Those cold days of winter when we didn't want to venture outside were perfect for the building of my Little Free Library. While my husband and I were situated cozily inside, he made sure that the four walls of the Little Free Library took shape and a gabled roof and big front door appeared. After this basic construction, details were added and the barn-themed book box started to show its personality – the red paint, black shingled roof, white door trim in the traditional X shape all added character. And, to top it all off,  the crowning touch – a weather vane for the barn's roof!

Why is it that a barn and a weather vane seem inseparable? Well, a barn just isn't complete without those weather vane arrows pointing the way for so many reasons and giving a farmer much-needed information. A farmer automatically looks to that iconic figure, whether it be a rooster, or horse or cow perched on top of his barn, to determine from where the wind is coming from and to where the weather is going. Will the wind suck all of the moisture out of the ground or will some of the fields benefit from the coming rains? Which crops may be destroyed by the clouds emptying hail on them as the winds propel them across the sky? Will the wind be strong enough to pump more water out of the ground to fill the cattle's watering hole?

The weather vane on this soon-to-be Little Free Library has its own significance, too. The arrows on the weather vane will show that the worldwide Little Free Library movement is heading in the right direction and that this particular Little Free Library in Strasburg is headed in that same direction. A sense of community involvement, of giving, taking and sharing are all benefits to be reaped. The easy access to books will promote reading and hopefully encourage Little Free Library users to visit our Anythink Libraries when they find a book series or an author that they enjoy. That's definitely a good direction to go.

What's left to be completed on this Little Free Library? The plexiglass needs to be put in the door and we need to create a sign anncouncing that this barn-shaped box is indeed a welcome place to stop and find a good book to read. We need to paint "Take a Book. Return a Book" on both sides of the Little Free Library and mount it on a post so that it can be located in front of my house streetside. We're almost finished!

This journey will come to fruition at the end of June when we will have the ribbon-cutting and watch as books are shared throughout the community.

Now it's time to start planning the ribbon-cutting and celebration. It's almost time to have a yard party!