Book Club Picks - February 2026

 Here are what the Sandy and Hoodland book clubs have decided to read in February: 

Men's Book Club

Monday, February 2
7:00 PM
Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Digital Book Club 

Monday, February 5
7:00 PM
Online via Zoom

For the Relief of Unbearable Urges by Nathan Englander

For further information and to receive the Zoom link, contact Kat Aden: kaden@ci.sandy.or.us

Women's Book Club

Thursday, February 12

6:00 PM

Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

Educated by Tara Westover

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Hoodland Book Club

Tuesday, February 17

4:00 PM

Hoodland Community Room

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray

For further information please contact Alex Steinmetz: asteinmetz@ci.sandy.or.us

Sandy Seed Library News - January 2026

 Happy New Year, Gardeners!

With January brings our annual seed swap, Seedy Saturday, and every year my husband gets a giggle out of the name and has to say something to me about it. Seems he’s not the only one to wonder about the name and chuckle at it. This year, I discovered the answer to his question, well part of it anyway.

Everything You Want to Know About Seedy Saturdays

Turns out, we get our name from a movement that started in Canada in 1990!

Seedy Saturdays (& their sister event, Seedy Sundays) is a concept that started in British Columbia, Canada in the 1990s and these seed exchanges quickly spread across Canada and beyond. They remain a vibrant and essential part of the community gardening culture, offering a way to celebrate biodiversity, support local food systems, and promote sustainable, organic gardening practices. - Seed Library Network

So why do we always hold it on the 4th Saturday in January? In 2006, the editor and publisher of Washington Garden Magazine, Kathy Jentz, applied to have that day known as National Seed Swap Day. As the enthusiasm to participate on this declared day grew, folks from all over the world decided they would ignore the “national” in the name and just call it Seed Swap Day.

If you would like to learn more about seed swaps and organizing them, check out these links:

How to Organize a Seed Swap - SeedSavers

Seed Swaps

Book Club Picks - January 2026

Here are what the Sandy and Hoodland book clubs have decided to read in January: 

Men's Book Club

Monday, January 5
7:00 PM
Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Digital Book Club 

No Digital Book Club in January. Happy New Year

The book club will be reading For the Relief of Unbearable Urges by Nathan Englander for February.

For further information and to receive the Zoom link, contact Kat Aden: kaden@ci.sandy.or.us

Women's Book Club

Thursday, January 8

6:00 PM

Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Hoodland Book Club

Tuesday, January 20

4:00 PM

Hoodland Community Room

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

For further information please contact Alex Steinmetz: asteinmetz@ci.sandy.or.us

Sandy Seed Library News - January 2026

 

Happy December, Gardeners!

I know they say time moves faster when you get older, but seriously … I can't believe it's December already.

I went on the November hike led by Dakota and Erik of Clackamas River Basin Council, and found out that they have resources to help residents that live on a stream to remove invasive species from their property. I was told that they are especially interested in Sandy residents who live off of Tickle Creek that need help removing blackberries. If you, or someone you know, lives off of Tickle Creek and would like some help removing blackberries, please reach out at 503-303-4372. You can also learn more from their website.

December Book Club Picks

    Here are what the Sandy and Hoodland book clubs have decided to read in December: 

Men's Book Club

Monday, December 1
7:00 PM
Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

Clear by Carys Davies

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Digital Book Club 

Thursday, December 4
7:00 PM
Online via Zoom

Choose Your Own Adventure! Read one of the following titles and be ready to discuss: Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva, The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

For further information and to receive the Zoom link, contact Kat Aden: kaden@ci.sandy.or.us

Women's Book Club

Thursday, December 11

6:00 PM

Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Hoodland Book Club

Tuesday, December 16

4:00 PM

Hoodland Community Room

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

For further information please contact Alex Steinmetz: asteinmetz@ci.sandy.or.us

Sandy Seed Library News - November 2025

Happy November, Gardeners!

This last summer, when we had the master gardeners out to speak on gardening for pollinators, one of the presenters inspired me with the idea of having crocuses in my lawn! I already have a few under my maple tree, but I decided that I wanted to look into it more and I thought I would share some of the videos, articles, and retailers I found along the way.

Additionally, now is the time to sow certain flower seeds! Adaptive Seeds out of Sweet Home, Oregon, has suggested the following flower seeds to sow in the fall for the spring (everything in bold is currently available in the seed library):

Annuals                                                                

• Bachelor's Buttons
• Calendula
• Coreopsis
• Nigella
• Poppies
• Snapdragons
• Sweet Peas

        Perennials

• Blanket Flower
• Columbine
• Coneflower
• Rudbeckia
• True Hyssop

They also mentioned Fava Beans (currently in the seed library under "C" for cover crop), not just as a cover crop, but if you are interested in a higher, and earlier yield, sowing them now is a great time.

Crocus Lawn Resources

• Video: How to Grow a Crocus Lawn -- Autumn Bulb Growing Tips for Winter Flowers
• Portland Monthly: Lawn Crocus
• Supplier: Dutch Bulbs*
• Supplier: Van Engelen Inc.*

* I have not personally used these sites; they were mentioned through multiple sources, including the Portland Monthly article, and I wanted to share.

November Book Club Picks

   Here are what the Sandy and Hoodland book clubs have decided to read in November: 

Men's Book Club

Monday, November 3
7:00 PM
Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Digital Book Club 

Thursday, November 6
7:00 PM
Online via Zoom

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

For further information and to receive the Zoom link, contact Kat Aden: kaden@ci.sandy.or.us

Women's Book Club

Thursday, November 13

6:00 PM

Hoyt Community Room in the Sandy Library

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

For further information please contact Maureen Houck: mhouck@ci.sandy.or.us

Hoodland Book Club

Tuesday, November 18

4:00 PM

Hoodland Community Room

Go as a River by Shelley Read

For further information please contact Alex Steinmetz: asteinmetz@ci.sandy.or.us