainder of June, classes meet on Wednesdays, 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Local resident John Dippel is offering a course on “Bridge Basics," held in the main circulation room of SML. The course will cover evaluating your cards, bidding fundamentals, and playing the hand. It will run until the end of June and then restart in the fall. If you want to join, send an email to [email protected]. Please include your phone and email address, as well as the level of bridge you’re interested in. Couples and singles are both welcome. Dippel, a historian, and author returned to playing bridge when he moved to Salisbury ten years ago and took a similar course. He has been playing regularly in town ever since.

Passes To Cultural Institutions

The Scoville Memorial Library is pleased to offer passes to the following institutions:

The Wadsworth Atheneum

Admits a family of 4

Connecticut’s Old State House

Admits up to 4 visitors

CT State Parks Centers and Historic Buildings

Admits 2 adults and 4 children

All can be checked out for 48 hours. Contact the library to reserve your pass. Information Here